How to Uninstall Apps on Mac (and Remove the Leftovers)

Quick answer: to uninstall an app on a Mac, quit it, open Applications in Finder, drag the app to the Trash, then empty the Trash. If the app came with its own uninstaller, run that instead. To remove what the app left behind, check its folders in ~/Library, mainly Application Support, Caches and Containers.

The steps below follow Apple’s current documentation for macOS 27 and work the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac mini. The rest of the guide covers each removal method, what every leftover folder holds, and what to do when an app won’t delete.

How to uninstall apps on Mac by dragging them to the Trash

This works for almost every app, wherever you got it. It’s the method in Apple’s guide to deleting or uninstalling apps on Mac.

1. Quit the app if it’s open.
2. Open Finder and click Applications in the sidebar. Some apps live in the Applications folder inside your home folder instead (Go > Home).
3. Drag the app to the Trash, or select it and choose File > Move to Trash.
4. If you’re asked, enter the name and password of an administrator account.
5. Choose Finder > Empty Trash. The space only comes back once the Trash is empty.

Changed your mind before emptying the Trash? Select the app in the Trash and choose File > Put Back. Deleting an app doesn’t remove documents you made with it, and it doesn’t cancel any subscription you bought through it.

Uninstall apps from Apps (formerly Launchpad)

Apps you downloaded from the App Store can be removed without opening Finder. In macOS Tahoe 26 and later, Launchpad has been replaced by Apps.

1. Click the Apps icon in the Dock.
2. Click and hold the icon of the app you want to delete until it begins to jiggle.
3. Click the app’s Close button.

On macOS Sequoia 15 and earlier, the same steps run in Launchpad: press and hold the Option key, or click and hold any app until the icons jiggle, then click the Delete button and confirm. Launchpad only shows that button for App Store apps; for anything else, use the Trash method.

Uninstall apps from Storage settings

Storage settings list your apps with their sizes, which is the quickest way to find the big ones you’ve forgotten about.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click General in the sidebar.
2. Click Storage.
3. Click the Info button next to Applications.
4. Select the app you want to remove, then click Delete.

Apple describes this view in finding and deleting files on your Mac. System apps aren’t included in the list, so you can’t remove them from here by mistake.

Apps with their own uninstaller

Some apps ship with an uninstaller, usually ones that hook deeper into macOS: security tools, VPN clients, virtualization software, drivers, and large creative suites. Apple calls an uninstaller the best way to remove an app because it also cleans up the login items, extensions and data stored in other locations.

1. In Finder, open Applications and look for a folder with the app’s name.
2. If you see Uninstall [App] or [App] Uninstaller, double-click it and follow the onscreen steps.
3. If there’s no separate uninstaller, check the app’s own menus or settings. Some apps hide an uninstall, remove or reset option there.

Skipping the uninstaller for this kind of app is how you end up with a helper process that keeps launching after the app is gone.

App Store apps

App Store apps are sandboxed, so they keep almost everything they store in one folder: ~/Library/Containers, under the app’s bundle ID. That makes them the easiest apps to remove cleanly. Delete them from Apps, Storage settings or the Trash, then check Containers for a folder that’s still there.

Apple’s guide to installing and uninstalling App Store purchases covers reinstalling as well. Your purchase stays tied to your Apple Account, so you can download the app again later. Any subscription is billed separately and has to be cancelled on its own.

Remove leftover files in ~/Library

Dragging an app to the Trash removes the app itself. Settings, caches and data it wrote elsewhere stay behind. Most of that is tiny. Some of it, from games, creative tools and chat apps, can run to gigabytes.

1. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G).
2. Enter ~/Library/Application Support and press Return.
3. Look for folders named after the app or its developer. Many use the bundle ID, such as com.developer.appname.
4. Repeat for the other folders in the table below.
5. Move what you’re sure belongs to the removed app to the Trash, then empty it.

Folder	What it holds	Safe to remove after uninstalling?
~/Library/Application Support	The app’s working data: databases, downloads, libraries	Yes, once you’re sure you don’t need the data in it
~/Library/Caches	Rebuildable data that speeds the app up	Yes
~/Library/Preferences	Settings files (.plist), usually a few kilobytes	Yes, but it saves almost no space
~/Library/Containers	Everything a sandboxed app stores, including its own data	Yes, but check first: it can hold your files for that app
~/Library/Saved Application State	Window positions macOS uses to reopen an app where you left it	Yes; tiny
~/Library/LaunchAgents	Files that start an app’s background helper at login	Yes, for the removed app only

Sort each folder by size in list view, and start with the folders that jump out. A handful of large folders is where the space is. Hunting down kilobyte preference files isn’t worth your time.

Caches are often the biggest part of what’s left. Our guide to clearing cache on a Mac safely covers that folder in detail. If you’d rather not dig through it yourself, BlueHammer Cleaner groups caches by app and shows sizes first, so you see what each one holds before anything is cleared. It doesn’t uninstall apps; use one of the methods above for that.

What not to delete

The safe rule for leftovers is simple: if you’re not sure a file belongs to the app you removed, leave it.

• Built-in apps. Mail, Music, Books, Notes, Podcasts, Maps, News, Stocks and Safari are part of macOS and can’t be deleted. Don’t try to force it.
• Anything in /System or the top-level /Library folder. The /Library folder at the root of your disk affects every user and is managed by macOS and installers. Your own ~/Library (with the tilde) is the one to clean.
• Shared developer folders. Developers often share a folder across several apps, including ones in ~/Library/Group Containers. Deleting one because it carries the company name can break an app you still use.
• Data you might want back. Application Support and Containers can hold game saves, offline libraries and local notes. Copy anything you might need first, or make sure your Mac backup is current.

When an app won’t delete

The app is still open. Quit it, and check the menu bar for an icon that keeps it running in the background. If it won’t quit, open Activity Monitor, select the app, click the Stop button, then choose Quit. If your Mac still says it’s in use, restart, or start up in safe mode, and try again.

A login or background item keeps it running.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General, then click Login Items & Extensions.
2. Select the app in the list of items that open at login, then click the Remove button below it.
3. Turn the app off in the list of apps allowed to run in the background.
4. Quit the app and drag it to the Trash again.

This is also the fix for an app you already deleted that still appears at login. Its leftover helper file usually sits in ~/Library/LaunchAgents.

You don’t have admin rights. Apps in the main Applications folder are shared by every account on the Mac, so removing one can ask for an administrator’s name and password. On a work Mac or a standard account, ask whoever manages the Mac.

It’s a system app. If Finder refuses outright and the app came with macOS, it’s protected. That’s expected, not a fault.

What uninstalling won’t fix

For most apps, dragging to the Trash is enough. The leftovers are small and do nothing once the app is gone, so a perfectly clean removal matters mainly for large apps, apps with background helpers, and apps you plan to reinstall from scratch.

Removing apps frees space only after you empty the Trash. The app itself counts under Applications in Storage settings, while its leftover support files count toward System Data, so clearing those helps there too. If System Data is still the big number, read what System Data means on a Mac. For a wider cleanup that doesn’t risk files you still need, work through freeing up space without removing needed files.