How To Uninstall Apps On Your Mac

You should be very careful when installing apps on your Mac and try to stick only to the Mac App Store or sites you fully trust. When you want to uninstall an app, you can usually do it through LaunchPad. However, for some apps you'll need to look for uninstall instructions at the developer's site. If needed, you can uninstall an app manually if you know where to look for its files.

Comments: 12 Responses to “How To Uninstall Apps On Your Mac”

    Thomas Riffle
    5 years ago

    The best thought out over all advice about applications.Best point: You do not need cleaning or uninstall apps.
    Enjoyed, informed! Thanks for what you do.

    Laverne Lachapelle
    5 years ago

    Great video. I knew enough not to use any of those Clean My Mac apps which "attack" your entire HD and get rid of who knows what, but I did think that the App Cleaner & Uninstaller.app offered on Apple App Store was OK. In the past I have also used EasyFind and FindAnyFile to locate and identify files and folders associated with any apps I was deleting, but I'll use your method in future.

    Lubomir
    5 years ago

    Probably will sound silly after the great video,but is CleanMyMac X that bad?Shall I trash it and forget all about it?

    5 years ago

    Lubomir: My recommendation is to uninstall apps properly and not rely on an uninstaller app. Is that particular one "that bad?" I couldn't tell you. It may be OK. I practice what I preach and don't use any of them. I'm sure that some are big trouble and others are somewhat harmless.

    Randall Huleva
    5 years ago

    Gary, I have the same question regarding CleanMyMac X. It is not an uninstaller, but rather a system clean up utility. Most of the functions can be done manually using other Apple provided Mac tools, but this condenses the process into a few clicks.

    In a way it is no much more that a pretty interface over a script or series of scripts that probably runs those very tools at the push of a button.

    I could probably build my own script(s) to do this, but MacPaw is a reputable developer, so???

    5 years ago

    Randall: There is no need for cleaning apps today. Most (all?) needed functions are automatic -- you don't need to even do anything manually. See https://macmost.com/do-you-need-a-mac-cleaning-program.html

    Laraine
    5 years ago

    Oops! I use AppTrap; have done for ages and so far I've not had a problem. When I trash an app I no longer want AppTrap asks me if I want to trash related files. I even get this message when installing an update of MacTracker, when I just hit the no button.

    Robert Hutchison
    5 years ago

    Hi Garry, great video, I’ve been a Mac user since 2010 and used an app download from a free download site, all you do is drag the app you want to get rid of into this app and it pulls all the files associated with it, recommended by a friend. I was told when I first bought my Mac all you need to do is to drag the app into the trash and that’s it, so should I just do this instead? Thank you, Rob

    Thomas
    5 years ago

    I have been using AppZapper for years and find that it does a good job

    5 years ago

    Robert: Watch the video. I show several methods. Dragging to the trash works for some apps, but not all.

    Milner Erlank
    5 years ago

    Hi Gary I have App Cleaner. In Launchpad it doesn't wiggle or has the X circle. In Library/Application support nothing shows up. Checked the developer site. No uninstall instructions. Can I just dump it in the trash?

    5 years ago

    Milner: What is "it?" Which app are you talking about?

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