How to Delete Apps on Mac That Won’t Delete

Mac users have an impressive range of software to choose from, with over 1.9 million apps in the App Store and countless more available from other online sources. Most of them work properly without any special effort, but you may run into a stubborn app that won’t delete itself when you tell it to. 

During 25+ years of tech geekery with Macs and Windows/Linux PCs, I’ve experimented with thousands of apps for fun and profit, from industry-standard software suites to passion projects run by a solo developer. 

Solo devs tend to hate writing support docs, and corporate coders can still make mistakes, so I’ve learned 3 several ways to remove Mac apps that won’t respond to standard uninstall methods.

Let’s dive into it.

Normal Ways to Delete Apps on Mac

Most of you are probably familiar with the common ways to remove apps from your Mac, but let’s do a quick recap. 

The simplest way is to drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash icon in your dock and then empty the Trash or Bin. This can be used with almost any app, although you may leave some unnecessary cache files behind. 

Check out this video from the official Apple Support channel on YouTube to see it in action. 

Alternatively, you can open Launchpad, hold down the Option key, and click the small ‘X’ button on the app icon. This only works for apps installed from the App Store, but it’s a handy shortcut.

Why Normal Ways Won’t Work for Some Apps

There are some situations where the standard uninstall methods don’t work, and there are several potential issues that might be responsible. 

You may not have administrator privileges on a Mac at work or school, or the app may have been installed unusually, requiring a specific uninstall method. Sometimes, an app crashes but stays open in the background, and macOS won’t let you delete an app that is still technically open. 

Some apps are essential for macOS, so they cannot be removed without disabling macOS’ built-in System Integrity Protection. These apps typically use very little space, so there are very few (if any) situations where it’s worth removing them, especially when disabling SIP leaves your Mac vulnerable to malicious code. 

Here’s a quick overview chart of the potential issues and solutions:

Problem	Why isn’t it working?	Try this instead
Cannot drag app to Trash	Essential macOS system apps cannot be deleted due to System Integrity Protection	Ignore people who advise you to disable SIP; accept the things we cannot change
Cannot delete app from Launchpad	App was not installed from the App Store	Use Finder to drag the app to Trash, then empty the Trash
App cannot be closed or deleted	App is open and unresponding	Force Quit the app and try again
Deleted app is still visible in some places on macOS	App fragments left behind	Use CleanMyMac to remove leftover files

How to Properly Delete Mac Apps That Won’t Delete

Before you go any further, make sure that your macOS user account has admin permissions. A user account with administrator permissions can modify any app on the computer (except for essential system apps), while standard user accounts can only remove apps for their own account. 

To check your user account, open the Apple menu and click System Settings. Scroll to locate the Users & Groups section, and check the information below your user account name. 

Method 1: Using CleanMyMac for Efficiency (for Beginners)

If you don’t like the standard macOS uninstall methods, you can use CleanMyMac to manage your other apps. It’s especially useful if you regularly install and uninstall many apps because you can remove multiple apps simultaneously.

CleanMyMac also lets you delete leftover app caches, login items, and other junk left behind by the standard uninstall methods. 

Step 1: Launch CleanMyMac and switch to the Applications section. Click the big Scan button at the bottom of the window. 

Step 2: Once the scan is complete, CleanMyMac will display information about your installed apps, pending updates, and potentially unneeded files. Click the Manage My Applications button at the top of the window. 

Step 3: In the Applications Manager, you can scroll to locate the apps you want to remove or type the app name in the search box. Put a checkmark beside any app you want to remove, and CleanMyMac will show you the total amount of free space you will regain. Once you’re ready, click the Uninstall button to remove them all. 

Step 4 (Optional): Switch to the Leftovers section to see if CleanMyMac detected any unneeded app junk. These leftovers don’t usually take up much space, but that doesn’t mean you should hang onto them, either! 

Method 2: Uninstalling with Terminal (for Aspiring Geeks)

If you ever want to feel like a hacker in a bad Hollywood movie, it’s time to use Terminal for some serious command-line uninstallation action. (Just make sure you say, “I’m in!” and act all cool and satisfied when Terminal loads. I didn’t make the rules.)

Step 1: Press Command + Space to open Spotlight and type Terminal to locate the app. Click the entry in the results list to launch it, or press Return. 

Step 2: Change to the Applications folder by typing cd /Applications and pressing Return. CD stands for ‘change directory,’ an older technical name for folders. 

Step 3: List all the apps in the Applications folder with the ls command. For clarity, that’s a lowercase ‘L’.

Step 4: Review the list and locate the filename of the app you want to delete. Most apps have a clear and obvious name with the .app extension. If an entry doesn’t end in .app, it’s actually a folder, but you can still remove it with the same command. 

Type sudo rm -rf AppNameGoesHere.app and press Return. Terminal will prompt you to enter your password for authorization, but it doesn’t show password characters while you type.

For example, to delete iMovie, use the command sudo rm -rf iMovie.app and press Return.

If your app or directory name contains a space, you need to put double quotes around the name, like this: sudo rm -rf “Raspberry Pi Imager.app”. 

If you want to learn more, check out this handy guide about the rm command.

Method 3: Uninstalling with HomeBrew (for Serious Geeks)

If you’re starting to explore the macOS command line, you’ve probably encountered HomeBrew, one of the most popular open-source package managers for Macs. While it’s mainly used for packages, HomeBrew can also install apps for macOS – but anything you install with HomeBrew must be uninstalled with HomeBrew.

Fortunately, it’s just as simple as the installation process:

Open Terminal and type brew uninstall AppName, but replace the AppName text with the appropriate info. 

If you can’t remember the name of your HomeBrew apps, use the command brew list to see everything you’ve installed with HomeBrew.

That’s all there is to it!  

How to Delete Unresponsive Apps on Mac

If you’re frustrated with an unresponsive app and want to delete it from your Mac, the standard methods won’t work because the app is technically still running. To get around this, you can stop the app with one of the most helpful tricks in macOS: Force Quit. 

Here’s how it works: 

Step 1: Press Command + Option + Escape. If you don’t like keyboard shortcuts, you can also open the Apple menu and select Force Quit. 

Step 2: In the Force Quit Applications window, select the unresponsive app from the list and click Force Quit. 

Step 3: Delete the app using your favorite uninstallation method. 

Final Tips

Most Mac apps are easy to uninstall, but once you move beyond the walled garden of the App Store, you need to start expanding your skills for dealing with unusual situations.

Get used to working with helpful macOS utilities like Activity Monitor, and don’t be afraid of the Terminal command line—just treat it with the caution it deserves (and don’t forget your line!)