This new Mac app uses animated flies to tell you when to take out the trash

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that not everyone agrees on the best way to handle their computer’s trash directory. Some folks like to let it go until their computer yells at them about storage, while others empty it every single day. I’m somewhere in the middle, but I do try not to let it go too far. And I think I found the best tool for that job a couple of days ago: Bananabin.

When the data kept in your Trash folder passes a certain threshold, Bananabin surrounds with buzzing, animated flies that you can shoo away with your mouse. That’s it. That’s the app.

GIF: Wes Davis / The Verge

You can configure the fly threshold from the app’s icon in the menu bar; the three options are Janitor Mode (10MB), The Recycler (1GB), and Garbage Hoarder (10GB). The app free right now, while it’s in beta. Leon Schrijvers, one of Bananabin’s developers, said in an email to The Verge that they’re still working out some bugs (heh). The flies won’t show up if you keep for an iCloud Trash bin, nor will it if you keep the folder an external drive. Also, it only works for macOS Sonoma at the moment, though they’re looking into adding support for macOS Ventura later.

Something to note: Bananabin requires accessibility and full disk access permissions to work. The app’s site says this lets it find the Trash directory and check to for when it’s full. That seems plausible, but it’s something to know, in case it’s a dealbreaker for you.

If that’s fine by you, you can try the app by heading to Bananabin’s website (here’s the link one more time). You have to provide an email address to get a download link.