Want a good MacBook cleaner?
If you're using a type of MacBook with macOS, there's a chance it could slow down if you've had it for a couple of years or more due to it collecting multiple apps, associated files, background processes, and system junk. This is precisely where a MacBook Cleaner, like ours, can come in handy. We go into this in more detail, of course, plus some things you can do yourself to help your MacBook run more smoothly.
Check hard drive capacity
Having less than 20% free hard drive space on your Mac can have an impact on how it functions. So, if you've noticed a dip in performance, there's a relatively simple way to check if this might be the cause (or at least a contributing factor). Go to the 'Apple' icon in macOS and click it. After this, go to 'About this Mac' and click on 'Storage'. By now, you should be able to see a window showing a color-coded breakdown of how you're using your MacBook's hard drive.
If you can clearly see that there's less than 20% free space available, there's every chance you need a MacBook Cleaner, to clean certain files from your system. To take things a step further, click 'Manage'. This opens another menu screen displaying options like 'Store in iCloud', 'Reduce Clutter', and others. The first option we just mentioned allows you to easily move media files like photos and videos off your hard drive and into online storage. The second allows you to sort through specific files and documents you no longer need on your Mac.
However, if you want an easy way to identify non-media files that you can quickly clean away from your Mac without consequence (sometimes up to 4GB), CCleaner for Mac is purpose-built to clean away this type of junk. These can be files from your web browser or temporary files from apps and software installations.
Remove some apps
If your MacBook has been your main go-to computer for a while, there's a chance that you've worn many different hats while using it (so to speak). In addition to browsing the web and keeping in contact with friends and family, perhaps you've also turned your hand to some creative projects and other activities. The result is that you could now have many apps installed, perhaps a number that you don't use anymore. These can take up a lot of hard drive space.
To get a more detailed look at your apps, follow the same pathway for viewing your hard drive storage shown above. Click 'Manage' just like before and track across to the 'Recommendations' menu within the same window and then click 'Applications'. Once here, you can see a list of all the applications installed on your MacBook. You can then sort these by 'Kind', 'Last Accessed' and 'Size' to see if there are any files you'd like to uninstall or delete.
It's worth noting that this can easily turn into a time-consuming process, which is why we developed a feature of our MacBook cleaner that makes deleting apps easier. You don't have to jump between different folders unnecessarily, and CCleaner for Mac also removes the configuration files from apps that macOS normally doesn't touch.
Turn off 'FileVault'
'FileVault' encrypts the files on your MacBook to make it more secure. It's a useful feature if you use your computer in different locations, worry about it getting stolen, and want to stop somebody from accessing your data. If this isn't your situation, however, this macOS feature could be slowing down your MacBook without you being aware of it, and you may want to consider turning it off. Of course, this choice is down to you and your particular situation.
Checking if 'FileVault' is on or off is quite straightforward. Click the 'Apple' icon just like before, but this time go to 'System Preferences', visit 'Security & Privacy', and click on 'FileVault'. Please note that turning it off usually requires an Administrator password and can potentially trigger an extended encrypting process that can take a while (just as fun as it sounds). So, we thought we'd just let you know that our MacBook cleaner can help improve your privacy in another way by deleting internet files and passwords, particularly if it's a computer you share with others.
Disable apps running at startup
Discovering how much space certain apps take up on your hard drive is useful, but it isn't the full story. Your MacBook's startup procedure can become slow if certain apps on your system have been set to launch each time you start your computer. There are two main ways to fix this in macOS. After this, we'll get onto a faster, much easier way to solve this same problem.
View the list of apps currently tagged to your 'Dock'. If there are specific apps you rarely (if ever) use once you start your computer, you can side-click an app, click 'Options' and uncheck 'Open at Login'. You can also carry out the same process for multiple apps by going to 'System Preferences', 'Users & Groups' and then finally 'Login Items'.
You're probably thinking that both these methods require a surprising amount of manual effort from you, especially if you don't actually know which apps might actually be causing problems in the first place. That's where our MacBook cleaner CCleaner for Mac comes into its own. The new 'Health Check' feature automatically finds and identifies unruly startup apps for you, so you can easily disable them. It can also locate junk files on your web browser (or system) that are safe to delete too, handy if you don't have the time or energy to get to grips with how your MacBook's computer software works.
To try the free version of CCleaner for Mac right now, see here.