You know the frustration. An app on your Mac is acting up, so you go to uninstall it. But no matter what you try, it just won‘t budge!
We‘ve all been there. As a long-time Mac lover and tinkerer, I‘ve battled my fair share of stubborn apps. But over time, I‘ve picked up tricks that now let me show misbehaving apps the door.
In this guide, we‘ll troubleshoot why some apps just don‘t want to leave your system. And then we‘ll dig into step-by-step fixes you can try yourself, using Finder, Launchpad, Terminal, and more.
Ready to finally delete those stubborn apps for good? Let‘s do this!
Why Apps Overstay Their Welcome
Before we dig into removal tactics, it helps to understand what causes apps to stick around in the first place. From my experience, here are the main culprits:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Background Apps | Apps still running out of sight gum up uninstalls. Sneaky! |
| System Apps | Undeletable since they‘re needed by MacOS itself. |
| Corrupted Apps | Failed installs or uninstalls leave leftover junk. |
As you can see, there are a few common reasons apps remain on your system when you want them gone for good.
Background apps in particular throw me for a loop occasionally. I‘ll try uninstalling what appears to be an inactive app, but turns out it was running a process I didn‘t even realize!
The key is that by understanding why some apps don‘t leave willingly, we can apply the right removal solution…
Finder Lets You Drag Away Trouble
When I want to visually see what apps are installed, I always turn to Finder. The best part is uninstalling apps here takes just a few simple drag and drop motions.
To try for yourself:
1. Click Finder in your dock to open it
2. In the sidebar, choose Applications to view your installed apps
3. Right click the naughty app and select Move to Trash
Finder visually maps out all your apps in one place. I just right click and send those misbehaving apps packing!
On occasion, I‘ll then get asked to enter my password. This is just MacOS making sure I have admin rights to make changes.
Now, one bonus tip…
If an app is running background processes out of sight, even Finder can‘t axe it. So it doesn‘t hurt to open Activity Monitor first and make sure to force quit anything related to your problematic app. Then try dragging that sucker to the trash!
Next up…
Removing Apps via Launchpad
If you prefer removing apps right from your desktop, the Launchpad view offers a quick shortcut. Since Launchpad shows every app on your Mac that has an icon, it‘s easy to spot targets for deletion.
But I‘ll admit – I‘m not always successful removing stubborn apps this way. Still, it‘s super convenient when it works!
Follow along:
1. Click the Launchpad icon in your dock
2. Browse for the app you want to remove
3. Hold the Option key while hovering over the app icon
This makes a deletion ‘X‘ appear.
4. Click the X then Confirm to delete
Now, the Option+X won‘t work on every app in Launchpad. So if you don‘t see that ‘X‘, we‘ll need to pull out the big guns…
Terminal Deletion is My Final Attack
When all else fails, I turn to the power of the command line. Terminal lets me manually target and terminate problem apps, especially those corrupted ones leaving leftover hidden junk.
I know the Terminal looks intimidating if you‘re new to it. But I‘m here to hold your hand! Here‘s exactly how app deletion works in Terminal:
1. Launch Terminal through Spotlight or Launchpad
2. Carefully type:
sudo uninstall file://3. Just drag your stubborn app icon from Finder right onto Terminal
This auto-fills the full file path after file:// that Terminal needs. Amazing time saver!
4. Enter your password when prompted
5. Watch as Terminal attempts destroying this stubborn app for good!
Terminal really is invaluable when all other removal options fail me. I can directly order it to hunt down and eliminate those corrupted leftover traces that no normal uninstall touches.
Think of it as the final boss attack on stubborn apps!
For ultra complex cases, I even have advanced scripts that can excavate deep into the MacOS subsystems to forcibly install trouble. But we‘ll save those for another guide!
Beyond Uninstalls: When to Seek Help
I want to wrap things up with quick guidelines on when to escalate beyond what I‘ve covered today:
-
If Activity Monitor reveals acrazy number of mysterious background processes, consider booking a Genius Bar appointment. This could indicate malware or other infections.
-
The same applies if you keep reinstalling an app but it immediately becomes corrupted again. That likely means something is messing with your system‘s ability to install programs cleanly.
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And of course if Terminal itself fails, that app is really holding on for dear life! Time to call in the pros.
Outside scenarios like those above, you now have my best app removal tricks in your pocket!
We Got This!
Whew, we covered a lot of ground today in the war against stubborn apps!
Just remember the key reasons apps stick around, and try Finder, Launchpad, Terminal, and Activity Monitor in order until you make progress. Together we can beat troublesome apps into submission!
Have any other tips on banishing unusable apps? I‘d love to hear from you! Just email [email protected] or find me on Twitter at @macgeniusmichael.
Happy app deleting! Let‘s keep our Macs running light and fast.
