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How to uninstall Sophos Home on Mac completely

Sophos Home can’t be removed by dragging it to the Trash: Sophos says this doesn’t uninstall it. It comes with its own removal app, which takes its background services and system components away. Here is how to use it and what to check afterwards.

Uninstaller: a list of apps sorted by size with when each was last opened, Google Chrome selected with its app and cache sizes
  1. Open MacWashing and choose Uninstaller in the sidebar.
  2. Click Show Apps and check Sophos Home in the list.
  3. Click Remove and confirm. Files that may be yours are listed as Possible and stay unchecked.
Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Uninstall Sophos Home with Remove Sophos Home

  1. Press Command-Space to open Spotlight, type remove sophos home and press Return.
  2. In the uninstall window, click Continue and follow the instructions on screen.
  3. Enter your Mac’s password and click Install Helper.
  4. Wait until the uninstall is finished, then click Close.
  5. Restart your Mac to complete the removal.

If the removal app is missing, Sophos offers it for download in the same support article. If macOS says it can’t check the app for malicious software, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll to Security and click Open Anyway. The button stays there for about an hour after you try to open the app.

Don’t drag Sophos Home to the Trash. Sophos says this doesn’t uninstall it, and leftovers from a half-removed install can make a later install or removal fail.

Free the device in your Sophos Home account

Uninstalling doesn’t remove the Mac from your Sophos Home dashboard, and it keeps taking one of your account’s device slots. To free it:

  1. Sign in to your Sophos Home dashboard.
  2. Click the Mac you removed Sophos Home from.
  3. Click Remove, then OK to confirm.

What Sophos Home leaves behind

After the removal app and a restart, check these system folders:

  • /Library/Application Support/Sophos — the app’s data and components.
  • /Library/Sophos Anti-Virus — Sophos’s antivirus files.
  • /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.sophos.common.servicemanager.plist — starts Sophos’s background services when the Mac starts.
  • /Library/Extensions/SophosFileProtection.kext and /Library/Extensions/SophosWebProtection.kext — kernel extensions installed by older versions.

Remove the leftovers by hand

  1. In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type a path from the list above and press Return.
  2. Move the folder or file to the Trash. Everything here is in /Library and needs your administrator password.
  3. Repeat for the other paths.
  4. Restart your Mac, so no Sophos component is loaded any more, then empty the Trash.

Sophos Home isn’t the only app that leaves files behind: see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.

Sophos system extensions

On current macOS versions Sophos Home uses system extensions, which may still be listed in System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions after the uninstall. Sophos says removing them is not needed to complete the uninstall. Its own optional steps for removing them require turning off System Integrity Protection, which is meant for advanced users.

With MacWashing, it’s one click

Uninstaller: a list of apps sorted by size with when each was last opened, Google Chrome selected with its app and cache sizes

The Uninstaller in MacWashing knows the files Sophos Home creates in the system folders and removes them together with the app, background services included.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

Will MacWashing delete my own files when it removes Sophos Home?

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 Sophos Home 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 Sophos Home 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.

Can I just drag Sophos Home to the Trash?

No. Sophos says this doesn’t uninstall the program. Use the Remove Sophos Home app, then restart the Mac.

Does uninstalling free a device in my Sophos Home account?

No. Remove the Mac in your Sophos Home dashboard: open the device and click Remove. That frees the slot for another computer.

Is my Mac unprotected after I remove Sophos Home?

macOS has its own built-in malware protection, XProtect, which works without any extra app and is updated by Apple. Whether you want another security app on top of it is up to you.