Every gigabyte, explained.

Not unless you turn it on. Scans only read, and a cleanup runs only a plan you approved, moving items to the Trash so you can put them back until you empty it. Maintain can clear safe caches and logs with a day’s notice and, only if you separately authorize it, remove those exact items for good after 7 days in the Trash. Both are off by default.

Only when you choose it and confirm. Removing container images and stopped virtual machines happens through each tool and bypasses the Trash; Empty Trash deletes everything in it; and Maintain’s optional final removal deletes items it moved after 7 days. Each says it can’t be undone before it runs. Compress rewrites files in place without changing their contents, and Uncompress, which is free, reverses it. Everything else goes to the Trash first.

Container storage is cleared through each engine’s own rules, never by deleting its disk image. Build folders are offered only when their tool marks them as rebuildable. Hugging Face models, Tart images and anything changed in the last two weeks always wait for your review.

No, it’s optional. Without it, Disk Whisk still scans your home folder, and macOS may ask before it looks in Desktop, Documents, Downloads or the Trash; if you say no, the rest of the scan still works. With Full Disk Access, it can also size Mail, Messages and other app data. Either way, scans only read. You can change it any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access.

Scanning, review, cleanup and History all happen on your Mac. No account is needed, and there’s no telemetry: no analytics, crash reporting or ads SDK. The app contacts our server only for licensing and, from version 0.9.5, a daily update check you can turn off. Ask Disk Whisk is optional: it answers locally, or with your own DeepSeek API key, in which case it sends your question and, for each item, a random ID, its category, a broad storage domain such as “developer cache” or “installer”, its size, last-changed date and safety level, a generic reason and impact, how it can be recovered, and a count of related items, plus your disk’s total size and free space. Never file names, paths or contents, so keep names out of your question too.

Scans, the storage map, every explanation, Make Room plans, container insights, Compress estimates, Uncompress, Ask Disk Whisk, History and restore are free forever. Pro runs the cleanups, including Make Room and container cleanup, compresses what you choose, and adds Storage Story and Maintain automation. Every download includes a 7-day Pro trial you start when you’re ready, with no account or card. When it ends, Disk Whisk returns to Free and everything free keeps working. Pro checks in online at least once every 30 days; scans, History and restore always work offline.

Moving files to the Trash doesn’t free space until the Trash is emptied. Disk Whisk shows what moved and what you actually gained as separate numbers. Once you empty the Trash, the space is yours and those items can no longer be restored.