Onedrive takes massive storage in system data on Mac

Question

has everyone else noticed that OneDrive on MacOS (Sequoia, but further versions too) takes all uploaded Data under library/group containers, even if all options for saving data only online are activated. In noticed this problem on two Macs with m1 and m2 processor. This leads to a massive loss of storage. Does anyone has a solution to offer?

Answer 1

There is no Cache file in Library/Application Support/OneDrive. Should I be looking for something else, or somewhere else? Group Containers file is about 995GB.

Answer 2

Dear MrCebaca,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

We understand that OneDrive on your Mac temporarily uses a lot of space.

According to your description, you have tried to test and query the corresponding settings information on multiple devices, but you have tried to select "Save data online", but it still cannot help you free up storage space.

This may be because OneDrive does not manage storage exactly as expected, or when the "Online only" save option is enabled, it still retains cached files and other data locally. You can help us try:

1. Check OneDrive settings

Enable Files On-Demand: Make sure Files On-Demand is enabled in OneDrive settings. This way, only the files you access are downloaded locally, while other files remain online-only, reducing local storage space usage.

Open OneDrive settings on a Mac: Click the OneDrive icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Select "Preferences". Under the "Settings" tab, make sure "Files On-Demand" is enabled.

2. Clear the cache

OneDrive may store file caches locally even if they are in "Online Only" state. You can try clearing the OneDrive cache to see if it solves the problem:

Exit OneDrive. Go to ~/Library/Application Support/OneDrive/ folder and delete the cache files there. Restart OneDrive and check if the problem is solved.

3. Reset OneDrive

(Before resetting your OneDrive, please make sure your files have been synchronized or backed up successfully to avoid the reset affecting your files)

You can refer to the detailed information in the following link to help you reset OneDrive:

Reset OneDrive - Microsoft Support

At the same time, the information about this issue needs to be explained to you:

We have also received feedback from other users about this issue, and we have collected information and confirmed the specific cause of the problem with relevant departments. We are worried that this may be related to the profile detection that OneDrive runs in the system.

If your operation still does not work, we also recommend that you can put forward your suggestions and ideas on the dedicated feedback platform OneDrive · Community (English only), where dedicated personnel will pay attention to your feedback and comment on it.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best Regards, 

Zenobia.Z | Microsoft Community Support Specialist