How To Uninstall Applications on Your Mac

Here’s a quick guide on how to uninstall applications on your Mac. This process is simple and only takes a few moments to complete.

Checkout this video:

Introduction

If you’re new to the Mac, you may be wondering how to uninstall applications. While it’s easy to install software on a Mac, uninstalling it isn’t always as straightforward. In this article, we’ll show you how to uninstall applications on your Mac using several different methods.

What are the different ways to uninstall applications on Mac?

There are three different ways to uninstall applications on Mac: using the Trash, using an uninstaller utility, or manually removing the application files.

Using the Trash:

The easiest way to uninstall an application on Mac is to simply drag the app icon from the Applications folder to the Trash. This will uninstalled the app, but it will leave behind some support files and caches that can take up space on your hard drive. To completely remove an app and all of its associated files, you’ll need to use an uninstaller utility or delete the app files manually.

Using an Uninstaller Utility:

If you want to completely remove an application and all of its associated files, you can use an uninstaller utility. There are a number of different uninstaller utilities available, but we recommend AppZapper or AppCleaner. These utilities will scan your hard drive for all of the files associated with a particular application and then delete them for you.

Manually Removing Application Files:

If you want to remove an application but don’t want to use an uninstaller utility, you can delete the application files manually. First, locate the application in the Applications folder and then find its Preferences folder, which is usually in /Library/Preferences/. Delete any preference files that are in this folder. Next, look for any support files associated with the application in /Library/Application Support/. Finally, locate any cached data or saved states for the application in /Library/Caches/. Once you’ve deleted all of these files, the application should be completely removed from your system.

How to uninstall applications using the Terminal?

Navigating to the Library Folder
The first thing you need to do is open a Finder window and click on the “Go” menu at the top of your screen. Once the menu expands, hold down the “Option” key and click on “Library”. Doing so will open a new Finder window with your user Library folder displayed.

Now that you have your Library folder open, locate the “Application Support” folder within it and open it. Then, locate the application or applications you want to uninstall in this folder. For this example, we will be uninstalling an application called “Boomerang for Gmail”.

Uninstalling Applications
With the applications you want to uninstall located, select them and then press the “Command+Option+Shift+Delete” keys simultaneously. Doing so will immediately delete the selected application from your Mac without any further confirmation.

How to uninstall applications using AppCleaner?

1. Download AppCleaner for free
2. Launch AppCleaner
3. Drag and drop the app you want to uninstall into AppCleaner window
4. Click “Remove” button in AppCleaner
5. The selected application will be uninstalled from your Mac

How to uninstall applications using the Finder?

If you want to uninstall an application from your Mac, the process is pretty simple. Just follow these steps:

1. First, open the Finder application. You can do this by clicking on the Finder icon in your dock, or by using the Spotlight search tool (press Command+Space and type “Finder” into the search bar).

2. Once Finder is open, click on the “Applications” folder in the sidebar. This will show you a list of all the applications installed on your Mac.

3. Find the application you want to uninstall in the list and click on it once to select it.

4. Right-click (or Control-click) on the selected application and choose “Move to Trash” from the menu that appears.

5. You’ll be asked to confirm that you want to delete the selected application; click “OK” to continue.

6. The application will be moved to your Trash; you can now empty your Trash as usual to completely remove it from your system.

How to uninstall applications using Launchpad?

To uninstall an application using Launchpad, follow the steps below:
1. Click on the Launchpad icon in your Dock.
2. Find the app you want to delete in Launchpad. You can either type the name of the app in the search bar, or locate it via category.
3. Press and hold down on the app icon until it starts wiggling.
4. Click on the “X” that appears in the top left corner of the app icon.
5. Click on Delete when prompted to confirm your choice.

How to uninstall applications using third-party software?

There are a few different ways to approach uninstalling applications on your Mac. You can do it manually, by trashing the application files yourself, or you can use third-party software to automate the process.

If you want to uninstall an application manually, the first thing you’ll need to do is find the application files. These are usually located in the Applications folder, but they could also be stored in other places, like your Home folder or even on an external drive. Once you’ve found the files, you can delete them by dragging them to the trash.

If you want to use third-party software to uninstall applications, there are a few different options available. One popular choice is AppCleaner, which is free and available for download from the Mac App Store. Another option is AppZapper, which costs $19.95 and can be downloaded from the AppZapper website.

What are the benefits of uninstalling applications on Mac?

The applications that come installed on your Mac can take up a lot of storage space. If you find that you are low on storage space, one of the first places you can look to free up some space is by uninstalling applications that you no longer use. Uninstalling applications can also help improve your Mac’s performance because it frees up memory that was being used by the application.

In most cases, you can uninstall an application by dragging it from the Applications folder to the trash. However, some applications may not be able to be uninstalled this way. If you can’t uninstall an application using this method, you can use an uninstaller program.

When uninstalling an application, you should also delete any preference files or other support files that the application has created. These files are usually located in your home directory in a folder called Library. To access this folder, open Finder and then press Command+Shift+G. Type ~/Library in the field that appears and press Go.

Once you have located the support files for the application you want to remove, drag them to the trash. You may need to enter your administrator password when prompted. Once you have deleted all of the support files, empty the trash to complete the uninstall process.

What are the drawbacks of uninstalling applications on Mac?

There are a few drawbacks to uninstalling applications on your Mac. First, it can be time-consuming to find all of the files associated with an application. Second, you may not be able to completely remove all traces of the application, and third, you may inadvertently delete important files that are needed by other applications.

How to prevent applications from being installed on Mac?

There are a few ways to prevent applications from being installed on your Mac. One way is to use parental controls. You can also use security settings in some applications, such as Safari, to prevent installation of new applications.