7 in 10 Mac Users Would Clean Cloud Storage More Often If They Knew Its Environmental Cost

Celebrating Earth Day, MacPaw surveys 1,000 Mac users on digital habits, emotional clutter, and how environmental awareness could reshape cleanup behavior

KYIV, Ukraine, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MacPaw, a global technology company creating a digital ecosystem for Mac users, today released a new Earth Day 2026 report from CleanMyMac, its flagship Mac care app. The report, based on a survey of 1,000 US Mac users, examines how people manage their digital files and whether understanding the environmental cost of unused data could shift cleanup habits.

The report frames digital clutter as both an emotional and environmental issue.

Key insights from the CleanMyMac Earth Day 2026 report:

• Cloud storage use is now near-universal among Mac users
• Digital clutter carries real emotional weight
• Fear of deleting the wrong file is the single biggest barrier to cleanup
• Environmental awareness could be the missing motivator for action

The report highlighted one clear finding: awareness may help change behavior. Among surveyed Mac users who store files in the cloud, 71.7% said they would clean old cloud files more often if they understood the environmental cost, and 84.3% said impact information would be useful when deciding what to keep or delete. Nearly one in three, or 31.1%, said they would clean much more often.

"What this report makes clear is that digital clutter does not feel physical, even though it has a real-world footprint," said Yuliia Chuzha, Head of Brand Marketing at MacPaw. "For many users, cleanup only becomes urgent when storage runs low. But our findings suggest that environmental awareness could create that motivation earlier, before digital clutter becomes a bigger burden for users and a heavier load on the systems that store it."

Why clutter accumulates and how it feels

The insights also show that digital clutter has an emotional side. More than 3 in 5 surveyed Mac users, or 61.1%, said they feel stressed or concerned when their storage starts running low. At the same time, 81% said cleaning up their digital space brings relief and mental clarity.

The clutter itself often comes from ordinary behavior. More than half of respondents said they leave many browser tabs open, save files to the desktop for later, or take screenshots they rarely revisit. 39.2% said they keep unnecessary files because they might need them someday, while 29% pointed to fear of deleting something important as their main cleanup barrier.

The physical reality behind digital storage

The report places these habits in a broader context by looking at the physical reality behind digital storage. Nearly all surveyed Mac users, 96.1%, store files in the cloud at least sometimes. Storing 1 TB of data in the cloud for a year uses roughly 40-70 kWh of electricity, and data centers globally consume hundreds of terawatt-hours each year.

The findings also point to an opportunity around Earth Day messaging. When asked what they would choose for a 20-minute reset, 55.5% of respondents selected a digital cleanup task if it were easy and streamlined.

For CleanMyMac by MacPaw, the report reflects a broader view of digital maintenance: one that connects device care with everyday behavior, peace of mind, and more conscious digital habits.

Read the full Earth Day report here: https://cdn.cleanmymac.com/images/earth-day-report-medium.pdf

About MacPaw

MacPaw is a global technology company founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, with offices in Boston, MA and the EU, creating a digital ecosystem for Mac users. Combining capabilities such as system care, cybersecurity, app discovery, and more, the ecosystem aims to unite MacPaw's suite of software, third-party tools, and AI solutions to collaborate on behalf of the user. Through Eney, an AI-powered assistant and the interface of the ecosystem, MacPaw aims to help users and developers within their workflows, driving the next generation of human-computer interaction.

Media Contact:

Name: Anastasiia Sulzhyk
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