This FOLDER contains the image files that were down loaded during sync. Open the "MobileDownloads.lrdata". folder to see the image files inside. The date is the creation date of the folder not the files inside.

You can and should choose a different folder to receive your synced images. Lightroom Creates this folder inside the Lightroom folder on the initial sync because it is not aware of any other folder outside the Lightroom folder. If you have not moved your synced image files you should open this folder in the Classic Folder panel and move the images to a better location. Once the folder is empty, you can use finder to delete it

In Lightroom Preferences on the Lightroom Sync tab you can specify a different folder scheme in the Location section.

Thde "Mobile Downloads.lrdata file is typically stored in the pictures > Lightroom folder. However if you look at "Lightroom Sync" tab of your preferences, the name and location where LrC stores files downloaded from LR/Cloud is shown and can be changed. If the preference is showing that file then keep it. If it is showing some other file or location than this is probably an older left over version.

I reccomend setting a file of your own for this purpose, typically in the same folder tree where you keep all your other images.

I just looked at my LrC preferences and the location for the LR synced images is unchecked. So I will select a location and see what happens.

Thanks for the help.

You probably still would want to move the images stored in Mobile Downloads.lrdata". to a different folder using The folder panel.

I recently stumbled upon a Lightroom folder buried in the Pictures folder on my Mac that contains a single file Mobile Downloads.lrdata with 7.58 GB of data. It was created on 6/25/25 and last modified on 7/19/25. I understand that it's the storage location of all the photos that are downloaded from the cloud to Lightroom Classic, i.e. the photos you shot with your phone. As I use my iPhone for snapshots and Lightroom Mobile to synch the photos to LR a lot, I would expect the modified date to be very recent.

A search of the system shows that there is no other file with name. So if the modified date is over a year old, is this file even worth keeping?

Thanks in advance.

Mobile Downloads.lrdata is not a file, but a so-called ‘package’ in MacOS. A package is a folder, that is treated by the MacOS Finder as if it were a file. The modification date of packages often does not change when files inside the package are added or removed, but that does not mean the package is no longer used. In Lightroom Classic, this package is not shown as a folder called ‘mobile downloads’, but as one or more ‘devices’ (like a separate disk), with the name(s) of the iPhone(s) that shot the images.

You probably still would want to move the images stored in Mobile Downloads.lrdata". to a different folder using The folder panel.

I agree

Is this because I edited the originals and saved those photos in another location and deleted the originals.

Most likely. Your edits are copies of these originals. You can uncheck the box labeled "Don't import suspected duplicates" if you want to import the originals. If your edited copies are the result of Exporting the Lightroom edits, then you no longer have unedited originals in your Classic Catalog but edited derivatives.

Only you can know what you did to get to this point.

When I double click on the lrdata file, LrC opens up in the import window and all the thumbnails are low opacity and I can't select anything. And the photos that are there are from Jun/Jul timeframe of this year. Nothing earlier. See the screenshot. Is this because I edited the originals and saved those photos in another location and deleted the originals.

It sounds like you double clicked the file in Mac Finder which is why it launced the Import dialog in LrC. THIS IS NOT CORRECT!

Open your LrC app in the normal manner. Then using the Folders Panel, look for and select this folder/package/file. Select images in the grid and drag them to whatever folder you want them in.

Once this Folder/package/file no longer contains any images, I reccomend changing the preference mentioned earlier to a real folder where you would normally store images imported directly into LrC. In the preference dialog you also have the choice to just have the images from LR/Cloud all placed in a single folder or in LrC created subfolders of the specified folder by capture date.

Didn’t you read my explanation? The mobile downloads package does not show as a folder in the folder panel. It shows the iPhone(s) that shot the images as separate devices. Two iPhones are at the bottom of the folder panel in your screenshot. That’s the package! Click on the little triangles to expand them and see the images in the package.

I'm aware that on a Mac this is a "package" rather than a standard "folder" and as such the LrC folders panel may treat it differently than on Windows. @Johan Elzenga mentioned this. I don't have a Mac so can't see this behavior.

Here's another approach. You should be able to find an image in LrC that was taken with your phone and arrived in LrC through the cloud sync process. If not, then take a photo with the "Lightroom" app on your phone and let it sync to LrC. Using the date you should be able to find this new photo. Once it shows up in the grid, right click on it and select "Go to Folder in Library". Now look in the Folders Panel and the folder where it was placed should be highlighted - you may need to expand entries in the Folders Panel to find which one it is in.

I'm aware that on a Mac this is a "package" rather than a standard "folder" and as such the LrC folders panel may treat it differently than on Windows. @Johan Elzenga mentioned this. I don't have a Mac so can't see this behavior.

For future readers of this thread using Windows: the mobile downloads folder on Window computers will show devices just like the Mac package does.