- How To Delete Apps On Mac High Sierra
- Uninstall App Store App Mac
- How To Uninstall Apps On Mac High Sierra
We live in the golden age of apps. We are being spammed by the apps forcing us to update, install the latest extension, read some marketing fluff that’s pouring on us from every pop up window. Your best defence is to teach yourself about deleting software properly. And simply dragging apps to the Trash is no way a secure deletion.
Why? Because it leaves behind app parts and pieces. And leaving software only half uninstalled will fill up gigabytes of space on your Mac’s hard drive with useless clutter. And sure you could find a better use for that space. That’s why, until Apple decides to make the right choice and develop a better way to completely uninstall apps on Mac, we’ve prepared some efficient tips and tricks to help you uninstall apps manually and keep the performance of your Mac at its peak, day in and day out.
A complete guide to uninstall software on Mac
In this guide, we’re going to show you how to completely remove apps from your Mac in order to free up space and have your Mac running at full power.
We’ve prepared two ways for deleting apps on Mac. We'll start off by explaining manual ways of deleting apps on Mac.
Delete Apps on Mac. The easiest way to uninstall an app from Mac is selecting the application's. 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.
Did you know: Some apps are hard to delete manually as they consist of many unseen parts. In this case, you'll need a special 'app destroyer.' The most popular one is CleanMyMac X by MacPaw.Whichever method you choose, it will help you to correctly remove apps on Mac. You will then have a clean Mac and a lot more free space to store your digital possessions.
What’s more, we’ve also added 2 bonus tips for uninstalling Java and deleting apps via the Terminal:
- Bonus 1: Uninstall Java on Mac
- Bonus 2: Uninstall apps using Terminal
Sounds good? Now, let’s take out the trash!
How to Remove Programs on Mac manually
It’s time for the big reveal. We’re going to show you where to find all the associated app files that remain trapped on your Mac even after you’ve sent an app to the Trash.
But before we proceed, take caution. If you’ve chosen the manual method to remove programs on Mac we admire your determination, but we must also warn you to keep a careful eye on what you’re deleting. You don’t want to end up removing essential files. So, carefully check all the filenames before you begin to uninstall software on Mac and make sure they belong to the app you want to remove.
Sending apps to the Trash
Open your Applications (from the sidebar in Finder).
Select an app and drag it onto the Trash bin. That's it.
What if it doesn't work?
Sometimes, for the mysterious reasons, your Mac would refuse to delete some files. If this happens, reboot your system and try again, after you’ve pressed Command-Option-Esc and made sure the app is not listed as running. If it is, force quit and try again.
The hard truth about leftovers
There’s also the risk of having some app files slip through the cracks of the manual method, if you’re not thorough enough. To illustrate, we've deleted the XCode software by dragging it to the Trash. It ended up leaving 1.9 GB worth of remaining files. It may depend on an app, though.
We'll explain how to eliminate them in a second. But, again, if you'd like to automatically delete these minor app parts, skip to the automatic solution with CleanMyMac X.
Dealing with the remaining parts
Now, let’s gather all strength and begin our manual hunt for app leftovers! To make sure you don’t miss anything and you remove software from your Mac correctly, follow these steps:
Step 1 – write down the name of the apps that you have sent to the Trash and go to the next step to start finding apps leftovers and associated files.
Step 2 – go to the following locations and if you find a folder associated with any app name you have written down, delete it to completely uninstall the programs.
Open the Finder
Click on Finder > Go> Go to Folder...
So, to fully remove an app and its leftovers from your Mac you need to check these locations in the Finder.
That was obviously a cumbersome way to delete things. In the next chapter we'll show the much easier method.
Don’t forget to empty the Trash
Once your apps are moved to the Trash bin you need to empty it. Open the Trash bin and click the Empty button to erase its contents.
How to delete Mac apps automatically
There is a whole category of app uninstallers for Mac that takes advantage of macOS' inability to remove apps completely. Among the trusted tools, you may check CleanMyMac X by MacPaw. It's notarized by Apple and is the most user-friendly compared to analogous apps.
You may download the free edition of CleanMyMac X here. This app will detect the unseen apps and you can delete many apps at once by simply checking them in the list. The free version that allows you to clean a big portion of junk. This means you can delete a couple of un-deletable apps at no cost.
If you like it, you’ll be able to upgrade to the paid version and give your Mac a full clean out. You’ll also be able to uninstall apps on Mac correctly at any given time, without limits.
To remove apps from Mac the easy way with CleanMyMac X follow these steps:
- Launch CleanMyMac and go to the Uninstaller tab
- Click View All Applications
- Select any app you want to remove completely
- Click Uninstall to remove 100% of the app from your Mac
As you can see from the screenshot, there is an option to filter out the AppStore apps, the Unused apps, 32-bit ones and more.
Download Free VersionUninstall applications using Launchpad
You can use Launchpad to get rid of your apps and widgets.
- Open Launchpad in the Dock
- Hold down the Command key and click on any app
- Wait until the apps start shaking
Now you can click the hovering [X] icon to delete the app.
How To Delete Apps On Mac High Sierra
How to completely uninstall Java from your Mac
Java plugin is known to have conflict issues with many apps. Re-installing it helps to get some Mac’s services back to working. But completely removing Java might seem a bit harder than uninstalling normal apps. However, it’s not rocket science. With a few clicks and double-clicks, you’ll be ready to enjoy more space and more speed from your Mac, free from the clutter. Space you can, of course, use to install another Java version if you please.
So here’s how to completely delete Java. Remove one directory and one file (a symlink), as follows:
- Click on the Finder icon located in your dock
- Click on the Utilities folder
- Double-click on the Terminal icon
- In the Terminal window Copy and Paste the commands below:
- sudo rm -fr /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
- sudo rm -fr /Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane
- sudo rm -fr ~/Library/Application Support/Java
How to uninstall apps on Mac using Terminal
We've shown you how to remove Java plugin using Terminal. But as one might guess, it works for any other app. This procedure requires 2 commands: 1) Finding the app's location (using the mdfind command) 2) Removing that folder using sudo rm -rf. The latter command may cause damage, so don't use it if you're not sure what you doing).
Okay. Open your Terminal app (you can type its name into the Launchpad)
1. First, we'll find the app's location
Now, paste this command into the Terminal window:
mdfind -name <The name of your app>
For example, the app I'm trying to delete is named 'NVU'
Press enter and the Terminal will show you where the app is located on your Mac.
2. Delete that particular path
To remove the app, paste this command into the Terminal window:
sudo rm -rf <The location you've just found>
In my case it looks like this:
Note: sudo rm -rf may break your system if used incorrectly. You may delete your entire user account. If not sure, try other methods described in this article.
Now, enter your password to confirm.
Did it work? Congratulations — you may officially call yourself a geek now.
How to reset apps without deleting them
Yes, you can do that too. Resetting an app is easily the greatest do-it-yourself trick any Mac user can try. What it does is brings the application to its default state, and most importantly, leaves your user data intact. For example, your apps are out of sync with one another so what the reset does is helps restore the initial app settings. It deletes the app cache that causes lots of software glitches. The App Reset feature is found in the Uninstaller tab in CleanMyMac X.
By the way, you can even reset your Mac's default apps, like Safari if they are broken. Here's me resetting my Safari browser:
To use these feature, which is really a hidden gem, open the Uninstaller tab in CleanMyMac X (download its free edition here)
- Find and click on the Uninstaller tab.
- Choose any app in the list
- Click on the dropdown menu under the Uninstall button. This reveals the Reset option.
Now you know everything needed to delete apps on Mac the correct way, achieve complete uninstallation and remove annoying quirks and strange apps behaviors. Whether you choose the manual method or opt for the clean up app CleanMyMac X, you can be sure your Mac will be free of unnecessary app files that eat up disk space in vain. Staying safe and clean feels great, right?
There often comes a time when you just don’t need to keep an app around. It may be old and unsupported – or maybe you just don’t use it anymore and don’t have a need to keep it around. If that sounds like you, we’ll show you exactly how to uninstall apps on Mac.
Uninstall Mac Applications
Get the best uninstallers to delete any application on your Mac.
With macOS Catalina and later, there are plenty of great reasons to delete apps. If an app is 32-bit, it has to go. Apple made the decision to discontinue support for 32-bit binaries with macOS Catalina, and many app developers didn’t retrofit their apps to be 64-bit as Apple requested. Old 32-bit apps no longer work on macOS.
Some apps may just be unnecessary. If you have apps for managing photos or your music library, you may find the new Photos app that comes with macOS or the new Music app do a great job, so the old software you’d been using is redundant. It’s gotta go!
Whatever the case, there are quick and easy ways to delete apps from your Mac. We’ll walk you through it!
One thing to know is deleting an app isn’t the same as uninstalling it. There are two ways to delete apps, though: Finder, and Launchpad.
How to delete apps on Mac using Launchpad
In Launchpad, you can pressing and holding the app's icon to bring up the wiggly app management feature. Like iOS, app icons start to shake in-place, which allows you to move them around. Third-party apps also have a small ‘x’ icon on the top right of the icon in this mode, which allows you to delete them.
Uninstall App Store App Mac
Another way to delete apps is from Finder. There, you simply select the app, then right-click and select ‘delete.’ In either Finder or Launchpad, you can drag app icons to the trash bin to delete the apps.
(If you’re on an older version of macOS – or OS X, for the much older versions – and managing apps via iTunes, the process is similar. Select the app, right-click, and select ‘Move to Trash.’)
Remove apps with the Finder
Remember when we told you deleting and uninstalling weren’t the same? Deleting is the first step in the process; Apple wants you to do more work!
The completely uninstall an app, follow the instructions for deleting an app above. Then head to your library folder from Finder:
- Open Finder
- Select ‘Go’ from menu
- Hold down ‘option’ key on keyboard; you should see a new option for ‘Library’
- While holding down the option key, select ‘Library’
A word of caution before you proceed: DO NOT delete files if you’re not sure what they do. Apple hides the Library for a reason: most people shouldn’t go poking through it and deleting files haphazardly. If you don’t know what a file or folder is for, leave it alone.
Library houses files and folders apps need to operate. Sometimes these files or folders are for updating an app, or managing a Safari extension. Again, Library isn’t a toy. Tread lightly!
When you find a file or folder you know doesn’t belong – and is associated with the app you deleted – you can also delete the file by right-clicking and selecting ‘Move to Trash,’ or dragging it to the trash bin.
Deleting these files completes the deletion of an app. It’s possible those files were doing things necessary for the app that you no longer want, like calling a server or tracking keystrokes. Without the app, those types of features are just spyware.
When you’re done deleting apps and associated files, go ahead and empty your trash bin.
If you’re thinking ‘wow, that all seems sort of scary,’ you’re not wrong. Even seasoned pros get nervous when digging into a computer’s Library file system. There is a better way to uninstall programs from Mac, though!
Uninstall Mac apps and delete left behind files
If the idea of deleting apps and digging into secret libraries on your Mac to remove associated files is daunting, we have a better solution.
CleanMyMacX is a best Mac utility that helps manage your apps and files, in addition to a ton of other features. For now, we’ll focus on app management.
In the CleanMyMacX menu is an ‘Applications’ section on the left pane. It has three options: Uninstaller, Updater, and Extensions. Updater lets you manage updates for apps you want to keep, and saves you the trouble of digging through the App Store just to update an app.
Extensions helps you manage Safari browser extensions, Spotlight plugins, Internet Plugins, and Preference Panes. It’s the simplest and most straightforward way to manage the add-ons some apps demand, which aren’t always caught when deleting or uninstalling an app. When you find an extension you don’t want, just select it and click the ‘Remove’ button at the bottom of the window.
To uninstall apps on Mac, go to the ‘Uninstaller’ option with CleanMyMacX. Here you’ll see apps in a variety of categories. There’s the ‘all’ category for – you guessed it – all of the apps on your Mac. There’s also a section named ‘unused,’ which shows you which apps you’re not really using often.
How To Uninstall Apps On Mac High Sierra
The ‘Leftovers’ section makes Apple’s ‘Library’ look silly. In CleanMyMacX, Leftovers automatically finds the files associates with apps you no longer have. Hovering over the file in a list brings up the ‘Show’ option, which gives you precise info on exactly what app the file is associated with. No more fumbling through Library and guessing!
There’s also a section for 32-bit apps (remember, we talked about that!) which shows every app that’s no longer supported for macOS. If you really enjoy the app, we suggest reaching out to the developer to see if they will be making it a 64-bit app. If not, go ahead and delete it; it just won’t work on your Mac.
When you’re ready to uninstall programs from your Mac, select the app in any menu you see it in and click ‘Uninstall’ at the bottom of the screen. It’s that easy!
Conclusion
The main goal when uninstalling an app from macOS is to get rid of it completely: files, folders, the app – everything. We’ll also note that if you plan on never using the app or service again, it’s best to request the app developer remove your profile entirely. The method for this varies, but the app or service’s website should have the answer you need.
It takes a long time to delete an app the Apple way, and it’s just not worth it. Digging through the Library is scary stuff, and one wrong move can have a ripple effect on your entire system. No thanks!
We prefer CleanMyMacX, which takes care of the heavy lifting of deleting an app, then removing associated files to completely uninstall it. With a few clicks, you completely rid yourself of an app you don’t want.
For mobile users, there’s also AnyTrans, available for iOS and Android. AnyTrans is a macOS app that lets you manage backups, apps on your device, and account or cloud content in a much cleaner interface than Apple or Google provide. It’s easy to use, and available for both Android and iOS.
Best of all, AnyTrans as well as CleanMyMacX are available free as part of a seven day trial of Setapp. In addition to these apps, you get access to dozens of other handy macOS apps!
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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