Help · Mac apps
How to uninstall Private Internet Access on a Mac.
PIA says moving the app to the Trash removes the app but not its system service. Use the uninstaller in PIA's own settings instead.
Uninstall PIA
- Open Private Internet Access and disconnect.
- Click ⋯, then Settings › Help.
- Click Uninstall Private Internet Access at the bottom.
- Enter your Mac name and password (not your PIA login) and click Install Helper.
If the app won't open, PIA's help desk has a Terminal method that removes its system service by hand; follow it from PIA's own page.
Afterwards
- Check System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions for anything still named PIA; see login items. An app that's still in your Trash can stay listed there until you empty the Trash or restart; that's normal macOS behaviour.
- Empty the Trash when you're sure. Emptying the Trash is permanent.
Then check for leftover VPN configurations: see removing leftover VPN settings.
Based on PIA's own help desk articles, checked October 2026. Menu names can change between versions.
Then check for anything PIA left behind.
Once the app is gone, Pangalin Uninstaller's free Leftovers scan lists files left behind by apps that are no longer installed, by name and size. Apple's files are never included. It also shows where each one is and moves the ones you choose to the Trash in one go, with Undo.
Completely free · No account · Notarised by Apple · Apple silicon, macOS 13 or later