Is there a safe way to get rid of the old, remnant versions of iPhone apps that iTunes keeps?

Question about

Add tags:

ryan July 06, 2010

Is there a safe way to get rid of the old, remnant versions of iPhone apps that iTunes keeps?

I was looking to free up some space on my hard drive and discovered my apps folder (/User/YOURUSERNAME/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/) is taking up about a gig, largely due to a bunch of older versions of iPhone apps that are clearly no longer needed. Example:

AIM.ipa
AIM 1.ipa
AIM 1.1.3.ipa
AIM 2.ipa
AIM 3.ipa
AIM 4.ipa
AIM 4.3.3.ipa
AIM 5.ipa

I don't use a TON of apps so I can only imagine that for some people that folder is going to be even larger than a gig.

answer this question

top answers

ryan's pick

WeaponII 1 year ago

That's a shocker to me, as my iTunes automatically deletes the old version and replaces it with the new. As a result I have to constantly empty the trash.

If I find out exactly how I got it that way I'll update.

mark as good answer

6 people like this answer

| 1 reply

ryan's pick

WeaponII 1 year ago

Do you folks let iTunes manage your media? I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

mark as good answer

3 people like this answer

| 21 replies

rromero 2010-07-06 21:31:56

i let iTunes manage my media and it automatically deletes old copies when i download new ones...also am on a Mac.

whereismyjetpac 2010-07-06 21:34:33

I bet Ryan doesn't have his preferences set for iTunes to manage his media. sounds like you might be right.

tsuvik 2010-07-06 21:35:05

Hmmm, I don't. I usually update apps on the iPod touch. So whenever I sync my iPod touch with iTunes, it automatically deletes the previous versions of the app.

ryan 2010-07-06 21:37:24

If what you're asking is whether I have "Manually manage music and videos" checked under the Summary tab, I don't.

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 21:50:46

That's not what they're referring to, I believe. Look in Preferences, Advanced. Make sure 'Keep iTunes Media Folder organized' is checked. If it is, and you still have the problem, let me know.

WeaponII 2010-07-06 21:52:18

No, iTunes> Preferences> Advanced> 'Keep iTunes media folder organized'

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 21:54:39

I don't have that checkbox. Are you using the newest version of iTunes, 9.2?

ryan 2010-07-06 21:59:54

That checkbox has been there for VERY long time -- if it's checked, iTunes auto-loads content onto your devices. It's present in 9.2, and for me it's (still) unchecked.

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 22:02:42

No, Ryan, my reply of 'i don't have that checkbox' was to WeaponII, about a different checkbox (he's since edited his post), not to you.

Did you find the 'Keep iTunes Media folder organized' checkbox? It controls your Media folder, not your device. It should be checked if you don't want extra files popping up.

dypeterc 2010-07-06 22:04:49

+1. check this box

ryan 2010-07-06 22:05:23

I do not, and it's going to remain unchecked -- I have hundreds of gigs of music organized the way I prefer, and I don't really want iTunes messing with it.

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 22:07:43

Then your only option is to go through and manually delete old apps (or do one of the other options posted here involving deleting and then redownloading or syncing).

That checkbox is Apple's way of letting you either let them have control, or saying you want to do it yourself.

If you ant them to organize only some things, and not others, they have no way of reading your mind to know which is which, y'know?

ryan 2010-07-06 22:40:57

Are you even sure that option is related? Is this documented anywhere? The description of the option is:

"Places files into artist and album folders, and names the files based on the disc number, track number, and the song title."

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 22:52:40

That's a good question.

I'm trying to do a test to verify it one way or the other, but it's hard without access to your machine.

Certainly, though, after an extensive search of the settings, this is the only one which sounds related to your problem. And since I have it checked and am not having that problem, I see a causal relationship (cum hoc ergo propter hoc). Perhaps you could search out some anecdotal evidence from your friends? If anyone else is having this problem, you could compare settings.

ryan 2010-07-06 22:55:45

Doesn't actually sound like anyone else is really seeing this issue. FWIW, all the old app files have timestamps from 2008, I wonder if this is a really old legacy issue of iTunes that has held over.

GregoryHarbin 2010-07-06 23:17:41

So it doesn't occur when you update apps now? This is an odd problem indeed.

What I'd do, then, is just delete any files in your app folder older than last June. If any such apps are still on your iDevice, they'll be copied back (just the newest) next time you sync.

superflush 2010-07-07 02:03:46

I think it very well may be related to the "Keep iTunes Media Folder organized" option. Sure it doesn't say anything about keeping apps organized, but none of the settings say anything about the apps. This is the only setting I can find that would make any sense.

I don't think its a legacy issue. I had the original iPhone and since I can remember using apps, they've always gone to the trash when updated.
There must be other people who have "Keep iTunes Media Folder organized" unchecked. I'd be curious if they have the same collection of old apps issue.

carlherbst 2010-07-07 02:30:23

I actually noticed this same thing sometime early last year I think, not near my mac now to check to see if it continues to do so, but I'd be willing to bet it still does as I've never seen apps automatically moved to the trash after updating apps from the app store...

Were you trying to move a large amount of apps from one mac to another? Heh, that's just how I happened to find out, after drilling down to the apps dir in itunes.

ryan 2010-07-07 03:02:24

It's worth noting that more recently downloaded and updated apps don't suffer from this issue. Between this and the timestamps, I'm actually beginning to believe it's simply a legacy issue that Apple never cleaned up.

npbeers 2010-07-07 11:27:18

I know I used to have this issue and had to just manually delete the old versions... I have not noticed it being an issue lately though.

superflush 2010-07-07 14:36:18

It looks like there are some people stating that the auto-removal started in iTunes 8.0: forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=560645. iTunes 8.0 was released on September 9th of 2008: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_version_history. If this is the case, then all of the old apps should be from sometime in 2008 (unless there is some app that hasn't been updated in 2 years). This should make deleting the old apps a bit easier. You should be able to sort by date modified to delete the old apps.

community pick

italiano40 1 year ago

honestly i think itunes 9.2 automatically deletes those, because i just checked my itunes mobile applications folder and i only had one version of each app so i don't think it is an option i think it auto does that

mark as good answer

4 people like this answer

| 2 replies

sort by

votes
date

5 more answers

tsuvik 2010-07-06 21:22:41

For me, iTunes automatically deletes the older versions of the apps whenever the app is updated.

mark as good answer

3 people like this answer

| add reply

waynedixon 2010-07-06 21:16:46

The easiest way to do it, in my opinion is to arrange them via date, and all but the newest of each application. Either that or right mouse click on each app and figure out which version they are on and delete the others. There may be an automated way, but I'm not currently aware of it.

Alternative you could delete ALL of your apps, then go through the process of 'buying' them, and then iTunes will let you know you already bought it and re-download it for free. This way, you can also get rid of the apps that you don't use by not re-downloading them.

mark as good answer

1 person likes this answer

| add reply

whereismyjetpac 2010-07-06 21:33:18

What I would do, because looking through a folder of Apps does not sound like a good time to me. I'd delete them all, plug my iPhone in, right click on the iPhone in the devices list, and choose 'transfer purchases' bam, 1 copy of each app!

mark as good answer

1 person likes this answer

| 1 reply

jsb011 2010-07-06 21:15:37

I'd like to know too about what is safe to delete since this is something I noticed recently when I was backing up that folder.

mark as good answer

0 people like this answer

| add reply

Jonbruc 2010-07-07 09:07:04

itunes has always deleted those as far as I know. I see them pop up in the trash. I don't have AIM, but I don't imagine it would behave differently...

mark as good answer

0 people like this answer

| add reply

follow this question

Tips for giving the best answers

Sometimes it's just little details that separates a great and not so great answer! Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind:

1: Be complete and thorough. Don't skimp on the details!
2: Try not to answer with a question. Because that's not really an answer, right?
3: A little research goes a long way. Back up your claims and assumptions!
4: Try to be patient, tech questions can be complicated.
5: You are awesome for both reading this and answering questions.

gdgt

Is there a safe way to get rid of the old, remnant versions of iPhone apps that iTunes keeps?

Related questions

15 users following this question:

Tips for giving the best answers