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How to remove aerial screen saver and wallpaper videos on a Mac

The moving aerial wallpapers and screen savers on macOS are downloaded videos that count as System Data. Where they're stored and how to remove the ones you don't use.

Why they take up space

The moving landscapes you can choose as wallpaper and screen saver are high-resolution videos. macOS downloads each one you preview or pick, and they stay on the Mac after you switch to another. Storage settings counts them as System Data.

Where they are

In /Library/Application Support/com.apple.idleassetsd/Customer, in a subfolder of video files (.mov). The folder belongs to macOS, so moving files out of it asks for an administrator password.

Remove the ones you don't use

  1. First pick what you want to keep: open System Settings › Wallpaper and Screen Saver. If you don't want any aerial, choose a still picture or a different screen saver, so macOS doesn't download one straight back.
  2. In the Finder choose Go › Go to Folder…, paste /Library/Application Support/com.apple.idleassetsd/Customer and press Return.
  3. Open the subfolder with the videos and switch to list view sorted by size.
  4. Select the videos you don't need and drag them to the Trash. Enter your password when asked.
  5. Empty the Trash, then check Storage settings after a few minutes.

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