You cleared those caches last month. They came back — and they brought friends. The real story is not the size on any given day; it is how fast it grows, and which tool is driving it.
Three copies of the same video scattered across Downloads, Desktop, and an old project folder. Which one is safe to delete? The challenge isn’t finding the duplicates — it’s not deleting the one that matters.
macOS Storage settings shows a vague bar with a giant "System Data" bucket. Here is what is actually in there, how to find the real culprits yourself, and why a proper disk map saves you an afternoon of guessing.
Dragging an app to the Trash only removes the bundle. The caches, preferences, support files and containers it scattered across your Mac can linger for years — and most people never know they are still there.