Having unused or unwanted apps on your Mac takes up valuable storage space and bogs down performance over time. In this guide, I‘ll show you step-by-step how to remove programs from your Mac for a faster, cleaner system.
Why Uninstall Unused Apps?
Before we dive in, let me quickly explain why it‘s so important to regularly uninstall programs you no longer need. Based on Apple‘s guidelines, unused apps can negatively impact your Mac in a few key ways:
- Take up gigabytes of storage, especially large programs like games or video editors
- Run background processes that use RAM and CPU cycles for no reason
- Launch slowly since your Mac has more apps to load at startup
- Cause stability or compatibility issues if outdated or broken
So by removing programs you no longer use, you‘ll reclaim wasted storage space, speed up system performance, and keep your Mac running smoothly.
For example, take a look at how much storage common app categories use up:
| App Type | Avg. Storage Used |
|---|---|
| Productivity apps | 500 MB – 2 GB |
| Social media apps | 100 – 500 MB |
| Photo editing apps | 1 – 4 GB |
| Video games | 4 – 15 GB |
As you can see, even if you have only a few large unused apps, you could easily recover 10+ GB by deleting them!
Ready to free up some storage and see a speed boost? Let‘s get started uninstalling.
Step 1: Open Your Mac‘s Launchpad
The first step is accessing the Launchpad view, which shows all installed apps on your Mac in one place.
You can open Launchpad in 2 ways:
- Click the Launchpad icon in your Mac‘s Dock
- Use the keyboard shortcut
F4
Once open, you‘ll see pages of app icons similar to the home screen on an iPhone or iPad.
Step 2: Locate the App You Want to Delete
Next, browse through Launchpad to locate the application you want to uninstall.
You can use Launchpad‘s search bar at the top to quickly find the app too:
Once you‘ve located the unwanted app‘s icon, it‘s time to delete it.
Step 3: Hold the Option Key and Click the X
Here is where the uninstall magic happens!
Most apps from the App Store include a simple uninstall option right in Launchpad.
To use it, follow these steps:
- With your unwanted app icon visible, press and hold the
Optionkey - Notice that the icons begin to jiggle and X marks appear on deletable apps
- While holding
Option, click the X icon on the app you wish to delete
This will prompt a confirmation to complete deleting the selected app. Removing it this way permanently deletes the app file and clears its stored data.
Let‘s quickly recap:
- Open Launchpad
- Locate app
- Hold Option key
- Click X icon on app
- Confirm delete
And done! For App Store downloads, it‘s that simple to get rid of unwanted apps bogging down your Mac.
Manually Deleting Other Apps
You might have noticed that not all apps show the X icon when holding Option. This uninstall method only works for most apps installed via the App Store.
For any other programs, you‘ll need to manually delete them by dragging their icon to the Trash. Here‘s how:
- Open Finder on your Mac
- Click Applications in the sidebar menu
- Search to locate the app you want to delete
- Click and drag the app icon into the Trash can icon
- Enter admin username/password if prompted
- Empty Trash to fully delete the app
This removes the app file from your Mac entirely, freeing up space instantly.
I recommend sorting the Applications list by file size to identify any huge apps you no longer need:
Keeping Your Mac Lean
As you can see, removing unwanted apps on a Mac is quick and easy using either Launchpad or Finder.
I suggest auditing the apps installed on your system once a month and uninstalling any unused programs lurking about. This one habit keeps your Mac running efficiently over time.
Let me know if you have any other questions down below about managing or deleting programs on your Mac! I‘m always happy to help out.
