How to uninstall Signal on Mac completely
Signal on a Mac is a linked device: your phone is the main one, and the Mac keeps its own copy of your messages. Signal has no copy of them on its servers, so that copy lives only on this Mac. Deleting the app leaves it, along with caches and settings, in your Library folder. Here is how to unlink the Mac first and then remove everything.
- Open MacWashing and choose Uninstaller in the sidebar.
- Click Show Apps and check Signal in the list.
- Click Remove and confirm. Files that may be yours are listed as Possible and stay unchecked.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Unlink the Mac and delete its messages first
Deleting the app doesn’t remove the Mac from your account. Signal’s support describes how to unlink it and delete its message history from Signal Desktop itself:
- Open Signal and choose Signal › Settings in the menu bar.
- Select General.
- Select Delete Data and confirm in the window that opens.
Your phone stays registered. You can also unlink the Mac from your phone: on iPhone, tap your profile, then Settings › Linked devices, tap Edit or the three dots, remove the Mac and tap Unlink. On Android, tap your profile, then Linked devices, tap the three dots next to the Mac and choose Unlink.
Messages on the Mac are stored only on the Mac. If some of them are not on your phone and you want to keep them, Signal Desktop can create an encrypted backup in Settings › Backups — but Signal can restore it only to Signal on an Android phone that is your main device. Do this before you delete anything.
Delete Signal in Finder
- Quit Signal: right-click its icon in the Dock and choose Quit.
- Open Finder › Applications and drag Signal to the Trash.
- Enter your administrator password if macOS asks for it.
What Signal leaves behind
All of it is in the Library folder inside your home folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Signal/Cache,~/Library/Application Support/Signal/Code Cacheand~/Library/Application Support/Signal/GPUCache— caches inside Signal’s main folder.~/Library/Preferences/org.whispersystems.signal-desktop.plist— settings.~/Library/Preferences/org.whispersystems.signal-desktop.helper.plist— settings of Signal’s helper process.~/Library/Saved Application State/org.whispersystems.signal-desktop.savedState— the saved window state.
~/Library/Application Support/Signal is Signal’s main folder: it holds your message history and attachments on this Mac. Deleting it deletes them for good. Delete it only if you don’t need them or have kept them as described above. The caches inside go with it.
Remove the leftovers by hand
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type a path from the list above and press Return.
- Move the folder or file to the Trash.
- Repeat for the other paths.
- Restart your Mac, then empty the Trash.
Signal isn’t the only app that leaves files behind: see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.
With MacWashing, it’s one click
The Uninstaller in MacWashing knows the files Signal creates in your Library folder and removes them together with the app. The folder with your message history is listed as Possible and stays unchecked until you check it yourself.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Will MacWashing delete my own files when it removes Signal?
No. The Uninstaller checks only what belongs to the app: its settings, caches, logs and background items. Folders that may hold your own files are listed as Possible and stay unchecked until you check them yourself, and apps go to the Trash by default, so you can put them back.
What if Signal is still running?
MacWashing waits for it to quit, or quits it at your request, and only then removes its files.
Is it free to uninstall Signal with MacWashing?
Yes, within the free trial: System Junk and the Uninstaller free up to 25 GB in total, with no account or card needed.
Will I lose my Signal messages if I delete it from my Mac?
You lose the copy on the Mac. Your phone keeps its own messages, but Signal has no copy on its servers, so messages that exist only on the Mac are gone once you delete its data.
Does deleting the app unlink my Mac from Signal?
Not by itself. Use Delete Data in Signal Desktop before deleting the app, or unlink the Mac from your phone in Linked devices. A linked device that isn’t used for 45 days is also unlinked automatically.
Can I reinstall Signal on the Mac later?
Yes. Install it again and link it with the QR code from your phone. When you link it, you can transfer your chats and the last 45 days of media from the phone.