Reclaim Your Storage: iCloud, RAM & Space-Saving Secrets

This week on Mac Geek Gab 1150, Pilot Pete, Adam Christianson, and Dave Hamilton pack an Embrace Your Geekness Day episode with Quick Tips you’ll put to work immediately. You’ll learn how to schedule birthday messages so you never miss one, silence those pesky automatic Shortcuts notifications, and give Apple Intelligence the context it needs to actually help. From automating Theater Mode the moment CarPlay connects, to using your iPhone to check for ticks, to texting “Marco” so your lost iPhone sings until you find it, these are the tips that keep you sharp. You’ll also dig into searching Safari history to retrace your steps, building Smart Folders to hunt down space-hogging files, and using Photos’ Map utility to surface shots from wherever you are.

Then it’s your questions, answered. You’ll find out how to identify and clear runaway RAM, where Messages in the Cloud actually lives, and how to reclaim iCloud storage with tools like PowerPhotos and Gemini 2. You’ll get the real story on Time Machine drives and Spotlight, plus how to speed up sluggish Notes syncing. In Cool Stuff Found, the crew serves up Catchin’ Sync, the OBSBOT Tiny 3 webcam, Hyperspace for reclaiming space with file clones, and imessage-exporter to back up your texts. It’s an hour-plus of geek gold, and if you tune in every week, you Don’t Get Caught missing the fix you needed.

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1150 for Monday, July 13th, 2026
- July 13th: Embrace Your Geekness Day
- MGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a license to Mole
Quick Tips
- 00:00:01 Jim-QT-Schedule Sending of Birthday Messages
- 00:04:16 JT Ray-QT-Disable automatic Shortcuts notifications
- 00:06:33 QT-Apple Intelligence and its context
- 00:09:26 Todd-Automate Theater Mode when CarPlay is enabled
- 00:10:44 Troy-QT-Use your iPhone to check for ticks
- 00:12:49 Larry-QT-Text Marco to your lose iPhone and have it play a song until you find it
- 00:18:31 Andy-QT-Search Safari’s History to find places you’ve visited
- 00:20:12 KiwiGraham-QT-Setup Smart Folders to find large files
- 00:23:38 Greg-QT-Use Photos > Utilities > Map to find photos in your current location (and elsewhere)
Sponsors
- 00:26:42 SPONSOR: Helix Sleep makes premium mattresses and bedding that are customized to fit your personal needs, and conveniently shipped to your door. Go to https://helixsleep.com/MGG for 27% Off Sitewide.
- 00:27:50 SPONSOR: CleanMyMac. Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use our code MACGEEK for 20% off at https://clnmy.com/MACGEEK
- 00:29:02 SPONSOR: OneSkin. Born from over a decade of longevity research, OneSkin’s OS-01 Peptide™ is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MGG at https://www.oneskin.co/MGG #oneskinpod #ad
Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared!
- 00:30:31 Bill-1148-How do you identify and clear up RAM usage?
  - iStat Menus
  - Marco Arment’s Quitter
- 00:39:23 Gary-1149-Where can I see Messages In The Cloud?
- 00:44:17 Roy-How can I clean up my iCloud storage?
  - PowerPhotos
  - Gemini 2, the duplicate finder (and “similar finder”)
- 00:53:25 Bill-1148-Turns out you can’t exclude Time Machine drives from Spotlight
- 00:56:51 Henry-1148-Speeding Up Notes Syncing
Cool Stuff Found
- 01:01:20 Andy-1149-CSF-Catchin’ Sync
- 01:02:15 Andy-CSF-Obsbot Tiny3 Webcam
- 01:08:53 Harvey-CSF-Hyperspace to use file clones to save space
- 01:11:44 Chris-CSF-1149–imessage-exporter to export your iMessages
01:17:42 MGG 1150 Outtro
- MGG Monthly Giveaway
- Bandwidth Provided by CacheFly
- Pilot Pete’s Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts)
- The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!
- Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts
- MGG Merch is Available!
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- Mac Geek Gab YouTube Page
- Mac Geek Gab Live Calendar
- This Week’s MGG Premium Contributors
- MGG Apple Podcasts Reviews
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- 224-888-GEEK
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- BackBeat Media Podcast Network