Quick question – how do you uninstall programs on Mac?
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Find the program that you want to uninstall. Scroll through the programs here until you find an icon for the program that you want to remove. If the program is inside of a folder, double-click the folder to open it and look for an uninstaller application. If there is an uninstaller application, skip to the next section. To delete apps downloaded from the App Store: Click Launchpad on the Dock of your MacBook Air find the app you want to delete press and hold until all the app icons begin to jiggle then click the Delete button to remove it from your MacBook Air (Learn How To Uninstall Spotify Mac).
If your answer is to drag the app to the Trash, we’re sorry to say that you’ve been doing it wrong.
You probably know or guess that you can remove apps by dragging them to the Trash bin, but it is not quite so. Dragging normal files like documents and movies to the Trash works fine. But doing the same for apps leaves gigabytes of leftover junk files on your hard drive. We’re going to show you what gets left behind and what you can do to completely uninstall apps from here on out.
How to uninstall on Mac
The Classics: Delete Apps from the Finder. Since the dawn of Apple computers, the traditional method of deleting apps was associated with the native Mac OS tool called Finder. For starters, we will describe how to remove any software from the computer with the help of Finder (for example, uninstall Steam on Mac). Open “Launchpad” Hold down an app’s icon until they start to jiggle Click on the delete button To uninstall the other apps, drag the apps into the “Trash” folder Open “Trash” folder and select “Empty”. Macs also have no way to uninstall or install operating system features, so there’s no way to easily remove the many applications Apple included with your Mac. On OS X 10.10 Yosemite and earlier, it was possible to open a terminal window and issue commands to delete these system apps, which are located in the /Applications folder.
If you are trying to delete an old application, reinstall a corrupted software or just free up disk space on your Mac, removing all components of the program is important. These include the app, its preferences and support files, and sometimes other hidden files.
To completely uninstall a program on Mac you have to choose one of three options:
- Using Trash.
- Using Launchpad.
- Using a native uninstaller
The ways mentioned above include navigating your Mac’s in search of the apps you want to remove and then locating their remaining data. The latter can take even more place than the app itself and can be stored anywhere in your folders.
I prefer clearing my Mac from apps using special software made for this particular task - CleanMyMac X. It’s Uninstaller feature, is an app-killer that sweeps away any program you don’t want on your Mac and clears remaining junk.
Now let’s go ahead and delete some apps!
1. Uninstall Mac apps using Trash
Whether you're running macOS Catalina or an earlier macOS, like Mojave or Sierra, the process of manually uninstalling remains relatively similar. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open Finder.
- Go to Applications.
- Choose the app you want to delete.
- Press Command + Delete (⌘⌫).
- Open Trash.
- Click the Empty button in the upper-right corner of the window.
And the app is gone.
Even uninstalling apps on macOS Catalina requires getting rid of leftovers, despite the fact that it's the latest and the most sophisticated system for Mac. Apple has done such a good job on macOS 10.15 but left this unfortunate issue unresolved for another year.
To completely remove programs from Mac manually, you have to find all the associated files that come along with the app. That means not just dragging the app icon to the Trash from your Applications folder, but searching the depths of the system files on your Mac.
We’re going to reveal the locations of the most common files that are associated with apps. To remove the app leftovers from your Mac just navigate to each of these folders and hunt for the app you want to remove. If you find files with the app name you can send them to the Trash.
So, when uninstalling any software, you have to go over each of these folders one by one and remove the following:
- Binary and dock icons are located in
/Applications/ - Application support files are located in
~/Library/Application Support - Support Caches can be found in
/Library/Caches/and~/Library/Caches - Plugins are located in
~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ - Library can be found in
~/Library/ - App preferences are located in
~/Library/Preferences/ - Crashes are found in
~/Library/Application Support/CrashReporter/ - App saved states are located in
~/Library/Saved Application State/
There are many more hidden files, some of which cannot be accessed by the user. And macOS/OS X will prevent you from deleting some app files.
As you can see, it's not that easy to uninstall applications Mac doesn't need, even when you know what to do. By the way, be sure to look for the name of the app in the file names of the files you remove. Don’t remove anything you don’t know! Do your due diligence before removing something from your system.
When you delete software on Mac manually, be sure only to remove an app file or folder when you’re sure of what it is. Look at the name very carefully before you nuke it. Removing the wrong files could cause problems with your system.
Remember, please be careful when deleting system files — you never know how it will affect your Mac if you remove the wrong ones (or the right ones for that matter!).
2. Uninstall Mac programs with Launchpad
How to uninstall on Mac by using the Launchpad? It's easy and this manual method works like this:
- Click Launchpad icon in your Mac's Dock.
- Find the app you want to delete.
- Click and hold the app until it starts shaking.
- Click X in the top-left corner of the app icon.
- Click Delete.
This will uninstall the app from your Mac. However, keep in mind that after removing the program, you should also delete its leftovers as we've described above.
Can't delete apps on Mac?
Unfortunately, manual methods won’t get everything. Some apps are pre-installed macOS components and protected by the system while others will refuse to delete because they are already open (even though that’s often not true).
So, how to delete the apps on Mac that won't delete? You can try the manual removal after force quitting the app in question (press Command-Option-Esc and if the app is on the list shut it down) or rebooting your Mac.
If you're still unable to delete apps on Mac or if you’re worried you won't do it correctly and want a safer alternative, there’s the easy method of uninstalling apps from your Mac so you don't have to force delete applications. It actually does a better (and safer) job and in a fraction of the time. Read on to learn how to delete apps on Mac automatically.
3. Uninstall apps with CleanMyMac X
When I referred to the easy method of uninstalling apps, I meant using CleanMyMac X. As for me, deleting apps is a pretty tiresome task. I’ve always put away this chore, as it will waste a huge amount of my time. But, my Mac was running low on free storage, so I decided to try CleanMyMac X to fix this problem and uninstall programs on Mac with ease. I used the Uninstaller module to get rid of multiple apps at once. Here’s what you need to do:
- Download CleanMyMac X, install, and launch it (it takes less than a minute).
- Go to Uninstaller.
- Choose All Applications.
- Check the boxes next to the app you want to remove.
- Press Uninstall.
As you can see, CleanMyMac X shows precisely how much place each app takes, so it’s easier to detect the heaviest programs. Another benefit is that you can bulk uninstall programs on Mac without dragging each app and its files to the Trash.
Is it possible to delete system files on Mac?
CleanMyMac X doesn’t let you delete system apps like Safari. Neither of Mac cleaners can do that. But, CleanMyMac X allows you to delete the data associated with system apps and reset them completely. Click CleanMyMac X’s menu in the upper-left corner and choose Preferences. Go to Ignore List and click Uninstaller. Here uncheck the box next to “Ignore system applications.”
Now, you can close Preferences and go back to Uninstaller. Click ► next to the app's icon to show its files. Then check the data you want to delete and choose Reset from the drop-down list next to the app’s icon. Then press Remove.
It will help to clear some space on your Mac. Note that your app logs may also disappear after the reset.
4. Use the native uninstaller
Many applications are designed to clean after themselves. They come with a built-in uninstaller — a self-destroying utility bundled with the main app. This is mostly true for third-party apps that you download from the internet. That’s why native uninstallers remain more of a Windows thing, not much heard of in the Mac world.
The original uninstallers can be found in Finder > Applications. If your app looks like a folder (within the Applications folder) most likely it will have a separate uninstaller. The name will read [Your app] Uninstaller or Uninstall [Your App].
Open the folder, find the launcher, and just follow the onscreen instructions. After the removal is complete, you can enjoy your extra storage space!
Clear app leftovers: preferences files and caches
No sane developer wants people to delete their application. As your desperate ex, they would do everything to stay on your Mac, like planting pieces of their software around your Mac so one day they can return. Support files, preference files, and caches — all these will likely remain even if you’ve deleted the app itself.
Here I’ll show you how to root out these remaining traces. I’ll use the Telegram app as an example.
Delete application support files
Click on Finder > Go to Folder… (in the upper menu).
Paste in: ~/Library/Application Support/Your App Name
In my case it's: ~/Library/Application Support/Telegram
Now, delete the content of this folder.
Delete application Preferences
The Preferences folder contains your user settings. These files are tiny but there’s no reason not to delete them, just out of principle.
Click on Finder > Go to Folder…
Paste in: ~/Library/Preferences/
Open the folder. Now type the name of your app in the search bar. Click to search 'Preferences.” Delete the found items.
Delete the caches
In the same vein, you’ll have to delete the remaining app caches.
This time, use the following command to paste in Finder > Go to Folder...
Paste this: ~/Library/Caches/Your App Name
Note: In some cases, you need to search for the app developer's name, rather than the name of the app.
Delete leftovers with CleanMyMac X
If you’ve been doing a 'spring cleaning' in your Applications folder, chances are some files are still left somewhere in your Mac’s system. CleanMyMac X detects and collects them into the Leftovers tab.
Go to Uninstaller once again and select Leftovers. Select all the remaining files and press Uninstall to say goodbye to the app remains.
Now you are just as good at uninstalling applications on Mac as any Apple engineer. Hopefully, you now have plenty of free space. Don't miss a few related articles below.
These might also interest you:
Foreign language files can take up a lot of space on your Mac. If you're not bilingual or multilingual, then you should consider cleaning them up and freeing up more space from them. There are a couple of ways to do this, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
If you're using a special tool for the purpose on a Mac running anything higher than 10.10 Yosemite, then you will need to disable SIP, or System Integrity Protection. Also referred to as 'rootless', SIP is a feature that prevents accidental or deliberate modifications to certain local system files. To avoid disabling SIP, you can use Terminal to execute directly on the command line to remove unused language files. We'll show you how it's done.
Part 1. Using Terminal App to Remove Unused Language Files from Mac
Terminal is Mac's command line interface where you can directly execute different types of processes and tasks. It's a much easier way to remove language files if you know the right command, but tread softly if you're not familiar with command line work. Just follow the process exactly as described below:
Step 1. In your applications folder, click on Utilities ->Terminal.
Step 2. Input the following command:
sudo find / ( -name *.lproj -and ! ( -name English.lproj -or -name en.lproj -or -name en_AU.lproj -or -name en_CA.lproj -or -name en_GB.lproj ) ) -exec rm -rf {} ;
If you want to delete foreign language files, you can add -name en_AU.lproj -or within the () command and replace en_AU.lproj with the language file to be removed. It depends on what language files are stored in your system, so if you have several of them, it's going to take a while.
Remember, if you don't know what any of that means, don't try and type it out - just copy it and paste it into Terminal and hit Enter. You also need to ensure that you take a full backup of your system before you try executing this command. If certain parts of your applications are code-signed or non-standard, you may break something and need to restore your computer to a previous state.
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If you're not confident that you can execute the process properly, then the recommended method is to use a tool specifically designed for the purpose, which is what we'll talk about next.
Part 2 : How to Automatically Find and Delete Unwanted Language Files on Mac
If you're not too happy about using the command line method, then you can consider a robust clean-up tool like TunesBro CleanGeeker. This desktop application does a thorough job of removing any unnecessary files on your Mac OS X or macOS computer. It is also very easy and reliable to use.
Apart from being able to find and delete language files, it can also clean duplicate files, remove apps, manage login items and much more. If you want your Mac to run at optimal levels, then this is the software for you. It is compatible with a wide range of Mac OS X versions, including macOS High Sierra. The best part about this software utility is that it helps you actively monitor your computer's memory and processing resources and periodically do a deep scan and cleanup so your system is always running like new.
Highlights of TunesBro CleanGeeker
- Scan all language files on Mac without inputting a single command.
- Free up a lot of free space by cleaning the junk files.
- Bulk delete third-party apps installed on Mac.
- Extract archive files easily, including ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, etc...
Step 1Install and Open TunesBro CleanGeeker
Install TunesBro CleanGeeker after downloading it from the official site. Open up the app and you'll see the home page, where you can scan your Mac for junk and apps.
Step 2Scan All Language Files on Mac or Macbook
After scanning, select the 'Junk Clean' option on the left panel. You should be able to see all your junk files conveniently categorized by type. Select 'Localized language files' from the list, as well as any other junk files you want to remove. You will also be able to see the selected files on the right-side window. Here, you can deselect any language files that you want to keep, such as the English files or your native language files.
Step 3Remove Unused Languages files from Mac
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Once you have made all your selections, click on 'Delete' to remove the files. In a matter of seconds all unnecessary language files will be permanently removed from your system. Once you restart your computer, you should be able to see a marked difference in performance.
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The app makes it easy so you don't have to bother with complex command line work that can break your system. It's a better and quicker way, and it doesn't involve any risk of data loss, so you won't have to do a full backup like you have to with the command line approach.
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Summary
Possibly the best feature is how clear the interface looks. No confusing settings, all functions neatly categorized and the entire process is self-explanatory. Just install TunesBro CleanGeeker, let it scan your system and allow it to optimize your Mac OS X experience with very little effort from you as a user.
