Help · Mac apps

How to uninstall apps completely on a Mac.

By Grant and Brad, who make Pangalin's apps · Updated 10 October 2026

Dragging an app to the Trash removes the app itself, but usually not the files it created: settings, caches, support files and sometimes background helpers. Over the years these leftovers can take up gigabytes.

Start with the easy cases

Check for the app's own uninstaller. Some larger apps (for example from Adobe or Microsoft, and many VPN and security apps) ship one, often in the app's folder or menu. Use it first: it knows about helpers the app installed.
App Store apps: drag them from Applications to the Trash in Finder (macOS may ask for your password). On macOS 15 and earlier you can also use Launchpad. See deleting App Store apps.
Homebrew apps: use brew uninstall --cask --zap <name>. The --zap option also removes the files the app is known to leave behind.

Where leftovers hide

Most are in your own Library folder. In Finder choose Go › Go to Folder… (⇧⌘G) and type ~/Library. Look in:

Application Support: the app's data and settings folders
Caches and Logs
Preferences: files ending in .plist, usually named like com.company.AppName.plist
Containers and Group Containers: data for App Store and other sandboxed apps
Saved Application State and LaunchAgents

Some apps also install items Mac-wide, in /Library: Application Support, LaunchDaemons, PrivilegedHelperTools, and audio plug-ins under Audio/Plug-Ins.

Do it safely

Quit the app first, including any menu-bar icon.
Only move items clearly named after that app or its company. If you're not sure, leave it.
Move to the Trash, don't delete. Keep the Trash for a few days until you're sure everything works.
Check login items. In System Settings › General › Login Items, remove background items left by apps you've uninstalled. An app you've only moved to the Trash can stay listed under Allow in the Background until you empty the Trash or restart your Mac. That's normal: macOS keeps its built-in helper registered while the app is still in the Trash.
Leave licence and shared plug-in folders if other apps from the same company are still installed.

Or let Pangalin Uninstaller do the looking.

Pangalin Uninstaller finds an app's leftovers for you and lists every file with its size and its own checkbox before anything moves, including AI apps' model folders (unticked) and the app's privacy permissions. Files go to the Trash, so you can drag them back out. It's completely free, with no account, including the Mac-wide sweep.

Download free for Mac See how it works

Free to uninstall · One-click Undo · Notarised by Apple · Apple silicon, macOS 13 or later