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Wondering how to remove apps from Mac? Here's a quick guide
It is always a good idea to free up the disk space on your Mac of unwanted apps to optimise its performance. This becomes all the more important if you have a malicious app causing a problem. However, the process of getting rid of an app on Mac might be confusing. While a lot of you may think that simply moving an application to Trash would be enough, the truth is it isn't the same as uninstalling it. There still might be some leftover app-related files that adds to the clutter. In this guide, we'll talk about some of the easiest ways to delete as well as completely uninstall one or more apps from your Mac. So, let's dive right into it!
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Follow these steps to delete apps on your Mac that you downloaded from the App store:
When using this method, do keep in mind that the Delete button (x) appears only for apps downloaded from the App Store. For deleting other apps, use the Finder method.
Here is how you can locate and remove any app on your Mac and send it straight to Trash:
Now, deleting an app and sending it to Trash using the Launchpad or Finder might seem like the easiest solution to uninstall it from your Mac. But, as mentioned earlier, you'll still have to search the system for some leftovers and remove them too in order to get rid of the app and its associated files completely. Below are some of the possible methods you can try.
Most third-party apps that you download from the internet come with a built-in uninstaller as a utility bundled with the main app for better user experience. Should you wish to delete one such app from your Mac, just follow the below steps to uninstall it from your Mac.
And voila! You have successfully uninstalled the app from your Mac. In some cases, you may still have some filed left behind, you'll have to remove them one by one manually.
Note: If you can't find the uninstaller for a third-party app or have deleted it accidentally, it is always possible to check the developer's website and download it again.
A great way to save yourself from the daunting task of uninstalling an app and then, digging into the system on your Mac and removing the leftover files manually is to use a third-party tool like CleanMyMac X. Here's all you need to do to uninstall an app with this method.
Terminal is an in-built program in MacOS that allows you to accomplish tasks like deleting an app without having to download a third-party tool. The steps are quite straightforward.
First and foremost, check if the app you're trying to delete is already open or running in the background. If it is, quit it and then try uninstalling again. You can also try to delete the app in question and its associated files manually one by one after force quitting it (Command + Option + Esc) or rebooting your system. In case you still can't delete it, it's possible that the app may come preinstalled with MacOS and cannot be uninstalled from the system.
If you can't move one or more apps to the Trash using the Finder, it is possible that they are required by your Mac and cannot be deleted from the system.