Those who have used a Windows computer most of their lives will especially notice the differences that exist when uninstalling a program on a Mac or MacBook, especially since sometimes the process is not as straightforward as we would like.
With this article, we are therefore going to demonstrate that there is always a way to permanently eliminate an app. This will help you free up storage space and thus improve performances from your Apple device.
In fact, this method can save us from having to format computer from scratch in the future or face problems as annoying as a Mac crashes frequently or one MacBook that won’t start.
How to uninstall programs on Mac or MacBook
In Windows, both to install and uninstall programs, the user must use installers specially designed for each Software. This is particularly the case for system security reasons.
In the early days, application developers could install pieces of their program here and there on your computer’s C: drive. In contrast, in the case of Apple, they avoided this by separating the system files from the user’s workspace.
Step 1. Locate the program in the “Applications” folder
Installed programs are usually automatically saved in the “Applications” folder. To access it, simply open your folder ‘Searcher‘and select the folder’Applications‘in the left menu.
In this folder, you will be able to recognize all the applications by means of its icon, which will allow you to open the program when you double-click on it. Now this icon is also a kind of package with all the necessary files that will allow you to use the application.
It is precisely this, that in a single icon all the information relating to the program is condensed, which means that to uninstall an application, you just have to move this icon to the “Recycle Bin”.
To do this, you can simply drag the app to the trash can icon from your Dock or select the option ‘Put in the trash‘from the drop-down menu that you will see when you right-click on the icon.
This process works with virtually all programs. In some cases, you may need to confirm the action by entering the password associated with the administrator user account on the computer.
Step 2. Remove preferences
When installing an application, the user’s preferences are saved in “Library / Preferences”, so we recommend that you also delete this information. To do this, you must go to the “Library” folder.
If you have installed Mac OS X version 10.3 or higher, you may notice that this folder is hidden. To display it, you need to follow these simple steps:
1. Open the ‘Searcher‘from your Mac by clicking on the smiley icon in your Dock.
2. Choose ‘Ir‘in the toolbar that you will find at the top of your screen. Now click on ‘Go to folder …“.
You can also use the shortcut by pressing the ‘Offset‘,’Order‘and’g‘ at a time.
3. Finally, write ‘~ / Library‘in the search bar and press’Ir“.
You can also follow this process:
1. Open the ‘Searcher‘from your Mac by clicking on the smiley icon in your Dock.
2. Hold the ‘Alt‘and choose the’ Go ‘option from the drop-down menu that will open at the top of the screen.
3. Finally, find the folder ‘~ / Library‘which you will see on the left.
Likewise, it is common that some files are also saved in ‘Library / Application Support’, so we recommend that you do this same procedure also for this type of files.
The exceptions that prove the rule
Now every rule has exceptions and some programs cannot be uninstalled so easily. In our own experience, a few examples would be the Adobe and Microsoft suites for Mac or tools like MacKeeper.
This program has a special way of complicating the elimination process. When you download it, it will install the files in hard-to-reach places that even its own uninstaller cannot remove.
That is why you should always be very careful while installing a third party application, have a antivirus that protects your computer and know how to prevent content malware do you infect Mac or MacBook.
If you are an advanced user, you might want to try using Terminal.app to find and remove these types of junk files. You can also use Find any file or any other graphics file browser.
Of course, do this very carefully, as you might delete the system files that are essential for the proper functioning of the computer. As a rule of thumb, think carefully before removing anything that requires entering the administrator password.
Uninstaller software for macOS
Finally, there are tools for shareware that claim to be able to do all of these processes for you, that is, track and eliminate files that you no longer need and that are taking up space on your computer.
We won’t recommend anyone over another, but you can try Uninstallation program, AppCleaner, AppDelete and CleanApp, all downloadable with one click on the Internet.
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