How to Uninstall Google Chrome on a Mac

Whether you are preparing to sell your Mac, switching to a different browser permanently, or simply trying to reclaim storage space on your hard drive, removing Google Chrome from macOS is straightforward. Unlike Windows, which has a dedicated uninstaller for most applications, macOS allows you to remove the vast majority of apps simply by moving them to the Trash. However, Chrome also stores separate user profile data — bookmarks, browsing history, cached files, extensions, and saved passwords — in a different location, and you should decide whether to remove those too.

Step 1: Fully Quit Google Chrome

You cannot move an actively running application to the Trash on macOS. You must quit it completely first.

1. Look at the Dock at the bottom (or side) of your screen. If Google Chrome has a small dot or indicator beneath its icon, the application is still open.
2. Right-click (or Control+click) the Google Chrome icon in the Dock.
3. Select Quit from the context menu. If “Quit” is greyed out, you may need to select Force Quit.

Alternatively, if Chrome is your active window, you can press Command + Q to quit it immediately.

Step 2: Move Chrome to the Trash

1. Open a new Finder window by clicking the Finder icon (the blue and white smiley face) in your Dock.
2. In the left sidebar of Finder, click on Applications.
3. Scroll through the alphabetically sorted list of applications until you find Google Chrome.
4. Click and drag the Google Chrome icon to the Trash (the bin icon at the end of your Dock). Alternatively, right-click the icon and select Move to Trash.
5. If prompted, enter your Mac administrator password to authorise the deletion.

Chrome will no longer appear in your Applications folder. However, it has not yet been permanently deleted — it is sitting in the Trash and still occupying space on your drive.

Step 3: Empty the Trash

Right-click the Trash icon in your Dock and select Empty Trash to permanently free up the space occupied by Chrome.

Step 4: Remove Chrome’s Leftover Profile Data (Optional but Recommended)

When you delete the Chrome application, macOS deliberately preserves your user profile data in a separate support folder. This includes your bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, downloaded extensions, and cache files. This data is kept in case you decide to reinstall Chrome later — but if you are uninstalling permanently, you should remove it too to completely free up space.

1. Open a Finder window.
2. In the top menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Go to Folder… from the dropdown (or press Shift + Command + G).
4. In the text field, paste this exact path: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome and press Enter.
5. A folder will open containing all of Chrome’s stored profile data. Select all the files and folders inside (press Command + A), then drag them to the Trash.
6. Optionally, also check and clean: ~/Library/Caches/Google/Chrome for cached data.
7. Right-click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash to permanently remove everything.

After completing these steps, Google Chrome and all of its associated data will be completely removed from your Mac.