Lmst

#MACS

When the Finder suffers premature ejection: a longstanding bug

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/22/when-the-finder-suffers-premature-ejection-a-longstanding-bug/

<p>The internal SSD in an Apple silicon Mac normally contains at least a dozen volumes, carefully arranged into three partitions or containers. If you think that’s confusing, you’re not alone. This bug demonstrates how the Finder can’t cope either, and when it should be unmounting just one of those, it tries to get rid of the lot. This goes back to Ventura at least, and I suspect has been present since 2019, when Catalina brought this complex boot disk structure.</p>
<p>The reason that it’s seldom encountered is that it depends on adding another volume to those on the internal SSD. That has been unusual until recently, when <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/05/28/save-space-on-the-internal-ssd-by-adding-another-volume/">it’s been shown</a> to be a good way to store large files such as Virtual Machines without resulting in huge snapshots.</p>
<h4>Trigger the bug</h4>
<p>The key requirement to reproduce this bug is an extra APFS volume added to the internal SSD, as <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/05/28/save-space-on-the-internal-ssd-by-adding-another-volume/">detailed here</a>:</p>
<ol>
<li>Open Disk Utility, and in the list of volumes on the left, select the Data volume in the internal SSD.</li>
<li>Click the + tool in the toolbar to add a new volume, and set its format to either APFS or APFS (Encrypted). Disk Utility should then add that new volume, and the Finder display it in the sidebar of its windows.</li>
<li>Control-click on tha

Solutions to Saturday Mac riddles 339

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/22/solutions-to-saturday-mac-riddles-339/

<p>I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 339. Here are my solutions to them.</p>
<h3>1: The favourite of many removed AppleTalk and added a store later.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Snow Leopard</h4>
<p>The favourite of many <em>(it remains the favourite version of Mac OS X for many)</em> removed AppleTalk <em>(it removed support for it)</em> and added a store later <em>(10.6.6 introduced the Mac App Store).</em></p>
</details>
<h3>2: Two to four put the E in the first Apple silicon Macs.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Icestorm</h4>
<p>Two to four <em>(M1 chips have either 2 or 4 of them)</em> put the E<em> (it’s the internal code name for the CPU Efficiency cores)</em> in the first Apple silicon Macs <em>(in the M1 family).</em></p>
</details>
<h3>3: Both followed 2 from Strood to Faversham.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Avalanche and Blizzard</h4>
<p>Both followed 2 <em>(these are the internal code names for the CPU cores of the M2 family)</em> from Strood to Faversham <em>(the route of the M2 motorway in Kent, England).</em></p>
</details>
<h3>The common factor</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<p>It’s that time of year again for snow and ice (in the northern hemisphere).</p>
</details>
<p>I look forward to your putting alternative cases.</p>

Last Week on My Mac: Upgrades and the standard user

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/21/last-week-on-my-mac-upgrades-and-the-standard-user/

<p>When Apple released macOS Ventura on 24 October 2022, it made an unannounced change. For the first time in over twenty years, the upgrade to the new major version wasn’t an upgrade at all, just an update. If that seems too subtle a distinction, let me spell out how profoundly that has changed macOS, and who makes the decisions.</p>
<p>When we upgraded from Big Sur to Monterey the year before, Software Update downloaded the full installer app from the App Store and ran that if you authenticated as an admin user. If you were only a standard user, you couldn’t install the upgrade, so there was no danger of someone in your family, for example, inadvertently upgrading your Mac without your involvement, assuming they are only a standard user and you have the power of being the admin user.</p>
<p>During the beta-testing phase of Ventura, many of us realised that Apple intended to change how upgrades would work. Because this wasn’t included in any of the beta documentation, nor announced officially by Apple, we were unable to warn folk until Apple released Ventura, by which time it was too late for many. As I <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2022/10/24/apple-has-released-ventura-and-security-updates-to-monterey-and-big-sur/">warned at the time</a>:<br />
“If you’re intending to upgrade to Ventura, this is being performed as an update rather than a full install, so for an Apple silicon Mac already running Monterey 12.6 should only be around 6.37 GB in

Saturday Mac riddles 339

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/20/saturday-mac-riddles-339/

<p>Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.</p>
<p>1: The favourite of many removed AppleTalk and added a store later.</p>
<p>2: Two to four put the E in the first Apple silicon Macs.</p>
<p>3: Both followed 2 from Strood to Faversham.</p>
<p>To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.</p>
<p>I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.</p>
<p><em><strong>Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.</strong></em></p>

Explainer: Storage settings

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/20/explainer-storage-settings/

<p>Storage information provided in macOS has a chequered history. While that provided in Disk Utility has remained a benchmark, a separate <strong>Storage</strong> feature introduced some years ago in <strong>About This Mac</strong> quickly became notorious for its fragility and inaccuracy, with many reporting huge discrepancies. Over the last couple of years, and with its transfer to System Settings > General > Storage, it has become more reliable and useful. This article explains where it has reached in macOS Tahoe 26.2.</p>
<p><span class="alignnone"><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/storage1a.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-89878" height="942" src="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/storage1a.jpg" width="668" /></a></span></p>
<p>Its view has three sections.</p>
<p><span class="alignnone"><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/storage1b.png"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-89879" height="177" src="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/storage1b.png" width="910" /></a></span></p>
<p>At the top, the <strong>Storage Bar</strong> shows a breakdown of space used on the boot disk into categories, total used, and total free space that now correlate better with figures shown in Disk Utility. The <strong>All Volumes</strong> button extends that to cover other disks, but as no detailed information is provided for them, you’re still better off checking in

Standard users can upgrade macOS

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/19/standard-users-can-upgrade-macos/

<p>It’s a simple question: which users can upgrade macOS? It was put to me by Cory, whose son had apparently upgraded their family Mac mini M4 to Tahoe from his standard user account. This article explains how that came about.</p>
<h4>Upgrade or update?</h4>
<p>Although the two words are sometimes used loosely, in strict senses <em>updating</em> takes macOS up in minor version or patch number, such as 26.0.1 to 26.1 or 26.2, while <em>upgrading</em> moves up to a newer major version, say from 15.7.2 to 26.2. Apple still <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/108382" rel="noopener" target="_blank">makes this clear distinction</a> too, although it has all become blurred.</p>
<p>Before it released macOS 12.3, upgrades were different from updates. For a Mac to be upgraded to a new major version, a full installer was downloaded and run, and that required an admin user to authenticate the installation. Updates were smaller and simpler, downloaded through Software Update, and could be installed by any user (apart from Guest).</p>
<p>For the last three years, with the upgrades to Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and now Tahoe, whenever possible upgrades have been performed using the update method instead of a full installer. It’s significantly faster, with less to download, decompress and install. Although Apple <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/108382" rel="noopener" target="_blank">still claims</a> that “before installation begins, you’re asked to enter your admi

💫 Look back at 2025 with us with our year-end newsletter!
This edition brings together a few snapshots of the efforts and solutions we are part of, inc.:
🟢 a global initiative to mobilise support for environmental human rights defenders #LEADInitiative,
🔵 new guide on how to do innovation right with Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments #FRIAs,
🟡 the monitoring tools we power: #MACS and #CSOMeter...and much more.

Read and sign up for 2026: https://mailchi.mp/ecnl/2025-in-review-looking-ahead?e=6e193cc95b

ECNL newsletter

How to recognise a genuine password request

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/18/how-to-recognise-a-genuine-password-request/

<p>One of the primary aims of most malware is to trick you into giving it your password. Armed with that, there’s little to stop it gathering up your secrets and sending them off to your attacker’s servers. One of your key defences against that is to know when a password request is genuine, and when it’s bogus. By far the best way to authenticate now is using Touch ID, but many Macs don’t support it, either because they can’t, or because their keyboard doesn’t, and there are still occasions when a genuine request may not offer it. This article looks at the anatomy of a range of genuine password requests. Note that these dialogs aren’t generated by the app, but come from the macOS security system, hence their consistency.</p>
<h4>Traditional, no Touch ID</h4>
<p><span class="alignnone"><img alt="keychain" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68236" src="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/keychain.png?w=940" /></span></p>
<p>This authentication dialog is very important: although malware might try to forge it, it contains distinctive features you should always look for:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>icon</strong> consists of a locked padlock, on which is superimposed a miniature icon representing the app or component that has asked to access the keychain.</li>
<li>The bold text <strong>names the app</strong> or component that has called for keychain access, and states <strong>which item</strong> it’s asking to access: he

Which extended attributes does macOS Tahoe preserve?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/17/which-extended-attributes-does-macos-tahoe-preserve/

<p>Extended attributes (xattr) contain a wide range of metadata, some of which are intended to persist with the file they’re attached to, others to be more transient. Depending on the type of file operation performed, macOS has an elaborate mechanism for determining which are preserved, and which are not. This article tries to explain how this works in macOS Tahoe 26.0.</p>
<h4>Xattr flags</h4>
<p>When first introduced in Mac OS X, no provision was made for xattrs to have type-specific preservation, and that was added later using flags suffixed to the xattr’s name. For example, the com.apple.lastuseddate xattr found commonly on edited files is shown with a full name of com.apple.lastuseddate#PS to assign the two flags P and S to it, and the most recent xattr com.apple.fileprovider.pinned, used to mark files in iCloud Drive that have been pinned, has the two flags P and X assigned to it for a the full name of com.apple.fileprovider.pinned#PX.</p>
<p><span class="alignnone"><img alt="pinning4" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-82393" height="801" src="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/pinning4.png" width="995" /></span></p>
<p>This is a kludge, because you normally have to refer to the xattr name including its flags, although the flags aren’t really part of its name. This can catch the unwary.</p>
<p>It’s further complicated by a set of system tables for some standard xattr types that don’t have flags suffixed, but are treated a

Apple has released an update to XProtect for all macOS

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/16/apple-has-released-an-update-to-xprotect-for-all-macos-23/

<p>Apple has just released an update to XProtect, bringing it to version 5325. As usual, it doesn’t release information about what security issues this update might add or change.</p>
<p>This version adds five new Yara rules, four for the Soma/Amos family – MACOS.SOMA.DEENA, MACOS.SOMA.DEPEA, MACOS.SOMA.DETRA, and MACOS.SOMA.DELEA – and MACOS.ODYSSEY.DEENA for the Odyssey family.</p>
<p>You can check whether this update has been installed by opening <strong>System Information</strong> via <strong>About This Mac</strong>, and selecting the <strong>Installations</strong> item under <strong>Software</strong>.</p>
<p>A full listing of security data file versions is given by <strong>SilentKnight</strong> and <strong>SystHist</strong> for El Capitan to Tahoe available from <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/lockrattler-systhist/">their product page</a>. If your Mac hasn’t yet installed this update, you can force it using SilentKnight or at the command line.</p>
<p>If you want to install this as a named update in SilentKnight, its label is <code>XProtectPlistConfigData_10_15-5325</code></p>
<h4>Sequoia and Tahoe systems only</h4>
<p>This update has not yet been released for Sequoia and Tahoe via iCloud, but should be shortly. If you want to check it manually, use the Terminal command<br />
<code>sudo xprotect check</code><br />
then enter your admin password. If that returns version 5325 but your Mac still reports an older version is installed, you should be a

Why was the 26.2 update much larger for some than others?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/16/why-was-the-26-2-update-much-larger-for-some-than-others/

<p>Several of those who have already updated to macOS Tahoe 26.2 have remarked how much larger their download was than the 3.78 GB expected for Apple silicon Macs, with some reporting over 10 GB. Here I ponder how that could happen.</p>
<h4>How is macOS now updated?</h4>
<p>My understanding of the broad processes involved in current macOS updates is that the total downloaded for Macs of the same architecture starting from the same version should be identical.</p>
<p>Major components required for each update include:</p>
<ul>
<li>contents of the System volume that have changed from the starting version for that update;</li>
<li>standard cryptexes containing Safari and its supporting components, and dyld caches. The latter differ between Intel Macs, which only receive Intel versions, and Apple silicon Macs, which receive Intel versions to support Rosetta 2 as well as their own Arm versions. Those probably account for much of the difference in size between Intel and Apple silicon updates. Note that Apple silicon Macs may also require updates to cryptexes used in AI, but those are most likely obtained outside the macOS update;</li>
<li>architecture-specific firmware;</li>
<li>new Recovery system;</li>
<li>the ‘update brain’ to run the update, including creation of the new SSV with its hash tree.</li>
</ul>
<p>Those contrast with what’s required for a full installer upgrade (or reinstall), which consists of a single Universal app containing the whole contents of

On this episode of For Mac Eyes Only: Mike, Eric and Darren dive into their sack of holiday gift ideas and share some favorite last minute gift picks for the Apple user in your life.

#GiftGuide #Gifts #Hardware #Holiday #Macs #Software
https://www.formaceyesonly.com/2025/12/15/for-mac-eyes-only-463-jingle-bell-mac/

Why can’t my Mac get log entries or find XProtect scans?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/15/why-cant-my-mac-get-log-entries-or-find-xprotect-scans/

<p>Several of my utilities rely on being able to read log entries from your Mac. For most, this is the only way that you’re ever going to try to access the log. For a few this draws attention to potential problems, when the app discovers it can’t access the log and reports that as an error. This article explains what those errors mean, and what you can do to address them.</p>
<h4>Log file layout</h4>
<p>Files containing log entries are stored in two main locations in your Mac’s Data volume. The majority of them are in /var/db/diagnostics/, while additional and lengthier log data is stored in files named by UUID in /var/db/uuidtext/.</p>
<p><span class="alignnone"><img alt="logcat01" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46070" src="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logcat01.jpg?w=940" /></span></p>
<p>Those in /var/db/diagnostics/ are grouped into standard folders:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Persist</strong> holds tracev3 files that contain regular entries, the most important;</li>
<li><strong>Special</strong> has similar files for shorter-life entries;</li>
<li><strong>timesync</strong> contains files that enable the entries in tracev3 files to be matched with clock time;</li>
<li><strong>Signpost</strong> holds tracev3 files for special entries for measuring performance;</li>
<li><strong>HighVolume</strong> is normally empty, but might contain entries during periods when they’re particularly frequent.</li>
</ul>
<p>Unlike traditional Unix l

Solutions to Saturday Mac riddles 338

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/15/solutions-to-saturday-mac-riddles-338/

<p>I hope that you enjoyed Saturday’s Mac Riddles, episode 338. Here are my solutions to them.</p>
<h3>1: The first macOS from the mountains around Tahoe.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Sierra</h4>
<p>The first macOS <em>(10.12 Sierra was the first of the new rebranding)</em> from the mountains <em>(named after the Sierra Nevada)</em> around Tahoe <em>(the mountains around Lake Tahoe).</em> </p>
</details>
<h3>2: The eighth came from the App Store with Mission Control and a mane.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Lion</h4>
<p>The eighth <em>(MacOS X 10.7 was the eighth major version)</em> came from the App Store <em>(it was originally intended to be available only from the App Store)</em> with Mission Control <em>(introduced in 10.7)</em> and a mane <em>(distinctive of a lion).</em></p>
</details>
<h3>3: The sixth came with a time machine and spots.</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<h4>Leopard</h4>
<p>The sixth <em>(Mac OS X 10.5 was the sixth major version)</em> came with a time machine <em>(it introduced Time Machine)</em> and spots <em>(distinctive of a leopard).</em></p>
</details>
<h3>The common factor</h3>
<details>
Click for a solution
<p>Following each of these came a version with the same name qualified: <em>High</em> Sierra, <em>Mountain</em> Lion and <em>Snow</em> Leopard.</p>
</details>
<p>I look forward to your putting alternative cases.</p>

Last Week on My Mac: How good is AI at solving Mac problems?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/14/last-week-on-my-mac-how-good-is-ai-at-solving-mac-problems/

<p>I suppose it had to happen that search engines and AI were exploited to <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/11/how-online-search-and-ai-can-install-malware/">deliver malware</a> to the unsuspecting. As that article prompted a brief discussion of the usefulness and reliability of AI-based troubleshooting, I’ve been doing a little checking.</p>
<p>To examine this, I’ve posed Google’s AI some test questions. Rather than run through a long list, I’ve focussed on five that are reasonably frequent but have catches in them. Some are embedded in the question itself, others are inherent in the solution. My aim here isn’t to focus on the strengths of AI, but to understand its weaknesses better, just as you might with a human expert. After all, it doesn’t take much expertise to get the straightforward answers right.</p>
<h4>1. How to reduce system data on mac</h4>
<p>This question is framed carefully to reveal that the questioner has already used Storage settings, and has been confronted with a great deal of space being used by System Data, an unhelpful category and a situation that’s all too common, as I’ve <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/02/11/what-is-system-data-in-storage-settings/">considered here</a> and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Google’s overview started well, telling me that “System Data includes caches, logs, and temporary files that build up over time and aren’t easily removable like regular documents.&#

Saturday Mac riddles 338

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/13/saturday-mac-riddles-338/

<p>Here are this weekend’s Mac riddles to entertain you through family time, shopping and recreation.</p>
<p>1: The first macOS from the mountains around Tahoe.</p>
<p>2: The eighth came from the App Store with Mission Control and a mane.</p>
<p>3: The sixth came with a time machine and spots.</p>
<p>To help you cross-check your solutions, or confuse you further, there’s a common factor between them.</p>
<p>I’ll post my solutions first thing on Monday morning.</p>
<p><em><strong>Please don’t post your solutions as comments here: it spoils it for others.</strong></em></p>

Explainer: WindowServer

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/13/explainer-windowserver-2/

<p>macOS apps manage the contents of their own windows, drawing and refreshing them as needed. To assemble all those into what you see on the display requires the services of the master compositor, WindowServer. From the moment the login window appears during startup, WindowServer is hard at work, and remains so until you shut your Mac down. Without WindowServer there could be no GUI.</p>
<p>Open Activity Monitor, and you’ll see WindowServer close to the top of the lists of CPU, Memory and Energy users, and when it’s getting into trouble that’s always a good place to check what’s going on. You may also notice that it’s one of a pair of processes including <code>distnoted</code> with their own user, _windowserver. They’re part of a group of interconnected services that handle window management, compositing of windows into the display image, and event-routing for apps, with <code>distnoted</code> responsible for system message notification. In the log, WindowServer is often associated with the com.apple.SkyLight subsystem.</p>
<h4>Compositing</h4>
<p>You can get a good idea of what WindowServer does using screenshots. Using Command-Shift-4, then pressing the Space Bar and selecting a window, you’ll get a shot of an individual window, as shown in the examples below.</p>
<p><span class="alignnone"><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/windowman1.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-89776" height="650

Apple has released macOS 26.2 Tahoe, and security updates to Sequoia 15.7.3 and Sonoma 14.8.3

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/12/apple-has-released-macos-26-2-tahoe-and-security-updates-to-sequoia-15-7-3-and-sonoma-14-8-3/

<p>Apple has just released the update to bring macOS Tahoe to version 26.2, and security updates to Sequoia and Sonoma to bring them to 15.7.3 and 14.8.3 respectively. The latter two should also have associated Safari updates.</p>
<p>The update to 26.2 is about 3.78 GB to download to an Apple silicon Mac, and 2.5 GB for an Intel Mac. Some Macs may require larger downloads, though, with some in excess of 10 GB.</p>
<p>Tahoe 26.2 introduces Edge Light to light your face during low-light video calls, improves Podcasts with automatic chapter generation, adds filters to the Games library, adds AirDrop codes as an additional verification with unknown contacts, enhances Freeform tables, and more. Fuller release notes are <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122868" target="_blank">available here</a>, and are a significant improvement in themselves.</p>
<p>Security release notes <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125886" target="_blank">for Tahoe</a> report a total of 46 vulnerabilities addressed. Among them are multiple WebKit vulnerabilities, including two that Apple believes have been exploited already “in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals” in earlier versions of iOS. Notes <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125887" target="_blank">for Sequoia</a> list 25, and those <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125888" target="_blank">for Sonoma</a> 21. The <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125892" target="_blank"

What has changed in macOS Tahoe 26.2?

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/12/what-has-changed-in-macos-tahoe-26-2/

<p>The update from macOS Tahoe 26.1 to 26.2 is fairly large, but appears to be largely routine maintenance, together with some important security updates.</p>
<p>At last, Apple has provided more detail of some of the improvements and changes <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122868" target="_blank">in this summary</a>. These include a new <em>Edge Light</em> feature to light your face during low-light video calls, Podcasts gaining automatic chapter generation, filters added to the Games library, AirDrop codes providing an additional means of verification with unknown contacts, and enhancements to Freeform tables.</p>
<p>Security <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125886" target="_blank">release notes</a> report a total of 46 vulnerabilities addressed. Among those are multiple WebKit vulnerabilities, including two that Apple believes have been exploited already “in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals” in earlier versions of iOS. Those alone make 26.2 a compelling early update.</p>
<p>The build number of macOS 26.2 is 25C56, it updates iBoot firmware to version 13822.61.10 on Apple silicon Macs and Intel firmware to 2094.40.1.0.0 (iBridge 23.16.12048.0.0,0). Note that Intel Macs only have an update to iBridge, and not their EFI firmware this time.</p>
<p>Significant changes seen in bundled apps include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Freeform, to version 4.2</li>
<li>Music, to version 1.6.2</li>
<li>Passwords, to version 2.2</li>
<li>S

Did you know your photos are being syndicated?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://eclecticlight.co/2025/12/12/did-you-know-your-photos-are-being-syndicated/

<p>The Messages app is a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends and relatives no matter where they are, and share photos and videos. This article tries to answer the seemingly simple question as to where those are stored, and what this has to do with syndication. I’m grateful to Jack for asking.</p>
<h4>Sharing in Messages</h4>
<p>If you have more than one Mac or Apple device connected to iMessage, and share that via Messages in iCloud, you’ll no doubt have discovered that shared photos and videos sync across them reasonably well. Delete an image on one, and it should be removed on all the others so long as they’re running, awake and can sync with iCloud.</p>
<p>Those shared photos and videos don’t appear in your System Photo Library, though, unless you save them there. That System Photo Library can share its contents using iCloud Photos, Shared Albums and iCloud Shared Photo Library, but those are separate from sharing in Messages. Turn all Photos sharing off and that doesn’t affect those shared in Messages.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, information about those shared images and videos, and control over them, is primitive in macOS compared with iOS. On an iPhone, you can manage storage for Messages in iCloud in much greater detail, and can view those that are taking up most space. That isn’t offered in macOS 26 Tahoe, only the total space used by Messages in iCloud. Nor is there any Photos library or other location obvious on your Mac that ap

Client Info

Server: https://mastodon.social

Version: 2025.07

Repository: https://github.com/cyevgeniy/lmst