Finding my Mac a bit slow and not able to run as smoothly as I’d have liked, I decided to shoot out the clutter. While cleaning up the storage hogging files and also discovering the tricks to keep them at bay, I came to know that the stock Mail app was playing the villainous role.

Jul 24, 2020.

By default, Apple’s email app automatically download all the recent attachments (up to 15 months old) regardless of their importance. As I like to manage storage smartly, I found this feature unnecessary. And hence, I decided to completely stop Mac’s Mail app from downloading attachments automatically.

Should you also want to disable this auto-downloading feature, follow along as I walk you through the quick steps!

How to Prevent Mac’s Mail App from Downloading Attachments Automatically

Step #1. Launch Mail app on your Mac.

Step #2. Now, click on the Mail menu at the top left and choose Preferences.

Step #3. Next, ensure that the Accounts tab is selected. Then, choose the email account which attachments you no longer want to download automatically.

Step #4. Click on the drop-down menu next to Download Attachments.

Step #5. Next up, you have three options:

All: Automatically download all the attachments
Recent: Download only the attachments, which are less than 15 months old
None: Prevent the app from downloading the attached items automatically

Select “None” if you want to have complete control over which attached a file to download and which one to ignore.

You can configure the download attachment drop-down menu of all of your email accounts based on your requirement. Once you’ve perfectly customized it, quit the setting.

That’s pretty much it!

Wrapping up…

Mac Mail Auto Download Attachments Download

So, that’s how you can prevent the Mail app from cluttering the storage on your macOS device. One of the simplest tricks to help the Mac run smoothly is to smartly keep the junk files away.

If you ignore them, they will keep piling up in the background and eventually slow down your device. Therefore, never let them have a free run.

You might want to read these articles as well as:

Did you find this hands-on guide helpful? Do not forget to share your valuable feedback.

The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.

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Mail User Guide

There are various ways to work with attachments in email messages you receive.

View email attachments

In the Mail app on your Mac, select a message that includes attachments.
Look for the Attachment icon next to the sender’s name in the message list.
In the message, do one of the following:
- Open an attachment in an app: Double-click the attachment.
- Preview an attachment without opening it: Select the attachment, then press the Space bar, or force click the attachment.

Mac Mail Auto Download Attachments Chrome

Some attachments—like images or one-page PDF documents—are displayed directly in the message. If you’d rather view the attachment as an icon, Control-click it, then choose View as Icon from the shortcut menu. To display the attachment again, Control-click it, then choose View in Place.

Save email attachments

In the Mail app on your Mac, move the pointer over the header of a message.
Click the Attach button that appears, click the name of an attachment or choose Save All, then choose a location.
You can also select a message, then choose File > Save Attachments. Or drag an attachment from the message to the desktop to save it there.

Email attachments are saved in the Downloads folder, available in the Dock. To specify a different location, choose Mail > Preferences, click General, then select a folder.

Delete email attachments

In the Mail app on your Mac, select a message that includes one or more attachments.
Choose Message > Remove Attachments.
The message remains in the mailbox and is annotated to indicate that all attachments were manually removed. For IMAP accounts, attachments are also deleted from the mail server and can’t be retrieved.

When you delete a message that includes an attachment, the attachment is deleted too. To change this setting, choose Mail > Preferences, click General, click the “Remove unedited downloads” pop-up menu, then choose an option. Mail doesn’t delete attachments that you have saved.

Mac Mail Attachments As File

Mail automatically downloads attachments you receive based on the download option you set in Account Information preferences in Mail.

Mac Mail Auto Download Attachments Free

If you send or forward images or PDF documents you receive to other people, you can mark up the attachments with comments, drawings, or a signature before you send them.

See alsoAdd attachments to emails in Mail on MacDelete emails in Mail on Mac