We've spent a few years developing macOS apps, and now we have a utility that everyone can use. The comprehensive Mac issue solver.
Here's an easy fix for some of the problems this post mentions: download CleanMyMac. We've included our top suggestions and ideas below to help you do it all on your own, though.
I have a quick question: how may applications be removed from a Mac? It makes sense to just drag an undesired program to the trash, according to logic. But that's not nearly the case. Numerous residual trash files are left on your hard disk when you drag programs to the trash. But fear not—we'll walk you through what remains and how to remove programs from your MacBook.
Uninstall option | Effectiveness | Difficulty level |
Trash | Lowif you do not hunt down leftover files.Highif you find and remove all leftovers. | Hard— hunting down all leftover files is a time-consuming and difficult task. |
Launchpad | Similar to removal via Trash. | Hard— similar to removal via Trash. Plus, not all apps can be removed via Launchpad. |
A native uninstaller | High— removes all leftover files securely. | Medium— you may need to additionally download the uninstall apps on mac from the developer’s website. |
Third-party apps | High— complete removal with no leftover files remaining on your Mac. | Easy— usually, it is a one-click and rapid solution. |
Terminal | High— complete removal of an app and all related files. | Hard— requires the knowledge of command line tools. |
You can manually intervene in the manner listed above. But don't worry, we'll go over every step you need to do in this post. Now let's remove a few applications!
Regardless of the macOS version you're using—Catalina, Mojave, or Sonoma or Ventura, for example—the procedure for manually deleting programs is much the same. What you should do is as follows:
The app has vanished as well.
Even though Apple has improved the deinstallation process so much in recent macOS versions, removing remnants is still necessary when uninstall apps on mac.
In order to manually delete apps from Mac fully, you must locate all of the files that are related to the program. This entails exploring the depths of your Mac's system files rather than just dropping the program icon to the Trash from your Applications folder.
Here's an example of an app that stores cache across many locations on your Mac:
You must go into each of these directories one by one and remove the following in order to fully uninstall apps on mac:
/Applications/
~/Library/Application Support
/Library/Caches/
and~/Library/Caches
~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/
~/Library/
~/Library/Preferences/
~/Library/Application Support/CrashReporter/
~/Library/Saved Application State/
There are several other hidden files, some of which the user is unable to access. Additionally, you won't be able to remove some software files on macOS/OS X.
Recall that you never know how removing system files—the correct or incorrect ones, for that matter—will impact your Mac. Proceed with caution when deleting them.
How can I use Launchpad to remove anything on a Mac? This manual approach is simple to use and operates as follows:
It takes a lot of effort to remove programs. Thus, we've discovered a quicker and simpler method: CleanMyMac X. Its Uninstaller feature facilitates the simultaneous removal of many programs. What you should do is as follows:
It is not possible to remove system programs like Safari with CleanMyMac X. Both Mac cleaners are unable to accomplish it. However, you may totally reset and erase the data connected to system programs with CleanMyMac X. Select Settings from the menu that appears in the upper-left corner of CleanMyMac X. After selecting Ignore List, select Uninstaller. Uncheck the option next to "Ignore system applications" in this instance.4. Use the native uninstaller
Numerous apps are made to tidy up after themselves. They have a self-destructing tool called an integrated uninstaller that is included with the primary application. For third-party apps that you download from the internet, this is primarily accurate.
Finder > Applications is where you may find the original uninstallers. Your software probably has its own uninstaller if it seems to be a folder inside the Applications folder. If not, its uninstaller will appear as a different application. The name will appear as Uninstall [Your App] or [Your App] Uninstaller.
These are the procedures to do if you're willing to execute many Terminal commands:
sudo uninstall file://
All program remnants should be eliminated, including with the binary file. To guarantee total program removal, it is still advised to use the procedures above to search for linked files.