10 Secrets of Your Mac that Apple Doesn’t Share on the Surface

Why is your Mac getting slower every day? The answers Apple is hiding from you! As you navigate your digital world, you may be unaware of the hidden secrets your Mac conceals beneath its sleek surface. Garbage accumulation, hidden files in the Mac, these and others are the secrets that Apple isn’t exactly eager to disclose. In this article, we’re about to delve into the enigmatic world of your Mac and unveil the ten best-kept secrets that could hold the key to understanding the mysteries of its performance. These concealed gems are the answers to why your Mac is behaving the way it is. The importance of knowing these secrets is that, of course, once learned, you can take action on them and regain control over your device’s performance.

Why is your Mac slowing down?

1. Myths About the “Unkillability” of MacOS

There is a myth that has been perpetuated in the tech world for years that Mac devices are impervious to common issues that plague other operative systems, and that they are going to last forever, performing every day like they were brand new. This isn’t the truth: Mac devices are subject to slowdowns due to garbage accumulation.

What is the garbage made of? It’s the gradual build-up of unnecessary files and data that overload and slow down the device. These files and data come from browsers’ cache, browser history, useless files in the download folder or in the Trash, duplicate files, and other digital clutter that can gradually bog down the system’s performance. Other than decreasing storage space, the digital garbage overloads the systems causing slowdowns, longer boot-up sequences, and system errors and failure.

Being aware of the existence of such garbage accumulation in your Mac is the first step for improving the Mac’s performance and lengthening its lifespan at the top of its possibilities.

2. Hidden Files

Hidden files on a Mac are those system files and directories that are intentionally obscured from the user’s view, as they typically contain sensitive or core system information. These files can accumulate over time, often without our knowledge, and include temporary files, caches, and logs, which play a crucial role in the system’s functionality.

1. Cache: caches are temporary storage areas that hold frequently accessed data. They are there to reduce the need to re-download or recompute information and, as a consequence, speed up processes like opening a website page or accessing your email with your account. Because you don’t know these hidden files are there, over time, the caches can grow in size and become outdated, taking up valuable storage space.
2. Logs: logs are records of the system’s activity, like errors and processes. They are hidden because the user doesn’t need them and wouldn’t know what to do with them, but they are important for troubleshooting. Despite their importance, however, the accumulation of logs, just like it happens with caches, can grow large and consume disk space, affecting the device’s performance.

Temporary Files: temporary files are created by applications and software for various purposes. Very often, these files don’t get erased once the application has done with them so they remain there, occupying a lot of storage space and not having any use if not having an impact on your device’s performance (and, of course, overall storage space).

3. Parasitic programs

A lot of Mac users are unaware of the applications that their Mac runs in the background. These are applications that you don’t actively launch, but that are opened every time you turn your Mac on without you noticing it and keep running in the background, consuming the Mac’s resources such as storage space, RAM and CPU, and charge.

A lot of these programs are set as “Startup Items” or “Logins Items”. These are the programs that are launched automatically when you turn your computer on. They are often programs that you’ve set as Startup Items without noticing, maybe clicking on some pop-up you didn’t read carefully; they could be messaging or notetaking platforms, and — very often — antiviruses.

Other programs aren’t launched at the startup of your computer, but they just keep running in the background after you’ve used them. A lot of programs don’t shut down completely unless you actively choose to do it as background applications.

All these parasite programs that, for one reason or another, run in the background require resources that are not available for what you’re actually doing on the computer. That’s why your computer is slower.

4. Duplicate files

Duplicate files on a Mac usually need no introduction: they are files that exist in your computer in more than one copy, often stored in different folders so that you usually don’t realize how many copies of the same files you’re storing.

Duplicate files are also identical or similar pictures. When we download photos from our external devices, like our camera or smartphone, we often don’t realize how many photos we have of the same subject. What’s the point in having two identical photos, one in which the subject has an eye closed, and the second with both eyes open? The only point is overloading your computer and slowing it down.

5. Stale apps

We are all very familiar with uploads, but what a lot of users don’t know is that the older versions of the program can remain on your computer. In the best of scenarios, they only overload your storage space; sometimes, they cause slowdowns or crashes in the newer application.

6. Uninstallation traces

Regular app uninstallation is a common practice for Mac users looking to free up space or remove software they no longer need. However, the misconception that a standard uninstallation completely eradicates all traces of an application can lead to performance issues and clutter in the long run. While uninstalling an app through conventional means, like dragging it to the trash, can remove the main application files and folders, a significant amount of associated data often lingers behind, hidden from plain sight. These files remaining after uninstallation can include caches, preferences, logs, and more.

These leftovers might seem insignificant on their own, but — just like it happens with caches, logs, and other garbage files, they can accumulate over time, leading to reduced storage space, potential conflicts, and even performance degradation. This article explores why merely uninstalling apps in the standard way isn’t sufficient, shedding light on the Files Remaining after uninstallation and explaining the importance of thorough app removal processes to maintain a clean and efficient Mac system.

7. Language packs

The apps that work on your Mac are often available in multiple languages. When you pick a language, that specific language pack is downloaded to your Mac. Of course, you need your language pack to be able to navigate the software, but you don’t need superfluous language packs that have been downloaded by default or by mistake.

Language packs can be pretty big files that take up a lot of storage space and resources. As we’ve seen throughout the entire article, this affects not only the available storage space but also the performance of your device.

8. Errors and failures

System errors and failures are an inherent part of any computer’s life cycle and they can come in various forms: from software glitches and application crashes to hardware malfunctions and communication breakdowns between system components.

Errors and failures have a negative impact on your Mac’s performance when they aren’t efficiently addressed and when they leave remnants in the form of error logs and temporary files. When errors stack up over time, they start consuming a lot of disk space, leaving you with limited storage space and a slow Mac computer.

9. Temporary Files and Boot Disks

Temporary files are generated during various computing tasks, such as software installations, updates, and data processing. These files serve as transient storage for information that is only needed temporarily. Boot disks, on the other hand, are the drives from which the system loads its operating system and essential software when the computer is powered on. Both temporary files and boot disks can accumulate unnecessary files and data, especially when they are no longer needed — and, in most cases, they are there from previous system versions or software installation so they are no longer needed.

10. The Solution

Last but not least, another secret that Apple doesn’t tell out loud is that there is an easy solution to solve all these issues and maintain your Mac at its highest potential. Of course, you could manually delete all the unnecessary files, data, and packages we’ve mentioned, but there is a quicker and easier solution: using optimization apps for Mac.

Premium apps that are specifically built for cleaning and speeding Macs up can help you free up disk space on your Mac and improve your computer performance even if you are not a tech expert: the process is specifically designed to be easy and stress-free.

JWIZARD is one of the best solutions to improve your Mac performance without any effort. With a clean interface built to simplify the process, JWIZARD scans your entire system and provides a preview of all the junk files we’ve mentioned in this article, the ones that affect the computer’s speed and capability. Duplicate files, caches, logs, temporary files, errors and failures, and any unnecessary files are spotted by the program, so you can free up disk space in one move, without having to find and delete any unnecessary file one by one.

JWIZARD stands above its competitor because, other than being extremely effective, it’s also very easy to use. You can download it like a common Mac app from the App Store, and you can easily optimize your Mac on a neat and user-friendly interface.

Learn how JWIZARD can help your Mac get back to its former youthfulness and speed!