Mac Uninstall Apps Without Admin

As Quora User says, yes, if it's a matter of simple drag-and-drop, as much of today's Mac software is. These can normally be run from anywhere too, so if the /Applications folder is write-protected you can drop the app somewhere else and run it fr.

  • Mac OS X and macOS have a few restrictions about which items you can remove. The Finder and the Trash are permanent members of the Dock. There's also a separator (a vertical line or dotted line icon) that marks where apps end and documents, folders, and other items begin in the Dock.
  • To change from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version or vice versa, you need to uninstall Office first (including any stand-alone Office apps you have such as Project of Visio). Once the uninstall is complete, sign in again to www.office.com and select Other install options, choose the language and version you want (64 or 32-bit), and then.
  • Related: Speedup Safari on your Mac. Deleting or Uninstalling Apps in Mac. Let us discuss various ways to delete to uninstall apps from your Mac. Delete from Launchpad. Click on Launchpad from the dock. Drag and drop the application to Trash bin. Mac will prompt you to confirm the app deletion, confirm the deletion by clicking on.
  • Tip: The 64-bit version is installed by default unless Office detects you already have a 32-bit version of Office (or a stand-alone Office app such as Project or Visio) installed.In this case, the 32-bit version of Office will be installed instead. To change from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version or vice versa, you need to uninstall Office first (including any stand-alone Office apps you.

Whether your IT department locked down your Mac or you grabbed one from eBay that the seller forgot to “clean up”, you may encounter a big problem when trying to install software as a non-admin.

How To Uninstall Apps On Mac Without Admin Password

Here’s a possible workaround.

If you’re trying to install software on your Mac the first thing you should do is simply contact your IT department. They can use login to your computer remotely and installed the software for you. You may not like having to wait for IT but it’s not you’re computer so you shouldn’t install stuff on it. Also, you could unwittingly end up installing something that looks benign but is actually nefarious.

That being said, in an emergency there are two possible solutions:

Mac Uninstall Apps Without Admin
  1. Drag and Drop
  2. Single User Mode

When you see the application installation login window you can either beg for the admin password or try a little workaround that I’m about to show you.

First see if you can just drag the app icon into the Applications folder.

If that fails, you could try Control clicking the app and choosing Open Package Details to see if you can modify the info.plist file or whatevever.

There was on old hack that worked on older versions of Mac OS X that let you modify a string in info.plist which effectively disabled authentication. Well I haven’t found a way to get this work in Mac OS X Yosemite so I’m going to assume it doesn’t work anymore.

One other possibility is to boot the Mac to Single User Mode and use the Directory Services Command Line tool to join your non-admin account to the administrator group.

Reboot and hold down Command + s until you see a black screen appear with a bunch of white text.

After a few seconds you’ll at something that resembles a Unix prompt.

First we need to mount the root file system so type

This mounts the root file system for read-write access.

Then type:

Replace <usernameToBeGivenRoot> with your non-admin username.

If you need to list the users and groups you can type:

Press Enter, type reboot and login with your non-admin account.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t try to “hack around” the password security mechanisms that prevent you from installing software. These features are here for a reason and unless you really know what you’re doing some of the tutorials out there can leave you with a broken PC and a chagrined look on your face when you call IT and they ask you what happened.

Posted in Apple, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks Tagged with: Tricks

Use Launchpad to delete an app

Launchpad offers a convenient way to delete apps that were downloaded from the App Store.

  1. To open Launchpad, click it in the Dock or open it from your Applications folder. You can also pinch closed with your thumb and three fingers on your trackpad.
  2. If you don't see the app in Launchpad, type its name in the search field at the top of the screen. Or swipe right or left with two fingers on your trackpad to show the next or previous page.
  3. Press and hold the Option (⌥) key, or click and hold any app until the apps jiggle.
  4. Click next to the app that you want to delete, then click Delete to confirm. The app is deleted immediately. Apps that don't show either didn't come from the App Store or are required by your Mac. To delete an app that didn't come from the App Store, use the Finder instead.


Deleting an app doesn't cancel any subscription you may have purchased with that app. Learn how to cancel subscriptions for apps that were downloaded from the App Store.

Use the Finder to delete an app

Apps
  1. Locate the app in the Finder. Most apps are in your Applications folder, which you can open by clicking Applications in the sidebar of any Finder window. Or use Spotlight to find the app, then press and hold the Command (⌘) key while double-clicking the app in Spotlight.
  2. Drag the app to the Trash, or select the app and choose File > Move to Trash.
  3. If you're asked for a user name and password, enter the name and password of an administrator account on your Mac. This is probably the name and password you use to log in to your Mac.
  4. To delete the app, choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Learn more

To use an app again after deleting it, either reinstall it or restore it from a backup.

  • To reinstall apps that were installed as part of macOS, reinstall macOS. This applies to apps such as Safari, iTunes, Books, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime.
  • You can also redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books that were installed from the App Store, iTunes Store, or Apple Books.

Mac Uninstall Apps Without Admin Settings

Learn how to delete apps on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Mac Uninstall Apps Without Admin Password

Learn what to do if the Dock contains an icon with a question mark.