Like on a PC, most of your Mac’s software lives in the same place on your computer. Unlike on Windows, however, uninstalling apps isn’t done by the computer, it’s something you need to do on your own – but don’t worry, it’s pretty easy! Here’s how to uninstall apps on Mac.
First, to explain why apps work a little differently on the Mac vs the PC / Windows, we have to talk about how software works (bear with me – it’s not as scary as it sounds).
What is a dependency?
When someone makes a new piece of software, they generally don’t write every last bit of it themselves. Instead, they rely on bits of code written by someone else, especially when it comes to how your app works with your computer or some other piece of hardware (like a mouse or keyboard). Anything that isn’t part of an app, but the app requires it to run, we can call a dependency.
Think of it like writing down a recipe for a sandwich. You’re probably going to tell someone that they need bread, but you aren’t going to tell them how to make (or buy) bread. You could make bread from scratch, but it’s more simpler and more consistent to user bread that’s already made. In that way, you can think of the bread as a dependency for the sandwich.
Uninstalling an application is as simple as opening a Finder window, clicking “Applications” in the sidebar, Control-clicking or right-clicking the application’s icon, and selecting “Move to Trash.”. You can also drag-and-drop an application’s icon to the trash can icon on your dock. Or, open the Launchpad interface and drag-and-drop an application’s icon to the trash can from there. The easiest way to uninstall an app or program from your Mac is by using the trash can located on the Dock. Drag the application from wherever it is located on your Mac and drop it on the trash can. When you empty the trash, the application is deleted. Removing Apps With the Finder. The uninstall process for apps you’ve installed via the Mac App Store is different from apps you might get from the internet. Instead, it’s much more like the process to delete an app from your iPhone or iPad (just hold down an icon until it wiggles, then tap the ‘x’).
When you install an application on Windows, it often doesn’t include the necessary dependencies to run. This is why when you want to install a new piece of software on your PC, you download something called an installer, and that takes care of looking for dependencies and putting files where they need to go (it’ll often put a link in your Start menu or desktop, too).
Most apps on your Mac, by contrast, include all the dependencies and everything they need to run along with the app itself. That’s why when you want to install a new app on your Mac, it’s often just a matter of dragging an icon into your Applications folder. All you do is copy the app over, and it’s installed. There are a lot of differences between Mac OS X and Windows, but this is a big one.
That’s well and good, but how do I uninstall apps on my Mac?
In the last paragraph, I mentioned how you often install an app on your Mac by dragging whatever you downloaded into your Applications folder. In a very similar vein, you can uninstall those apps by dragging them to your Trash, usually located on your dock at the bottom of the screen (it looks like a trash can).
First, bring up your Applications folder. To get there, first click on your desktop, then mouse up to the top of the screen. A bar will appear. Click on the entry that says Go, and a drop-down menu will appear. You can use this menu to get to some common places on your Mac, so feel free to click around and explore. For now, though, go ahead and click on the entry that says Applications. A new window will pop up (if you’ve already got a Finder window open, it may navigate to Applications instead of having a new window open, and that’s fine) with a list of your apps.
To drag something to the Trash, just click and hold on the app you want to get rid of, and while continuing to hold the mouse or trackpad button down, drag the app to the trash can icon on the dock. Even if your dock isn’t on the screen, if you drag to where the dock is, it’ll pop up – then you can keep dragging to the Trash. Once you’re hovering over top the Trash icon, let go.
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You can also delete it directly from the Applications folder without having to drag it to the trash. Just click on it to highlight the app you want to delete, then hold down your keyboard’s Command button and tap delete. You can also right-click on the app and select ‘Move to Trash.’
If you want to make sure it’s completely gone, you’ll want to empty the Trash. First, make sure there aren’t any important files you’ve accidentally deleted or (unwisely) stored in the Trash folder. Then, you can empty the Trash by right-clicking on the trash can in the dock and selecting the option that says Empty Trash.
What about the Mac App Store?
Most of the big applications you’ll download aren’t really on the Mac App Store. The reasons for this are many, but tend to focus around how Apple has really done a poor job both supporting the App Store on Mac and supporting developers who want to write apps for it. So most apps on Mac you’ll get from the internet and install / uninstall like we talked about above.
But there are a few winners in the Mac App Store, and sometimes you’ll want to uninstall them, like when you don’t need them anymore, or just need some temporary extra space on your Mac (since they’re from the App Store, you’ll be able to easily re-install them).
The uninstall process for apps you’ve installed via the Mac App Store is different from apps you might get from the internet. Instead, it’s much more like the process to delete an app from your iPhone or iPad (just hold down an icon until it wiggles, then tap the ‘x’). First, you’ll need to bring up the Launchpad screen, which is something Apple has brought to the Mac from the iPhone, and their version of the Start menu from Windows.
To open up Launchpad, you can either do a four-finger pinching motion on your trackpad, or you can just click on the rocketship logo in the dock (see above). Once Launchpad opens, you’ll see a grid of icons on your screen – it looks, unsurprisingly, like the home screen of a big iPad.
Uninstalling these apps is simple. With Launchpad open, you can either click and hold on an app until the icons start jiggling (just like the iPhone) or you simply hold down the option key, which will make the icons jiggle automatically. With the icons jiggling, find the app you want to uninstall and click on the ‘x’ in the corner. That’s all it takes; your app is gone.
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule
Any apps you install from the Mac App Store will cleanly uninstall if you delete them from the Launchpad screen. Apps that you download from the internet and install via an installer won’t always go happily when you drag them to the Trash.
Some examples of this are big apps like Adobe Photoshop, and anything else in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of software. So just be aware that you might want to look for an uninstaller. Double-click that, and follow the directions; it’ll save you a lot of headache later on (you can remove apps like these without using the uninstaller, for the most part, but if you ever want to reinstall, you might need to install them, remove with the uninstaller, and reinstall them a second time).
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There often comes a time when you just don’t need to keep an app around. It may be old and unsupported – or maybe you just don’t use it anymore and don’t have a need to keep it around. If that sounds like you, we’ll show you exactly how to uninstall apps on Mac.
Uninstall Mac Applications
Get the best uninstallers to delete any application on your Mac.
With macOS Catalina and later, there are plenty of great reasons to delete apps. If an app is 32-bit, it has to go. Apple made the decision to discontinue support for 32-bit binaries with macOS Catalina, and many app developers didn’t retrofit their apps to be 64-bit as Apple requested. Old 32-bit apps no longer work on macOS.
Some apps may just be unnecessary. If you have apps for managing photos or your music library, you may find the new Photos app that comes with macOS or the new Music app do a great job, so the old software you’d been using is redundant. It’s gotta go!
Whatever the case, there are quick and easy ways to delete apps from your Mac. We’ll walk you through it!
One thing to know is deleting an app isn’t the same as uninstalling it. There are two ways to delete apps, though: Finder, and Launchpad.
How to delete apps on Mac using Launchpad
In Launchpad, you can pressing and holding the app's icon to bring up the wiggly app management feature. Like iOS, app icons start to shake in-place, which allows you to move them around. Third-party apps also have a small ‘x’ icon on the top right of the icon in this mode, which allows you to delete them.
Another way to delete apps is from Finder. There, you simply select the app, then right-click and select ‘delete.’ In either Finder or Launchpad, you can drag app icons to the trash bin to delete the apps.
(If you’re on an older version of macOS – or OS X, for the much older versions – and managing apps via iTunes, the process is similar. Select the app, right-click, and select ‘Move to Trash.’)
Remove apps with the Finder
Remember when we told you deleting and uninstalling weren’t the same? Deleting is the first step in the process; Apple wants you to do more work!
The completely uninstall an app, follow the instructions for deleting an app above. Then head to your library folder from Finder:
- Open Finder
- Select ‘Go’ from menu
- Hold down ‘option’ key on keyboard; you should see a new option for ‘Library’
- While holding down the option key, select ‘Library’
A word of caution before you proceed: DO NOT delete files if you’re not sure what they do. Apple hides the Library for a reason: most people shouldn’t go poking through it and deleting files haphazardly. If you don’t know what a file or folder is for, leave it alone.
Library houses files and folders apps need to operate. Sometimes these files or folders are for updating an app, or managing a Safari extension. Again, Library isn’t a toy. Tread lightly!
When you find a file or folder you know doesn’t belong – and is associated with the app you deleted – you can also delete the file by right-clicking and selecting ‘Move to Trash,’ or dragging it to the trash bin.
Deleting these files completes the deletion of an app. It’s possible those files were doing things necessary for the app that you no longer want, like calling a server or tracking keystrokes. Without the app, those types of features are just spyware.
When you’re done deleting apps and associated files, go ahead and empty your trash bin.
If you’re thinking ‘wow, that all seems sort of scary,’ you’re not wrong. Even seasoned pros get nervous when digging into a computer’s Library file system. There is a better way to uninstall programs from Mac, though!
Uninstall Mac apps and delete left behind files
If the idea of deleting apps and digging into secret libraries on your Mac to remove associated files is daunting, we have a better solution.
CleanMyMacX is a best Mac utility that helps manage your apps and files, in addition to a ton of other features. For now, we’ll focus on app management.
In the CleanMyMacX menu is an ‘Applications’ section on the left pane. It has three options: Uninstaller, Updater, and Extensions. Updater lets you manage updates for apps you want to keep, and saves you the trouble of digging through the App Store just to update an app.
Extensions helps you manage Safari browser extensions, Spotlight plugins, Internet Plugins, and Preference Panes. It’s the simplest and most straightforward way to manage the add-ons some apps demand, which aren’t always caught when deleting or uninstalling an app. When you find an extension you don’t want, just select it and click the ‘Remove’ button at the bottom of the window.
To uninstall apps on Mac, go to the ‘Uninstaller’ option with CleanMyMacX. Here you’ll see apps in a variety of categories. There’s the ‘all’ category for – you guessed it – all of the apps on your Mac. There’s also a section named ‘unused,’ which shows you which apps you’re not really using often.
The ‘Leftovers’ section makes Apple’s ‘Library’ look silly. In CleanMyMacX, Leftovers automatically finds the files associates with apps you no longer have. Hovering over the file in a list brings up the ‘Show’ option, which gives you precise info on exactly what app the file is associated with. No more fumbling through Library and guessing!
Uninstall An App Mac Osx Download
There’s also a section for 32-bit apps (remember, we talked about that!) which shows every app that’s no longer supported for macOS. If you really enjoy the app, we suggest reaching out to the developer to see if they will be making it a 64-bit app. If not, go ahead and delete it; it just won’t work on your Mac.
When you’re ready to uninstall programs from your Mac, select the app in any menu you see it in and click ‘Uninstall’ at the bottom of the screen. It’s that easy!
Conclusion
The main goal when uninstalling an app from macOS is to get rid of it completely: files, folders, the app – everything. We’ll also note that if you plan on never using the app or service again, it’s best to request the app developer remove your profile entirely. The method for this varies, but the app or service’s website should have the answer you need.
It takes a long time to delete an app the Apple way, and it’s just not worth it. Digging through the Library is scary stuff, and one wrong move can have a ripple effect on your entire system. No thanks!
We prefer CleanMyMacX, which takes care of the heavy lifting of deleting an app, then removing associated files to completely uninstall it. With a few clicks, you completely rid yourself of an app you don’t want.
For mobile users, there’s also AnyTrans, available for iOS and Android. AnyTrans is a macOS app that lets you manage backups, apps on your device, and account or cloud content in a much cleaner interface than Apple or Google provide. It’s easy to use, and available for both Android and iOS.
Best of all, AnyTrans as well as CleanMyMacX are available free as part of a seven day trial of Setapp. In addition to these apps, you get access to dozens of other handy macOS apps!
Uninstall An App Macos
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