How to uninstall apps on Mac completely

Before you start

Quit the app. If it has an icon in the menu bar, quit it there too: many apps keep running in the background after you close their window.

If the app came with its own uninstaller, use it. Adobe and Microsoft apps, antivirus software, VPN clients and drivers usually have one, and it removes system components that a plain delete leaves behind. Look for it in the app’s folder, in its menus or on the developer’s site.

Delete the app

1. Open Finder and choose Applications in the sidebar.
2. Drag the app to the Trash in the Dock, or select it and press Command-Delete.

3. Enter your administrator password if macOS asks for it.
4. Empty the Trash once you’re sure you won’t need the app.

Another way that shows each app’s size: open System Settings › General › Storage, click the ⓘ button next to Applications, select the app and click Delete.

On macOS Sonoma and Sequoia, apps from the App Store can also be deleted in Launchpad: press and hold an icon until the icons jiggle, then click the × button on the app.

What stays on your Mac after deleting

Apps keep their data in the Library folder inside your home folder. It’s hidden: in Finder, open the Go menu, hold the Option key and choose Library. These are the folders where an app usually leaves something:

• Application Support — the app’s data, often the biggest part.
• Caches — temporary files the app can recreate.
• Preferences — settings files named after the app’s identifier, like com.spotify.client.plist.
• Containers and Group Containers — data of App Store apps and other apps that run in a sandbox.
• Logs, Saved Application State, HTTPStorages and WebKit — logs, window positions and web data.
• LaunchAgents — background items that start the app’s helpers when you log in.

Some apps also install files for all users of the Mac: in /Library/Application Support, /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons and /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools. Removing them needs an administrator password.

Remove the leftovers by hand

1. Note the app’s name and its developer: leftovers are named after one of them, or after the app’s identifier — a reversed web address like com.spotify.client.
2. In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type ~/Library/Application Support and press Return.

3. Find the folder with the app’s or the developer’s name and move it to the Trash.

4. Do the same in ~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/Preferences, ~/Library/Containers, ~/Library/Group Containers, ~/Library/Logs and ~/Library/LaunchAgents.
5. Restart your Mac, check that everything works, then empty the Trash.

Delete only what clearly belongs to the app you removed. Some folders are shared by several apps of one developer, such as Google or Microsoft in Application Support: if you still use another of their apps, leave the shared folder alone. Never delete anything in the System folder.

Caches are safe to clear for any app, not only for deleted ones: see how to clear cache on Mac.

Background items and login items

Some apps start helpers when you log in, and macOS may keep listing them after the app is gone. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions (on macOS Sonoma: Login Items) and look through Open at Login and Allow in the Background. Turn off the items of apps you no longer have. The files behind them are in the LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders listed above.

When an app won’t delete

• “The item can’t be moved to the Trash because it’s open.” Quit the app. If it doesn’t respond, press Option-Command-Esc and force quit it. Background helpers can be found and quit in Activity Monitor.
• The app is part of macOS. Safari, Mail, Music and other built-in apps live on a protected system volume and can’t be deleted. Deleting them wouldn’t free space you could use anyway.
• macOS asks for a password you don’t know. An administrator installed the app for all users: ask them, or log in as an administrator.
• The app comes back. Something installs it again — usually the developer’s updater or a background item. Remove those first, as described above, then delete the app again.