Uninstalling an app completely

Uninstall removes an app and the leftover files it has spread around your user Library, such as caches, preferences and support files. Before anything happens you see the full list with sizes, and you can untick any leftover you want to keep. Nothing is deleted outright: everything goes somewhere you can get it back from.

Uninstalling an app

1. In the Apps window, click Uninstall on the app's row, on the Internal or Moved tab. On the All Apps grid, right-click the app and choose Uninstall….
2. Storage Studio looks for the app's leftovers and opens a sheet titled Uninstall with the app's name.
3. Read the list. The application itself is always included. Every leftover is ticked; untick any you want to keep. If nothing else was found, the sheet says No leftover data found — just the app itself.
4. Check About … will be freed at the bottom, then click Move to Trash.

If the app is open, it's quit first, so it can't hold files open or recreate them while they're being removed. You'll see Quitting … and then Moving … and its data to the Trash….

%% caption: What happens when you uninstall an app
flowchart TD
  A[You click Move to Trash] --> B[The app is quit if it's open]
  B --> C{Does every item pass the safety check?}
  C -->|No| S[Nothing is removed and the sheet says why]
  C -->|Yes| D[Items go to the Recycle Vault or the Trash]
  D --> E{Anything left that needs an administrator?}
  E -->|Yes| F[macOS asks for your password or Touch ID once]
  E -->|No| G[Done. The app leaves the list]
  F --> G

What it looks for

Storage Studio checks the places macOS apps keep their files in your user Library and lists each one it finds, with a plain label:

• Application support files, Cached data, Log files
• Saved preferences and Per-device preferences
• Sandbox container and Shared app group data
• Saved window state, Website data, Cookies, Web cache, App scripts
• Background launch item

For a moved app, the list also includes the copy on your external drive and the shortcut left in its place.

Why it's safe

• A strict safety check. An item is only listed, and only removed, if it sits in your user Library, an Applications folder, or Storage Studio's own folder on your external drive, and its name matches the app. A whole folder such as your Caches folder is never a candidate. The check runs again just before removal. If any item fails it, nothing at all is removed and the sheet says which item was stopped.
• Nothing is deleted outright. Items go to the Recycle Vault, which keeps them on your external drive when it's connected, or to the Trash if the vault can't take them. You can restore them from there.
• You always see the result. If something couldn't be removed, the sheet stays open and lists it, so an uninstall never half-finishes silently.

Apps that need your password

Some apps are installed by an installer as protected, system-owned apps. Removing those needs administrator rights, so macOS asks for your password or Touch ID. One approval covers every remaining item, and they go to your Trash.

If you cancel that prompt, the sheet says "Couldn’t remove: …. This app needs administrator access — if you cancelled the password/Touch ID prompt, try again and approve it." If some items stayed because the app was still running, it suggests quitting the app and trying again.

Offloaded apps

An offloaded app is already off your Mac. To get rid of it, use Remove on the Offloaded tab. See Offloading and restoring an app.

Uninstall or drag to the Trash?

Dragging an app to the Trash leaves its caches, preferences and support files behind. Uninstall finds those too and shows you exactly what will go. See Uninstalling an app versus dragging it to the Trash.

See also: Restoring something from the Recycle Vault · How Storage Studio deletes things · The Trash and the space it holds