User level: Level 2 (203 points)I was doing a spotlight search and found two identical files all stored in separate folders. I don't know what the Purgatory folder is for.
/Users/myname/Library/Application Support/FileProvider/Purgatory/removed_domain_BC9B75A8-D1F8-47DD-9785-E8FD453E0632/com~apple~CloudDocs/Documents/Documents - Silly MBP/Name/Photos.12.27.2025/2023/12/07/M
/Users/myname/Documents/Documents - Silly MBP/Name/Photos.12.27.2025/2023/12/07/M
Posted on Sep 27, 2026 8:42 AM
User level: Level 9 (72,871 points)Sep 27, 2026 8:53 AM in response to Pamela Mullen2
That folder is transient storage used by Cloud syncing services (dropbox, Evernote, etc.). You can safely ignore files stored in that folder, they will be cleared out eventually.
Also worth noting that on modern Macs, duplicated files do not take up additional space. That’s a benefit of the APFS file system.
https://eclecticlight.co/2023/01/02/inside-apfs-from-containers-to-clones/
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256365978