You have been using your new Mac for a short time and the time has come when you want to uninstall one of the programs, tools or applications that you have on the system and you don't know how to do it so that it is completely eliminated. In this case we have to note that removing applications or programs in macOS is really easy and you don't have to think too much or complicate your life at all.
Just as the installation of these applications is a very easy, fast and clean task, when we have to do without them the ease and speed are equal. In short, we do not need third-party applications for the elimination of the programs, there is also no need to think that there may be remains of deleted applications since the operating system is responsible for eliminating said remains, but If we still want to use specific applications to eliminate applications, we can also do it.
Remove apps without third-party apps
As we announced at the beginning of this tutorial, there are third-party applications to be able to eliminate the apps from our team but the first step is to see that these applications are not really needed since we can eliminate directly simply by dragging to the trash or by selecting the application that we want to remove from the Launchpad.
This is for me the best option and to carry it out we simply have to enter the Launchpad> Hold down on an application (as in iOS) and the "shaky X" will appear to click on it and delete it.
The option to delete the application does not appear
It is possible that some tools or applications that we have in the Launchpad -especially those that do not come directly from the Mac App Store- downloaded directly from the developer's website don't show that "shaky X" in the upper right corner or don't allow them to be removed by "dragging directly to the trash".
In this case we have to exit the Launchpad and simply look for the application icon directly from our Finder. We can do this directly from the Finder window or directly accessing the Applications folder And then it is as simple as dragging it to the recycle bin and it will automatically be deleted from the Mac and Launchpad.
Personally, I can say that this method is the one that I have been using for a long time to remove applications on my Mac, but we can use applications that we find in the Mac App Store and outside of it to perform the removal. This is something very personal for each user and in any case the interesting thing about this is that if in each new jump of operating system like the one that will come now from macOS Sierra to macOS High Sierra we perform a clean installation of the system, using third-party applications has no benefit. If, on the other hand, we never install our OS from scratch, it is possible that some of the applications that we will see below are a better option, but this is not 100% demonstrable either.
Let's get started with CleanMyMac
This is one of the applications that we have seen on numerous occasions in Soy de Mac. Of course, the best thing about this application is that it allows us to perform a deeper cleaning on our Mac, beyond simply eliminating installed applications or tools. The application is paid and it is not precisely that it is cheap since It has a price of 31,96 euros, but with it we have the possibility to eliminate, in addition to the applications that we no longer want, to clean our equipment in general.
But now let's see how we directly remove the applications with CleanMyMac 3, which is the version that can be found directly in the MacPaw developer website. This app has not been available on the Mac App Store for a while, but the developer can be trusted.
We open CleanMyMac 3 3.8.4 which is the current version and we go Utilities in the lower left menu and click on Uninstaller. The applications that we have installed on our Mac will appear and simply We select one or more applications at the same time and click on Complete Uninstallation. We will see that Auxiliary Files or Preferences of the application itself appear that will also be eliminated automatically.
This is one of those applications that I have used and it works really well, but I think that simply to remove applications is not the best option due to the price of it. Of course, it offers us a simple and neat interface also serve to keep your Mac clean.
AppZapper is the following application
This is an application totally opposite to the previous CleanMyMac 3. In this case the application that is also available outside the Apple application store, has an old interface, we can even say that it is obsolete and has not received new versions for a long time.
On the other hand, all this of the interface and others that seems at first so negative in the AppZapper app, contrasts directly with the ffunctionality and ease of use of the application. As soon as we open the application, this window appears in which we can start deleting apps:
We directly drag the application to delete and that's it. But we can also touch the «switch» that appears on the upper right side and we will see all the applications that we have installed on our computer. Once we click on the one we want to delete, the libraries are attached, the file of log, .plist, etc, which are usually installed in each of the applications on our computer and click on «Zap!»
The application will be completely removed from our team.
AppCleaner is the third that we propose
The last of the applications that we want to share with all of you is also a veteran application in the functions of deleting apps and that is outside the official Apple application store. In this case AppCleaner It offers us an interface very similar to the previous application and a system to eliminate the applications practically the same. This application is one of the ones that I have used the least personally but performs its function just as well as other applications that we have seen in this article.
A particularity of AppCleaner is that when downloading it from the web it is not installed in our Applications folder, we have to save it manually. Once saved we execute it and it will appear with an interface similar to AppZapper, to drag and delete:
We also have the list of applications installed on the Mac if we click on the upper right button. Once we have the list of applications, we simply have to choose the applications that we want to delete and that's it:
Summarizing a bit
In short, we can use these or other applications that exist to delete apps from our Mac, but the best for this task (personally speaking) is alwayse the native form of our macOS system and it is very simple to do and we will not have to download anything on our computer. Then there are applications like CleanMyMac that offer another level of options available in addition to the elimination of apps, but ultimately what we are looking for in this case is to remove those applications that we do not use and we do not see necessary to install anything. As always happens in these cases, to taste the colors and everyone is free to obtain this type of application on their Mac, but first we can confirm that they are not necessary.
good article. I just bought a mac and I'm half lost. it's time to clean up a bit.
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A very good article, very useful to know programs that allow you to uninstall applications without leaving a trace.
The problem I have is that I have uninstalled a program that did not work well to reinstall it again, but when I try it the mac does not let me and tells me that it is already installed, and after searching, I do not see any remains of it anywhere . What I can do?
I bought one almost two years ago and I was working on them, I have already learned many things that I did not know and I continue at that, but in the end this computer was very worth it. Greetings
restore the program with time machine, and then use appfixer or directly delete the preferences of your user library.
Hello good day!!!. I ask you can't delete or uninstall oovoo etc ... I'm looking for
Any of these programs to uninstall applications, duplicate files, etc., but in Spanish ??? I appreciate the information. Thanks
you know why safari opens a lot of games and advertising pages
You are infected !!
I can't desist ZipCloud from my mac, how do I do it? Thank you
I am infected, how do I clean it?
Thank you.
It has been quite useful to me.
I write this because it happened to me yesterday and it took me a lot to find the solution. Turns out, I downloaded a photo theme app from my mac, and when I opened it, I saw that it wasn't what I wanted. So I did what I always do, in the applications folder I located the application to delete, clicked it with the mouse and dragged it to the trash. A small window would appear every time I tried to delete it that asked me for the Finder password in order to delete it. I would put the only one I have, which is the administrator of my mac, which is the same one that asks you when you download an application, well, there was no way. The computer worked the same, but inside my mind told me that there had to be some system that would let you erase. I got into the application I do not know how many times to see if I could get something specific, and tangling I saw that it put in a window that the application was blocked and I got a text edit with a programming I believe in HTLM. Come on, no fucking idea. I also saw several things out there about putting some texts in HTLM in the terminal window, but since I don't understand almost anything about mac, I preferred to keep looking. In the end as always I found it. It was the biggest nonsense that exists and is the following: Drag the application to the Launchpad and hold it with the mouse, and then delete it. I saw how it went directly to the trash can and I deleted it, looking before that it was no longer in the list of applications. And that's it. I WRITE ALL OF THIS AS A HELP, IN CASE SOMEONE MIGHT HAPPEN THE SAME AT SOME TIME. Thank you for putting up with all the trouble that I put on you.
I am checking that any application that I download from the App Store, then it does not let me delete it, but it is with the previously written system, which is to delete it from Launchpad. I get the window that literally says the following: FINDER WANTS TO MAKE CHANGES. ENTER YOUR PASSWORD TO ALLOW THIS OPERATION. Username ****************** Password ****************, and at the bottom, Cancel or Accept windows. Can someone tell me why this happens to me? Thanks a lot.
Greetings to all, everything that you indicate is very useful, but I tell you that I am about to deliver my 2015 macbook which I sold and I need the opposite of what you indicate…. I need to delete photos, data, etc, leave it clean but without deleting the applications, I beg your help please
Thanks appzapper worked for me.