When you’re hard at it working on your Mac, you don’t want to slow down – or have your computer slow you down – for any reason at all.
- Go to that was downloaded from Mac App Store and you now want to delete. Click and hold the icon of the app you want to remove and let it enter the wiggle mode. Now, click the ‘x’ button on the upper left corner. Lastly, delete the app when asked. Delete Non-App Store Apps From Mac.
- How to delete a Mac app using Launchpad You can also delete an app using Launchpad, which shows all your apps in an iOS like interface. To open Launchpad, click on F4 (the button that shows a grid.
- Uninstalling programs from macOS is one of the easiest ways to remove or delete programs from your Mac computer. Unlike in Windows OS where programs come with their own uninstallers, deleting Mac apps is generally as straightforward as dragging the app icon to trash from the Application folder.
Deleting applications on Mac can be quite easy and complicated as well. Mostly, it needs a simple drag-and-drop to delete an app. But that may leave some junk files behind, which will accumulate over time and eventually take up a lot of space on your hard drive, slowing down your Mac. Click the X on the app icon, which you want to delete and then choose Delete option when you see the pop-up window asking whether to uninstall app on Mac or not. Part 2: How to Delete Apps on Mac with Finder. You can also solve the problem of how to delete apps on Mac with Finder. It also is a very easy way you can simply get in what follows.
After all, you’re in the zone, and you expect your Mac to respond to every command with no delay.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Without you even realizing it, the amount of storage on your computer begins to dwindle as applications and related data take up additional valuable space.
You download a program here to try out and download another game there to see if you like it, and suddenly, your system’s performance can be compromised.
And, to add insult to injury, you don’t want to be forced to reboot your Mac after deleting an app to free up memory when you’re ready to move forward with the project at hand.
We’ll go over the different ways below to delete apps with the least amount of hassle so you can get back to what you do best: conquering the world with your Mac.
How To Delete Apps On Mac The Easy Way
Apple makes it easy for even computer novices to delete apps, and there are a couple of ways to do this using either Launchpad or Finder.
To delete apps you’ve downloaded via Launchpad:
1. Select the Launchpad icon in the Dock.
2. Position the mouse cursor over the app you want to delete.
3. Press and hold the mouse until all the app icons begin to shake.
4. Select the X in a circle on the app you want to delete.
If you want to reinstall a deleted app later, all you need to do is go back to the App Store to download and install it again. Happily, even if you’ve paid for an app you eventually delete, you will not have to buy it again.
Use Finder to delete other apps you’ve installed from, for example, CDs:
1. In the Finder sidebar, select Applications.
2. For apps in folders, look for an App Uninstaller or Uninstall App file.
3. If you see one of these options, double-click the file.
4. Follow the uninstall instructions.
5. If the app does not have an uninstall option or isn’t even in a folder, drag it
to Trash, located at the end of the Dock.
6. Then, select Finder.
7. Select EmptyTrash.
In theory, some apps like Safari can’t be deleted because they are bundled with the Mac OS. If you do try to delete these apps, you’ll receive a message saying the app can’t be deleted because it’s required by the Mac OS.
There is a workaround to allow you to delete default apps which we’ll discuss below. It’s only for experienced users, however, who have good reasons to be deleting the apps built into the Mac OS.
Nine times out of ten, deleting apps via Launchpad or Finder will be more than sufficient. You may be determined, however, to be rid of every remnant of an application. If you’re sure you want to do this, the labor-intensive process is to manually go through different folders on your hard drive to remove an app’s associated files. You should be able to identify these leftover files because the app name will be in the file name.
The seven folders you need to double check are:
/Applications/ (app binary and dock icons)
~/Library/Saved Application State/ (app saved states)
~/Library/Application Support/CrashReporter/ (app crash reports)
/Library/Caches/ and ~/Library/Caches (app support caches)
~/Library/Address Book Plug-Ins/ (app plugins)
~/Library/Preferences/ (app preferences)
~/Library/ (app library)
To paraphrase an old saying: Think twice and delete once.
That is, if you’re not sure you should delete a file, don’t!
Inadvertently deleting the wrong file can drastically decrease system performance or, in the worst-case scenario, force you to reinstall the Mac OS.
There is another option to remove apps and related files: Download an automatic app uninstaller from the App Store. One we like, in particular, is the free App Cleaner which has a 4.8/5 App Store rating.
The main features of App Cleaner include the ability to calculate the actual amount of disk space used by apps, preview install applications and extensions, and preview all startup programs like system daemons, launch agents, and login items.
After you see how much memory is being used at various points in your system, you can disable apps from launching during Mac OS startup.
Plus, you can more easily remove app leftovers as opposed to doing it manually as discussed above.
App Cleaner maximizes system performance by deleting hidden files, removing temporary files, and resetting apps to their first-run state. You can preview widgets and remove the remains of bad service files.
In addition, with the paid Pro version, you can remove unneeded system extensions and banner ads. Plus, you can uninstall apps or delete only their executable files.
Once again, you want to make sure you’re confident about everything you’re deleting so you don’t end up causing more problems than you solve.
Using a program like App Cleaner, however, should keep you from accidentally deleting critical files. That’s something which can more easily happen when manually deleting files as per the instructions above or removing defaults apps as discussed below.
Although we don’t normally recommend it – and especially not for inexperienced users – it is possible to delete apps such as iTunes, Safari, and other built-in Mac OS software.
If you’re positive you want to do this, however, perform a system backup first in case things go wrong. While you can download Safari or iTunes from the App Store, not all default applications are available there.
First, you must disable the Apple System Integrity Protection (SIP) system:
1. Restart your Mac.
2. While the reboot is in progress, select Command + R. You will see the
recovery mode startup window.
3. In the Menu bar, select Utilities.
4. Select Terminal.
5. In the Terminal window, type csrutil disable.
6. Press Return. Apple SIP is now disabled.
You will have to reboot your Mac again.
You can move on to the next step to remove default apps:
1. Relaunch Terminal during the reboot process.
2. As long as you are logged in with administrator privileges, type the
command cd /Applications/.
3. Press Return.
4. Now you can delete default applications by entering the following
commands:
One word of caution: There is no confirmation step when deleting these apps, so once you hit Enter, they are gone for good.
Finally, you will need to re-enable Apple SIP so you don’t accidently delete any applications in the future:
1. Once again, reboot your Mac.
2. Use Command + R to reopen Terminal.
3. Enter the command csrutil enable.
4. Reboot your Mac one last time.
Removing default programs is a labor-intensive process which requires rebooting your Mac several times. This does, of course, bely the second half of this article’s title about deleting apps without having to restart your computer.
Upon occasion, nonetheless, you may have the desire to delete default apps you know you’re not going to use. For example, if you’re overclocking your Mac, you may need every bit of possible memory so an extra 500 megs here and another 250 megs there really does add up.
But we can’t emphasize this enough – be careful and be prepared for unintended consequences which may result in having to reinstall your Mac OS.
Depending on additional types of circumstances, you won’t always be able to delete an app without having to reboot your Mac. This includes when you need to do a clean removal and reinstallation of software.
For example, you may be running QuickBooks when it becomes corrupted or otherwise damaged. Sure, the first thing you’ll do is reinstall it to try to solve the problems by overwriting the damaged files.
That won’t, however, always work.
In that case, you’ll need to uninstall QuickBooks and delete the PLIST files in the User and System folders. After that, you’ll have to reboot your Mac before reinstalling QuickBooks to make sure you have a 100% clean installation.
Want to learn more about how to delete apps on Mac and other workarounds? One good place to start is CNET’s Mac OS forum. At any given time, there are around six thousand discussions taking place on topics ranging from recovering a deleted javaAppletPlugin.plugin to suggestions for emulators.
Remember: Being part of the Mac community doesn’t mean just finding answers to your own questions, it also entails offering your help and expertise to other users.
Need to have the most storage space possible on your Mac’s hard drive? We’ve identified five techniques to remove unwanted and unnecessary files.
Removing apps on Mac is easy, just like Windows, where each program has its uninstaller. Uninstalling Apps on Mac is so simple, you need to drop the folder to the trash. But there are few software which is hard to remove. All of them have different reasons to remove apps from their PC. Some want to clean their PC, or the app is not useful. So, it depends on the user why they want to Uninstall Apps on Mac. If you are one of them who wish to Uninstall Apps on Mac, but you are not aware of that then you have come at the right place.
Here in this article, we will show you a few different ways by which you can uninstall apps on your Mac. As Apple Mac is different from Windows, so everyone is not aware of how to delete apps on Mac. Go through the full article and check out a few different ways and Uninstall apps on your Mac.
Contents
- 1 How To Uninstall Apps On Mac?
How To Uninstall Apps On Mac?
Check out different ways to uninstall apps on Mac. Given below are some different methods which will help you to delete apps on Mac.
Also Check: 15 Best Password Manager for Mac – Most Secured
Method 1: Uninstall Apps using Launchpad
If you don’t know let me tell you that you can delete any app on Mac by using Launchpad. Launchpad shows all the apps which are there on your iOS. Follow the given steps and uninstall the app using launchpad.
- First of all open Launchpad by clicking on F4
- Click on the app which you want to remove
- Now, press the ALT key and click on Delete
- Confirm to delete the app
Using Launchpad to delete the apps is the easiest way to remove an app which was installed through the App Store.
NOTE: This method works only on the apps which are installed through the Mac App Store. It won’t work for those apps which are installed through third-party developers.
Method 2: Uninstall Apps Using Finder
This one is the easiest method to uninstall any app from Mac. You just need to select and delete the app from Finder. Follow the steps and remove any app from your Mac.
- First, open Finder which is placed at the Dock
- Now, in Finder click on Applications
- Search for the app which you want to delete
- Right-click and select “MOVE TO TRASH” option OR drag the app icon to Trash
- On the Trash can do right-click and tap on empty trash.
Once you uninstall the app, remember that it will be deleted permanently from your Mac. So, if you have mistakenly deleted any app and you want it back then go to the Trash can before emptying the Trash. Go to the trash can and choose the app which you want back and click on Put Back.
There are few apps which include a separate uninstaller to remove all traces of the app. These apps are from Adobe or Microsoft, as some of the apps will install more apps or place library files.
Method 3: Go To Applications
This method is also very easy.
- Open the Mac and go to Go Menu
- Tap on Applications
- You will see all the apps, some of them are in a folder, and some are not
- The apps which are in the folder, open the folder
- There you will see an uninstaller option
- double click on it and follow the given instructions
Method 4:
If you have downloaded an app from somewhere else and not from the Mac App Store, then follow the given steps and uninstall the app. Let us take an example of Audacity. Audacity is downloaded from another website. So You need to go to the developer’s website of Audacity
- Go to the official website of Panic
- Scroll down and go to the Support section
- Click on the get help section
- Search for uninstaller
- There you will see step by step instructions to uninstall an app
- Follow the steps and uninstall the app.
NOTE: Make sure you download any app from the official website only. Do Not download an app from the download site or any other site. And when you delete the app at that time also use genuine methods only, you don’t need any other app to delete the app from Mac.
Method 5: Delete the program completely
Even after deleting the app, few files are left on the computer. So, you need to uninstall the program completely.
- First, go to GO Menu from the top side of the screen
- There click on Library
- Go to app support
- There are different folders for all apps
- In the list check if there is a folder of the app which you are uninstalling
- Delete that folder
Important tips For Uninstalling Programs on Mac
Check out a few tips before uninstalling any program on Mac.
Delete Apps I Don't Need
- Before you install any program, first see how to uninstall it. Make sure it has its own Uninstall utility
- Before deleting apps, check your Trash is empty, and it does not have anything which you want to save it
- If the app is a third-party app, then first check out its features. Few of them are chargeable, but you don’t need to use the paid software.
Final Thoughts
These are few genuine methods by which you can uninstall apps on your Mac. You can try out any of the methods to delete an app from Mac. Make sure you don’t use any fake app to remove the apps as it can harm your PC. If you want to download any app which is not available on the Apple store, then make sure you download it from the developer’s website, which is not fake.
How To Uninstall Apps On Mac
We hope you liked this article and it was helpful for you. Stay tuned to us for more updates. If you have any questions, then let us know by commenting in the comment section below.