How to delete an app on Mac from Applications folder. For those Mac apps that you've downloaded from the web, you can delete them from Application folder. Step 1 Click the 'Finder' icon in the Dock, and click the 'Applications' on the left side of the window. Step 2 Go through the list of applications on Mac and select the one you want to. In order to remove the Apps in Mac, you only have to open the application folder and drag the app to the Bin or Trash Can. This is rather easy if the program is uninstalled simply. However, if the application still denies to uninstall and stays on the Mac then we need to get another solution below. If you prefer keystrokes, you can also just select the app icon and then hit Command+Delete to move the app to Trash, then empty the Trash and the app will be removed. This method of uninstalling apps works in quite literally all versions of Mac OS X, from modern releases like OS X El Capitan (10.11.x) and prior to Snow Leopard as well, going.
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. Mac shortcut for currently running apps.
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.
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:
![You You](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134067881/211565550.jpg)
- 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.
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!
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Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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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.
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.
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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.
How Do You Delete An App On Macbook Pro
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.
How Do You Delete An App On Mac That Says It's Open
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. How to transfer apps from iphone to mac 2017.
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.