How to uninstall or delete a program on Mac running macOS Mojave

This post demonstrates the different ways of uninstalling or deleting programs/apps from a Mac computer that’s running on macOS Mojave. Read on for more detailed instructions.

With the Mac App Store, you can download and installed third-party programs or applications that you want to use on your computer. These apps can be obtained through purchase or free download. You can download any apps you want for as long as your computer’s hard drive can allocate. But the fact that computer drives have limited storage capacity makes deleting of unused apps and files a necessity. The process of removing apps varies between devices and operating systems. And this must be among the most important things a computer owners should know as it’s part of computer system optimization.

One of the most effective solutions to insufficient memory issues in computers is by deleting or uninstalling unwanted contents and applications. In macOS, the process of deleting applications is way easier than other operating system. In fact, the overall process can be completed by just a few clicks  or drag-and-drops. And this post demonstrates the actual steps. Read on to learn how to uninstall or delete a program or application on your Mac computer on the macOS Mojave platform.

When to uninstall or delete apps from your Mac?

Getting rid of unused files and apps is part of hard drive clear-up and optimization. In fact, uninstalling programs is deemed among other routine tasks not only for Mac users but for every computer owners. An indication as to when to delete or uninstall unused apps and files is when your computer starts to perform sluggishly. Other performance issues like frequent system crashes, app freezes, and random automatic reboots. These symptoms are usually accompanied by a message saying that your computer is running low on storage and that you need to free up some space to allocate new apps and process.

Ways to uninstall a program or app from your Mac running macOS Mojave

There are various ways to uninstall or delete apps or programs from a Mac computer and the methods I lined up below are applicable to units that are running on macOS Mojave system. If you’re new to the macOS interface, then this post will help you get started. Feel free to refer to this walkthrough if you need help getting rid of unused apps or programs from your Mac.

Important Note: Be sure to log into your computer using an administrator account because if you don’t you will be prompted to enter an admin password to confirm app deletion.

First method: Uninstalling/deleting a program or app on macOS Mojave computer using Finder.

The following steps is often used as standard or traditional method for deleting or uninstalling unwanted apps or programs from a Mac computer. Start whenever you’re all set:

  1. Go to Finder.
  2. Next, open the the Application folder.
  3. Select the program or application that you want to uninstall.
  4. Then, right-click on the application and tap on Move to Trash.
  5. Alternatively, you can drag the app icon straight to the trash icon or recycle bin.

Follow the same steps to uninstall or delete other apps or programs that you no longer use on your Mac computer. Once the app is moved to the trash, you will need to carry out one last step to delete it permanently from your computer system. To do so, right-click on the Trash icon at the bottom-right corner of the menu bar. Then click the option to Empty Trash

The entire deletion process could take a moment depending on the number of apps to delete as well as the file type and size.

Second method: Uninstall/delete programs or apps from macOS Mojave using Launchpad.

To delete/uninstall apps that you purchased from the App Store, you can use Launchpad on your Mac. The Launchpad is considered as the central hub for viewing and launching apps installed on your Mac. Here’s how to uninstall apps from your Launchpad:

  1. Open the Launchpad by clicking on its icon in the Dock. You can also open it from the Control Strip located at the right end of the Touch Bar.
  2. Then, locate the app that you want to uninstall.
  3. Press the Option/Alt key on the keyboard.
  4. Finally, click on Delete to confirm that you want to delete or uninstall the selected app or program.

Follow the same steps to delete other unused apps from your Mac via Launchpad.

Third method: Uninstall/delete programs or apps on macOS Mojave using your Mac’s Library folder.

Some apps that you won’t be able to remove apps from your Mac using the previous methods because some apps might have a few preferences or other files aren’t stored in a single folder. In this case, you will need to delete the app’s preferences from the Library folder of your Mac computer. In order to get started, access or open the Library folder on your Mac. By default, the Library folder is hidden in previous macOS versions. In case you don’t see this folder, follow these steps to view and access Library folder on your Mac in macOS Mojave:

  1. Open the Finder ap.
  2. Hold down the Alt/Option key and select Go from the dropdown menu options located at the top of the screen.
  3. Find the ~Library folder beneath the Home folder.

If the previous steps doesn’t work, try these alternative method:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Select Go from the menu bar.
  3. Choose Go to Folder or press Shift+Cmd+G on the keyboard simultaneously.
  4. Next, type ~Library into the provided text box and click Go.

By then you should see and access the contents of the ~Library folder on your Mac.

Uninstalled apps will be deleted permanently from your Mac after you or the Finder empties the Trash folder. If that happens, all files that were created using those apps will not longer be opened while others ended up among other corrupted files. To permanently clear all associated files and data from the root folder, performing these steps can help:

  1. Open the Finder using Spotlight Search.
  2. Click Go from the menu bar.
  3. Scroll down to and click Go to Folder.

On the next screen, you will see a list of folders. Here’s how to delete files and data that are tied to the apps you recently delete. Look for the following folder names to delete all associated files and apps data.

  • To delete the app crashes: ~/Library/Application Support/CrashReporter/
  • To delete Library: ~/Library/
  • To delete App saved states: ~/Library/Saved Application State/
  • To delete support caches: ~/Library/Caches/ and /Library/Caches/
  • To delete binary and dock icons: ~/Applications/
  • To delete plugins: ~/Library/Address Book Plug-Ins/
  • To delete application support files: ~/Library/Application/
  • To delete app preferences: ~/Library/Preferences/

Be sure not to delete system files to avoid corrupting macOS. If you need more help in determining the correct files and folders to delete, then you should contact Apple-Mac support instead.

Having problem uninstalling apps from your Mac?

If you’re having trouble uninstalling some apps on your Mac using any of the above methods, then you may opt to use alternative tools or uninstall apps that are compatible with your device. Among the most trusted uninstaller app for Mac include AppCleaner, AppZapper, and CleanMyMac App Uninstaller Tool, to name some. These apps are already compatible with macOS Mojave.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!

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