Question 1: “Delete iPhone backups from my MacBook? I cannot find where iPhone backups are stored; I'd like to delete them to clear some space on MacBook. Please show me where I can find the iTunes backups and whether or not I could delete iTunes backup on Mac. Any advice would be appreciated.”

Question 2: “Delete iTunes if using iCloud backup? My notebook pc has no room left and I need to make space. iTunes is not working for me with error message, not enough storage. But I am using iCloud backup. Can I remove/delete iTunes backup on PC without affecting any data on my devices? NB: I will try to reinstall iTunes on my notebook by segmenting the hard drive (or getting someone take to do it lol).”

Quite a lot of Apple users have been wondering a satisfactory answer to questions like above, no matter they are Mac or Windows users. We frequently back up our iPhone to PC or Mac through iTunes to avoid data loss. An iTunes backup could help us keep all data and files from the iOS device safe and complete. However, sometimes we might get incomplete iTunes backup due to unstable iOS-computer connection, computer error, iTunes running error, etc. Meanwhile, frequent iTunes backup for the iOS devices would also occupy a lot of hard drive storage. Therefore we may need to delete iTunes backup to either get rid of incomplete backup or spare storage space. Since our iOS devices are backed up to iTunes, some people might have no idea where to delete iTunes backup on PC and Mac.

If you happen to search for solutions on how to delete iTunes backup on Mac and PC, this guide would be helpful to you. We would like to introduce you 4 ways to delete iTunes backup on PC and Mac.

Part 1: How to Delete iTunes Backup on PC

If you are using a Windows computer, you could follow the below 2 ways to delete iTunes backup on PC. Both ways would help you remove unwanted iTunes backup file successfully. You could choose the way that meets your needs more.

Solution 1: Delete iTunes backup on PC through folder exploring

You could directly open your File Explorer on your Windows computer to locate the target iTunes Backup file for deleting. iTunes saves backups to a Backup folder in your Users folder. Backups serve as a safe copy of your entire device. So while you might be able to view or access a backup file's contents, the contents usually aren't stored in a format that you can read. Though you can copy the Backup folder, you should never move it to a different folder, external drive, or network drive in case your iTunes backup file gets damaged and iTunes won’t restore the backup file to your iOS devices.

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The location of the Backup folder varies by the operating system. Generally, you could find a list of your backups here: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\. But this location might be changed according to your computer OS. You could refer to the below directories to find your iTunes Backup list:

  1. In Windows 7, click Start.
  2. In Windows 8, click the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner.
  3. In Windows 10, click the Search bar next to the Start button.

Or, you could make use of the Windows Explorer function to search iTunes backup folder by pressing “Win+R” keys on keyboard, entering “%appdata%” or “%USERPROFILE%“ (without the quotation marks) into the Search bar, and then pressing “Return” key on keyboard. Then double-click these folders: "Apple" or "Apple Computer" > MobileSync > Backup. Now you will see all available iTunes backup files for deleting and removing.
It should be noted that you shouldn’t edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files because these actions might ruin the files. For example, to restore from a relocated backup file, you need to move it back or the file won't work. Backups serve as a safe copy of your entire device.

Solution 2: Delete iTunes backup on PC via iTunes

Actually, as the data management center, iTunes not only helps you back up iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod) but also lets you manage the backup easily. It offers direct operations for you to delete iTunes backup.

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To delete iTunes backup on PC directly from iTunes, you need to go to the Device control panel of iTunes. Follow the below steps to learn how to delete iTunes backup directly on PC:

  1. Launch iTunes program on your PC. Make sure you have the latest iTunes installed. If not, download and install the latest version.
  2. On the menu bar, click the “Edit” menu icon and then choose “Preferences” option.
  3. On the newly pop-up window, go to open the “Devices” tab. Then you arrive the “Devices Preferences” window.
  4. Now, in the “Device Backups” box, you will see all available iTunes backups. Choose the one you don’t want and then click the “Delete Backup” option.

In this way, you could easily delete iTunes backup on PC, no matter which operating system you have installed for your computer. It’s the most convenient solution for deleting iTunes backup on computer.

Part 2: How to Delete iTunes Backup on Mac

Similar to Windows users, Mac users also have 2 different solutions on deleting iTunes backup on Mac. It’s even easier and more convenient for Mac users to delete iTunes backups on Mac since Mac computer offers less choices on installation directory of iTunes.

Solution 1: Delete iTunes backup on Mac from Application Folder

Deleting your backup of iTunes from your computer may also be done manually by removing it from its immediate location. Go through the following path on your Mac: “Library> Application Support >MobileSync > Backup”. Although the names of the file may seem strange, you can check the date they were created to decide which files to delete. This directory might vary if you have consolidated your iTunes or relocated your iTunes library.
As mentioned above, you can’t edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files to avoid damage upon iTunes backup files.

Solution 2: Delete iTunes backup on Mac within iTunes

Also, for Mac users, you could directly open iTunes on your Mac computer and then directly delete iTunes backups on your Mac computer, just like Windows users do as mentioned above. To make things easier, we have listed the steps below in detail:

  1. Launch iTunes on Mac. Make sure iTunes is up to date.
  2. Click “iTunes” option on the menu bar.
  3. Open the “Preferences” option.
  4. Go to open the “Devices” tab.
  5. Click on the backup you want to remove/delete from the “Device Backups” box.
  6. Click “Delete Backup” option below.

No matter where you save your iTunes backup, in this way, you could easily delete iTunes backup on Mac.

Part 3: What to Do if iTunes Doesn’t Back up iPhone

If you want to back up iPhone selectively, you could choose iTransfer, a perfect iTunes alternative in iOS data transfer and management. As a professional iOS data transfer and backup tool, iTransfer could not only help you transfer data from iPhone to computer or iTunes for backup, but also transfer data from computer/iTunes directly to iOS devices. You could preview and then select data and files from iPhone of up to 14 types to computer, including pictures, videos, music, books, bookmarks, etc.

iTransfer

Leawo iTransfer 

☉ Transfer files among iOS devices, iTunes and PCs with ease.
☉ Transfer up to 14 kinds of data and files without iTunes.
☉ Support the latest iOS devices like iPhone X, iPhone XR, etc.
☉ Play back, view, and delete data and files on iOS devices.

Follow the below steps to learn how to back up iPhone to computer via iTransfer but not iTunes.

  1. Download and install Leawo iTransfer on your computer. And then launch it.
  2. Connect your iPhone to computer.
  3. On Leawo iTransfer, navigate to “iPhone icon> LIBRARY” on the left sidebar.
  4. Then open the category you want to back up, and preview and select data and files for backing up.
  5. After checking data and files you want to back up, click on the transfer button at the bottom, or right click on the selected file and then choose “Transfer to > My Computer”.
  6. On the pop-up window, set output directory in the “Save to” box.
  7. Finally, click the “GO” button to start iPhone backup process.

You then only need to wait for the transfer and backup to complete. In this way, you could just back up the data and files you need onto computer without using iTunes.

transfer-files-03

Extension: How to Turn off iTunes Auto Backup

We know that iTunes would automatically back up your iOS device once you connect your iOS devices to computer. Is there any way to stop the iTunes audio backup? Follow the below steps:

  1. Launch iTunes on Mac. Make sure iTunes is up to date.
  2. Click “iTunes” option on the menu bar.
  3. Open the “Preferences” option.
  4. Go to open the “Devices” tab.
  5. Check the “Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.”

Now, you have successfully turned off iTunes audio backup. This will help you avoid quite a few troubles brought by auto iTunes backup like insufficient storage, unwanted backup, etc.