Your computer and the external drives you may use store all of your personal data.

But there are far less destructive ways to make sure your data is gone for good. Well, taking a sledgehammer or projectile weapon to your old machine is certainly one way to make the data irretrievable, and it can be enormously cathartic as long as you follow appropriate safety and disposal protocols. We only include products that have been independently selected by Input's editorial team.What do I do with a Mac that still has personal data on it? Do I take out the disk drive and smash it? Do I sweep it with a really strong magnet? Is there a difference in how I handle a hard drive (HDD) versus a solid-state drive (SSD)? Input may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. I tried out a bunch of options to get the job done - read on for my favorites. Or, to really be safe, only delete files you know you don’t need.) (If you’re not sure whether or not it’s okay to delete some unknown file, we’d recommend Googling it to see what it’s used for. Here’s the best thing you can do: Download an app to visualize your disk space, find which files are eating up your drive, then work on deleting them. The Storage Management pane is at best an overview of the massive clutter that’s collected in your Mac. You can save space by optimizing storage, the notification tells you, along with the choice of either closing the notification (temporary bliss) or “managing” your space (eternally frustrating). When the dreaded notification pops up in the upper right of your Mac screen, it can feel maddening: Your disk is almost full.

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