{"id":237,"date":"2024-10-17T16:09:07","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a.flowindsurfing.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/how-to-permanently-delete-files-on-a-mac-to-prevent-them-from-reappearing\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:39:38","slug":"how-to-permanently-delete-files-on-a-mac-to-prevent-them-from-reappearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/17\/how-to-permanently-delete-files-on-a-mac-to-prevent-them-from-reappearing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to permanently delete files on a Mac to prevent them from reappearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-content cf entry-content content-spacious\">\n<p><strong>Have you noticed that files or apps on your Mac can sometimes seemingly refuse to delete, regardless of how many times you try?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a frustrating and confusing issue but luckily it\u2019s easy to permanently delete files and learn why a file may not be cooperative. Read on to follow our guide on how to permanently delete files on your Mac.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-you-ll-need\">What you\u2019ll need:<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Either a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/best\/best-macbook-3527944\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MacBook<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/best\/best-mac-3985186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mac<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-short-version\">The short version:<\/h2>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Move the item to bin<\/li>\n<li>Open Bin<\/li>\n<li>Click Empty<\/li>\n<li>Click Empty Bin<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<section class=\"block video-player\"><\/section>\n<div class=\"schema-how-to wp-block-yoast-how-to-block\">\n<ol class=\"schema-how-to-steps \">\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714752023721\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  1.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Move the item to bin<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/1-Move-item-to-bin.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">There are a few ways to do this. You can either simply drag the item straight into the Bin icon or you can also right-click on the item and select Move to Bin, as shown here.<\/p>\n<p>Doing this will only temporarily move your unwanted files to the Bin. Next, you\u2019ll need to permanently remove them from your computer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714752074286\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  2.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Open Bin<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/2-Open-Bin-icon.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">Once you\u2019ve put your item in the Bin, click on the Bin icon which should be found at the bottom of your Mac\u2019s screen. If it\u2019s not there, then search for Bin using the search icon at the top of your Mac.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714752105040\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  3.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Click Empty<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/3-Click-Empty.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">You\u2019ll find this in the top-right corner of the Bin app.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714752140598\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  4.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Click Empty Bin<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/4-Click-Empty-Bin.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">This will permanently delete everything in your Bin. It\u2019s worth checking the contents of the Bin before emptying, as once you empty you won\u2019t be able to retrieve them.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"block block-mobile-ad block-mobile-ad-double\" style=\"height: 620px\">\n<div class=\"ad-label\" style=\"height: 20px\">\n        Advertisement    <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-inner\" id=\"ad_mobile-in-article_1\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"wp-block-keystone-faqs\">\n<h2 class=\"faqs-title wp-block-heading\" id=\"troubleshooting\">Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block faqs-content\">\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1714752176699\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">The item I want to delete keeps reappearing? What\u2019s going wrong?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">The item may be locked, which is why it\u2019s not able to be deleted. To check if the item is locked, select it, then choose File, and then Get Info. From here, untick the Locked box. You may need to enter your Apple ID password or use your Touch ID to do this.<br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"956\" height=\"680\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PScwIDAgMSAxJyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"attachment-full size-full lazyload\" alt=\"Screenshot of Get Info on item\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Get-Info-for-file.png\"><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1714752212641\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">I moved the wrong item to the Bin or have changed my mind, how can I restore it?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">To restore your item from the Bin, open the Bin icon. Then select the item you want to restore and select File then select Put Back.<br \/><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot of Bin app on Mac with Put Back option highlighted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Put-Back-from-Bin.png\"><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"review-specs\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you noticed that files or apps on your Mac can sometimes seemingly refuse to delete, regardless of how many times you try?\u00a0 This is a frustrating and confusing issue but luckily it\u2019s easy to permanently delete files and learn why a file may not be cooperative. Read on to follow our guide on how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}