Recently switched to Apple by buying your first Mac and not sure how to remove a program you previously installed? Don’t worry, at first it can happen to anyone, even those who are familiar with technology. As it is often said in these cases, even the simplest things can sometimes seem difficult.
We will explain below how to uninstall an app on Mac, showing you the best ways to do it. You will see, it will be as easy as drinking a glass of water.
Uninstall Mac apps using Launchpad
Launching ramp, the Mac startup application, provides a convenient solution to uninstalling an application. Here’s how to do it:
- Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock bar.
- Find the app you want to remove. If you don’t see it, click “Search” at the top center and enter its name.
- Click and hold the app until it starts to vibrate with the other programs.
- Click the crosshair icon next to the application you want to remove from your Mac, then click “Remove” to confirm your choice.
That’s it, you don’t have to do anything else – you’ve just uninstalled your first application from your new computer. Do you believe it now when we said it would be a cinch?
Uninstall Mac apps using Finder and Trash
Nine times out of ten, just use Launching ramp to remove an application from your Mac. Sometimes, however, this is not enough. In fact, Launchpad is a perfect tool when used for programs downloaded from the Mac App StoreThis is not the case when you need to delete software downloaded outside of Apple’s app store.
If you mean uninstall Mac apps that won’t uninstall, the most effective solution is to use the Searcher, the application that manages files, folders and launching applications on macOS, as well as the Garbage can. Here is the procedure to follow :
- Find the app in Finder. Otherwise, click “Applications” in the sidebar of the Finder window to open the installed applications folder on the Mac. Alternatively, you can also use Spotlight, the search tool on Apple computers.
- Drag the app to the Trash icon. Or click on it, then go to “File” and select “Move to Trash”.
- Enter the username and password for your administrator account to confirm your identity. You do not always receive this warning, in all cases you only need to enter the username and the secret word that you use to access the computer.
- Go to Finder, then select “Empty Trash” to permanently delete the app.
Read also: How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac with iBeeSoft Data Recovery
Uninstall Mac apps with storage management tool
As an alternative to the two methods described above, you can remove an application from Mac using the Manage Storage tool, implemented by Apple for the first time since macOS Sierra. Here are the steps to follow:
- Click on the apple icon at the top left.
- Select “About this Mac”
- Choose “Storage”.
- Click on “Manage”.
- Select “Applications”.
- Find the app you want to remove, select it and click “Remove” twice in a row.
This method allows you to remove both apps downloaded from the Mac App Store and programs installed outside of the official store.
Uninstall Mac apps using official uninstaller
For some programs, like the antivirus for macOS, it is necessary to use the official uninstaller included in the application package, just like in Windows PCs. Here is the step by step procedure:
- Open the Applications folder.
- Find the program you want to uninstall.
- Double-click on the uninstaller (usually the tool is called “Uninstall [nome app]”).
- Follow the on-screen instructions (usually the steps are “OK”> “Yes”> “Next”> “Uninstall”).
- Enter your Mac account username and password to confirm.
To note: The steps are different from one program to another, so it is important to carefully follow the uninstallation wizard and read the instructions on the screen. Moreover, in case of any problem, you can always contact the official support of the app you want to remove or refer to the FAQ section of the official website.
Important: In some apps, the official removal tool is not contained in the app folder but directly in the .dmg package or in the settings menu.
Uninstall Mac apps without leaving traces on Mac
Sometimes it may happen that after deleting the app, unwanted traces remain of the same program in the storage space. In such cases, to completely uninstall an application from Mac, you need to resort to a third-party tool capable of delete the application and all residual files associated with.
One of the best programs in this regard is AppCleaner, the utility from the home of FreeMacSoft software. Once you drag the icon of the app to delete onto its window, AppCleaner processes all files related to the app.
Then, just one click to move them to the trash, it will then be up to you to empty it to complete the deletion.
Here is the procedure to follow in detail:
- Download AppCleaner from freemacsoft.net site.
- Extract the ZIP archive, then drag the AppCleaner icon into the “Applications” folder.
- Open AppCleaner.
- Drag the icon of the program you want to uninstall onto the AppCleaner window.
- Click “Remove” to start the removal process.
An alternative, for an additional cost, more complete and feature rich is CleanMyMac X, the full review of which you can find here.
What if you think about it?
Did you accidentally delete an application from your Mac? Or, more simply, have you thought about it? No problem, you can always reinstall it through the Mac App Store or restore it from a backup.
If you opt for the first solution, simply enter the Mac App Store, find the app you want on your computer again, and then download and install it later.
In the second case, use the tool instead Migration assistant:
- Open the “Applications” folder.
- Click on the “Utilities” subfolder.
- Open “Migration Assistant”.
- Add a check mark next to “From Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.”
- Select the Time Machine backup, then click “Continue”.
- Click on the last available backup and press “Continue”.
- Add the check mark next to “Applications”.
- Click “Continue” to start the restore.
In your case, if you’re new to the Mac as you probably are, the first method – reinstall the program from the Mac App Store – is the simplest, easiest, and most intuitive.
Instead, restoring via backup can come in handy later when you’ve become familiar with the new computer and maybe want to restore a large number of applications.
Conclusion
Our guide on how to uninstall an application from Mac ends here. We hope we have helped you with the initial problem, but if not, we invite you to leave a comment below to better explain the difficulty you are having.
You might also be interested in: How to uninstall Windows 10 programs
