1. How To Uninstall Downloads On Mac
2. How To Uninstall Apps In Mac Mini
3. Best Way To Uninstall App On Mac

Quick question – how do you uninstall programs on Mac?

If your answer is to drag the app to the Trash, we’re sorry to say that you’ve been doing it wrong.

For apps downloaded from the Mac App Store, complete the following steps: Step 1: locate the Launchpad icon. Step 2: Select the program/app you want to delete. Hold it down until all the apps begin to jiggle. Step 3: Click the “X” displayed in the upper corner. Sometimes there will be a “Delete” button too that works the same way.

1. If you’re relatively new to the Mac, it may not be immediately obvious as to how you would delete an app—after all, OS X doesn’t come with any sort of uninstaller like Windows does.Removing.
2. How to delete apps from your Dock; How to delete apps downloaded from the Mac App Store. Deleting an app you downloaded from the Mac App Store is a lot like deleting an app from your iPhone. Open Launchpad on your Mac. This can be done by clicking the Launchpad icon on your Dock, tapping F4 in the function row, or performing a four-finger pinch.

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

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:

1. Open Finder.
2. Go to Applications.
3. Choose the app you want to delete.
4. Press Command + Delete (⌘⌫).
5. Open Trash.
6. 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:

1. Click Launchpad icon in your Mac's Dock.
2. Find the app you want to delete.
3. Click and hold the app until it starts shaking.
4. Click X in the top-left corner of the app icon.
5. 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:

1. Download CleanMyMac X, install, and launch it (it takes less than a minute).
2. Go to Uninstaller.
3. Choose All Applications.
4. Check the boxes next to the app you want to remove.
5. 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:

You might install some apps on your Mac, but later find that they are not for you. And you want to delete those applications from your computer to save space for other items.

Actually, uninstalling applications on macOS is easier than that on Windows operating system. Here are some tips on how to uninstall or remove apps from macOS 10. 15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave and more.

Delete Apps on Mac

The easiest way to uninstall an app from Mac is selecting the application's icon and move it to Trash.

1Click Finder app on the Mac dock.

2 Click the Application folder in the left side panel.

3Go through all the programs until you find the icon of the program that you want to uninstall. Right-click the icon and select Move to Trash or drag the icon right to the trash can.

Note: You can also search the app by entering the name in the search box in the upper right corner. If the program has its own uninstaller application, run the uninstaller program to remove your app.

4 Finally, right-click the trash can icon and select Empty Trash.

Note: If you run Mac as a guest, you may be asked to enter an account and password when you are removing an app. Enter an admin name and password to continue your deletion.

Why Can You Uninstall Programs on Mac by Trash?

Unlike Windows, on a Mac, applications and a user's working space are separated. Typically, programs on Mac are stored in the Application folder while users' preference files are kept in the Library folder. All files about the app are packaged together inside the Application folder, which means everything relating to the app is stored in one place.

If you find your app in the Application folder, right-click the app and select shows package contents, you'll see various files. So, when you delete it, you can delete everything relating to the app.

Uninstall Applications from Launchpad

Another alternative is to use Launchpad, which offers a convenient way to uninstall applications downloaded from App Store.

How To Uninstall Downloads On Mac

1Click Launchpad, represented by a spaceship in your Mac Dock. (or click on F4)

2Scroll through the list of your installed apps, then locate the application you want to delete.

3Click and hold the app until a cross appears on the icon. (or press the Option/Alt key)

4Click the cross button in the upper left of the app icon.

How To Uninstall Apps In Mac Mini

To exit deletion mode, simply click anywhere on the screen that's no occupied by an app icon.

Completely Uninstall Apps on Mac

Sometimes, the methods mentioned above may not completely delete all the files relating to the apps, such as some of your preference files. And you need to remove these files from the Library folder. Here will introduce how to do that.

1Go to the Library folder: open Finder and click Go in the top bar, when the menu shows, click the Option/Alt key.

Note: Usually, you'll not see the Library folder in the Go menu, but it's there. It is hidden because Apple doesn't want you to delete something important.

2The Library option will appear and click the option to open the folder.

3 Go through the lists of this folder to find out the files relating to the application you are uninstalling.

4 Next, open the Application Support directories under Finder to search for data relating to the app you are removing.

Use App Uninstaller for Mac

As mentioned in the last section, the above methods are not enough. There are some tricky apps, which store associated files in the Library folder and it is not convenient to completely uninstall the app by deleting these files one by one.

Luckily, there exist some professional uninstaller apps that can help you delete those tricky apps. FonePaw MacMaster is one of the best app cleaners for Mac. It can remove your unwanted apps without leftovers only in 3 steps, which is cleaner than dragging the app into Trash.

If you want to easily, quickly and permanently uninstall an app from macOS Mojave, Catalina, etc., MacMaster can be helpful.So, how to uninstall an app from Mac in a fast and clean way with MacMaster? The following steps will show you how to do that.

Best Way To Uninstall App On Mac

Step 1Launch MacMaster and move to the Uninstaller option.

Step 2Scan the apps on your Mac and select the unneeded application.

Step 3Delete the application and associated files from your Mac by clicking the Clean button.

It is pretty easy, isn't it? Give it a try to make your Mac get back to the new status.

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