How to Remove Apps That Won't Delete on a Mac

Problem: How do I remove an app from the Launchpad?

“I have an app that won't delete. It's an app I purchased from the App Store. Although I've deleted the software from my Applications folder, the app remains in Launchpad. And dragging it to the Trash doesn't work. Anyone else having this problem?”

Having too many apps on your Mac can make it difficult to find what you need, and more importantly, they take up limited storage space. When you want to remove unused programs from your Mac, you can do so from the Launchpad or Finder. However, some stubborn Mac software, like the operating system that came with it, may be hard to uninstall. Here's how to uninstall apps on a Mac, which will help free up space and improve its performance.

There are many other popular topics related to apps, one of which is “app won't open.”

How to Remove Apps from the Dock or Finder on a Mac

Uninstalling unused Mac apps is one way users frequently free up disk space and speed up their Mac. You can do this through Finder or Launchpad.

Uninstalling apps from the Finder:

Open Finder, go to the “Applications” folder, drag the app you want to uninstall to the Trash, and then open the Trash and choose “Empty Trash.”

Remove a program from Launchpad

Open Launchpad, hold down an app icon until they all start to wiggle, and then tap the "X" delete button. Some apps won't have this "X" visible. If you need to remove one of these, skip to the solution for Removing Apps That Can't Be Deleted from Launchpad.

The app can't be deleted because it's open.

When you try to delete an app from the Finder, you might see a message that says “AppName” can't be moved to the Trash because it's open. This is because the app is still running in the background, and you didn't quit it properly. Follow these steps to close it correctly so you can delete it entirely.

1. Open Finder, and select “Applications” from the Favorites list on the left.

2. Click on "Utilities" and then "Activity Monitor."

3. Find the app you want to remove. You can search for the app by name in the search bar.

4. Select the app. Click the “X” in the top-left corner of the window. Click “Force Quit” to end the process. You can then uninstall the app from your Mac using Finder.

How to Remove Apps That Won't Delete on a Mac

If you need to uninstall a built-in app, these methods won't work. When you try to delete Safari, Mail, FaceTime, or other default apps through the Finder, you'll get a message that says “Safari.app can't be modified or deleted because it's required by Mac OS X.” So, is there any way to force uninstall apps on Mac? How do I uninstall apps that won't delete on Mac? Here are two practical methods – one automatic and simple with a Mac maintenance tool, and another more complicated method.

Cannot easily remove from Launchpad after uninstalling

If you're tech-savvy, you can remove built-in apps via Terminal. However, for most regular users, we highly recommend trying a tool like Mac CleanGenius to uninstall default apps more easily. This app lets you remove any program along with its associated files and preferences with one click, without messing up your system. It also offers ultimate Mac cleanup features, such as getting rid of junk files and deleting duplicate files like music, documents, images, or videos from your computer.

Note: Mac CleanGenius works with Mac OS X 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, and 10.9. If your computer is running macOS 10.13 or later, you can use the manual method below instead.

Step 1: Run CleanGenius and click on Uninstall from the toolbar;

Step 2: Find and select the app or program you want to uninstall, then click “Uninstall;”
The selected app, software, or program will be uninstalled in a few seconds.

How to Force Remove an App on Your Mac from the Terminal

Warning: This will permanently remove the application, and the action cannot be undone. If you need the app in the future, you will have to reinstall macOS. It's not recommended that you do this unless it's absolutely necessary. Make sure to back up your Mac first, and proceed at your own risk.

1. Open Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities/.

2. Type `cd /Applications/` and press Return. This will switch to the "Applications" directory, from which you can delete the app.

3. Enter the following commands to remove the different apps.

To remove Safari, type sudo rm -rf Safari.app/

To delete Mail, type: sudo rm -rf Mail.app/

To remove FaceTime, type sudo rm -rf FaceTime.app/

To remove QuickTime Player, enter sudo rm -rf QuickTime\ Player.app/

Similarly, typing the name of a program will uninstall it.