How do you uninstall apps on Apple Mac? Here’s the right way
MacOS looks simple compared to Windows. Take uninstalling apps for example, you drag them to the Trash, right? Wrong! That leaves junk on the disk. Here is the right way to remove apps.
The common advice to drag apps to the Trash to remove them is not always true. It only works with some apps and you should not do this with all apps. First look to see if an app has an uninstaller. This may be provided as a separate app and the popular VirtualBox application comes with a VirtualBox_Unintall.tool which removes the app if you no longer need it.
An app may have an Uninstall option on one of its menus or within its preferences. Look for it and use it if it is there. Only if there is no uninstaller utility or Uninstall menu option should you drag files to the Trash to remove them.
You would be amazed at all the files that are left behind when you drag a Mac app to the Trash in the Dock and you should never remove apps that way if you really want a clean uninstall. Reinstalling an app will use the same files, so removing left-overs is important if you want a clean install of an app, such as to fix a problem. Over time left-over files accumulate with repeated installs and partial uninstalls, and problems may arise.
Use AppCleaner
You can uninstall apps manually by tracking down all the left-over files, but maybe I am just getting old, or maybe a tad lazy, but these days I just leave the job to AppCleaner. This is a free utility and it is a great way to clean up the Mac's disk drive when removing an app you no longer want. It has been updated for macOS Big Sur.
Instead of dragging the app from Applications folder to the Trash icon in the Dock, you drag it to the AppCleaner window instead. It then searches the disk for all the files that the app uses, and you can delete the lot, leaving a nice clean drive.
This app has been around for years and it stll works with the latest version of macOS. It is an essential utility I would not be without. Run AppCleaner and as it says in the window, just drag and drop apps on it. Alternatively, you can click the Applications button in the toolbar in the top right corner and after a few seconds it displays a list of all the apps that are installed on the Mac.
Just click the one that you want to remove and it automatically finds and lists all the files associated with that app in a flyout panel at the side.
Just look at the files it found (see the bigger picture below). Only the first of these, the app itself, would have been removed if the app had simply been dragged to the Trash. As you can see, there are many others that would have been left behind. Junk and clutter! In AppCleaner, all the items can be ticked for removal, but if you find a file that should not be there (I have never seen one), you can clear the tick to keep it. If everything is OK, click Remove and enter your administrator password.
It is a mystery why Apple has never included an uninstaller utility like this in macOS. AppCleaner is very easy to use, it works well, and it keeps your disk clean. It is also free. Go and grab a copy of this great tool. Get AppCleaner from the FreeMacSoft website.
Uninstall software with CleanMyMac X
There are many uninstaller utilities for the Mac and another favorite of mine is CleanMyMac X. It is actually a multifunction utility that performs many tasks and uninstalling software is just one of them. It is an all-in-one tool.
Select Uninstaller in the sidebar and in the middle collumn choose All Applications (there are also subcategories to help you find apps). On the right is a list of all the apps installed on the Mac. Just select one to uninstall it.. Here is a larger picture of the right hand pane, showing a selected app. You can expand each app to list its files below.
It finds binaries, preferences files, supporting files, installers and maybe more. It depends on the app and different apps have different files. CleanMyMac X finds them and lists them. All you then have to do is click the Uninstall button to remove them. Remember that dragging the app to the Trash would remove only the binary. Look how many other files would be left behind. CleanMyMac X finds them and deletes them.
You may have removed apps by dragging them to the Trash before you got an uninstaller. Left-over files could be cluttering the disk. You may have used an Uninstall option within an app or used an uninstaller tool. This may leave left-over files. All the files above remained after using the VirtualBox_Uninstaller.tool utility to remove VirtualBox. CleanMyMac X finds left-overs and enables you to select them and remove them.
This utility is not free, but it contains many useful utilities and functions and the uninstaller is just one of them. Scroll down for a link to get this great utility.
