How to uninstall an app on a Mac and remove its leftover files
Quit the app, look in its folder for an Uninstall or Uninstaller app and run that if it exists. If not, drag the app to the Trash, or select it in Finder and choose File, then Move to Trash. Then empty the Trash. That removes the app, but not everything it made.
Steps from Apple
- Quit the app if it is open.
- Find it in Finder: search Spotlight, then hold Command while double clicking the result, or open the Applications folder from the sidebar or the Go menu. Some apps live in the Applications folder inside your home folder.
- Check the app’s folder for an Uninstall or Uninstaller app. Apple calls an uninstaller the best option because it can also remove login items, extensions and other data stored elsewhere.
- Otherwise drag the app to the Trash.
- If asked, enter an administrator name and password.
- Choose Finder, then Empty Trash to free the space.
Apps you cannot delete
Apple says apps macOS needs, such as Mail, Music, Books, Notes, Podcasts, Maps, News and Stocks, cannot be deleted in Finder. If macOS says the app is in use, close it, and restart if needed.
What it leaves behind
Apple notes that deleting an app does not remove documents you created with it, and does not cancel a subscription bought through it. Apps also leave files in your Library folder:
| Folder | What is in it |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/<App name> | The app’s data |
~/Library/Caches/<bundle id> | Its cache |
~/Library/Preferences/<bundle id>.plist | Its settings |
~/Library/Containers/<bundle id> | Data of sandboxed apps |
The list comes from the blog post on freeing space and is not an Apple list.
Should you remove them?
Only if you are done with the app for good. Settings and data are what you would want back after a reinstall. A few megabytes of preferences are not worth the risk. A multi gigabyte data folder for an app you have not opened in two years is. Move to the Trash, wait a day, then empty it.
Find which apps are big
Open System Settings, General, Storage and look at Applications, or sort the Applications folder by size.
In the notch
NotchStar’s Disk tool has an Apps section listing apps with the caches, preferences and logs they leave behind, so removing one cleans up fully. Apple apps and NotchStar itself are never offered for removal, and a running app shows Running instead of Remove.
