Uninstall default Apple apps on Mac

Asya Karapetyan
Content marketer, who specializes in Mac how-to guides
October 10, 2023

If you have ever been trying to delete applications preinstalled on your Mac, you know that by default Apple programs are protected from being removed. In this article, we’ll explain why you don’t have permission to access and uninstall default macOS apps and how to make it able to delete a locked app on your Mac.

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Contents

  1. Why are default Apple apps protected from being removed
  2. How to uninstall default Apple apps with Terminal
  3. How to completely uninstall third-party apps on Mac
  4. How to reset default Apple apps

Important notes about uninstalling default applications on Mac

  • Generally, you don’t need to uninstall default apps from your Mac. If you don’t use them, they don’t accumulate caches or other service files and as a result, they don’t take much space on your drive.
  • If you uninstall default system applications, they can be restored when you update or upgrade your macOS. Moreover, on macOS Monterey, some apps can be restored after enabling SIP.
  • Uninstalling the default application on your Mac can damage your system. That’s why Apple tries to prevent you from deleting them. You should remove locked files only if you understand the macOS file system and ensure that it will not affect your Mac badly.
  • If you want to uninstall default apps just because you need more free space on your Mac, read our article “How to clean up a Mac.” There are some more effective ways to recover space on your drive.
  • There’re two ways to delete apps on Mac. You can do it manually or use third-party software tools like App Cleaner & Uninnstaller.

Why are default Apple apps protected from being removed

If you have tried to uninstall Safari, Photos, Mail, iTunes, or other standard macOS applications, you might have seen this error message about the impossibility of deleting these apps because it’s a requirement of macOS.

Application cannot be deleted notification

It is prohibited to delete system applications in a regular way due to the fact that the removal of built-in applications and system files may damage the viability of the system. Although you can download Safari or iTunes from the official Apple website, other important programs are not available to be restored. Apple doesn’t allow you to delete its necessary apps.

This rule is extremely important for inexperienced users. However, if you are a computer geek and understand which default programs are safe to remove, you can do it via Terminal.


How to uninstall default apps on Mac with Terminal

Despite the warning, it is possible to remove unnecessary standard programs via Terminal. But first, you should know that with the release of macOS 10.12 Apple has made changes in its security technology System Integrity Protection (SIP) and it now forbids modifying system items on Macs. The SIP limits the actions that the user can perform on protected parts of the Mac operating system.

That’s why, before trying to remove default apps, you would need to disable the Apple System Integrity Protection.

Steps to disable SIP and uninstall default apps on macOS 10.14 -10.15

  1. Restart your Mac and press Command+R key shortcut while the reboot is in progress.
  2. You will see an unusual startup window – this is the recovery mode. In the Menu bar click Utilities → Terminal.Choosing Terminal option in macOS Utilities menu bar
  3.  Type in Terminal the next command: csrutil disable
  4. Press the Return key. You will see that your SIP is disabled.
    Disable SIP command launched in Terminal application
  5. Restart your Mac.
  6. Login to your system through your admin account. You can remove default apps only if you have administrator rights.  However, if you have already signed into the user account, you can use a special command right in the Terminal to re-login.
  7. Launch Terminal.
    If you have macOS 10.14, skip step 8.
  8. Mount the “/“ folder to have Read & Write permission. For this, use the following command:

    sudo mount -uw /

    *If you signed into the user account, first use this command to re-login:

    login
    [admin username=””][/admin] → enter the password → and then mount the folder.
    Mounting the System Application folder using the Terminal command

  9. Then type another command to show the application directory and press the Return (Enter) key.

    cd /Volumes/Catalina/System/Applications – use this command if you have macOS 10.15
    cd /Volumes/Mojave/System/Applications – use this command if you have macOS 10.14

  10. Now you can start deleting applications using Terminal. To remove apps with Terminal, use the command

    sudo rm -rf APPLICATION_NAME

    Please be careful: when you remove items via Terminal, the system does not ask for confirmation. Each application has its own command:

    • Safari (on macOS 10.15): sudo rm -rf ~/mount/Applications/Safari.app
    • Safari (on macOS 10.14): sudo rm -rf Safari.app
    • Mail (on macOS 10.15): sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/Mail.app
    • Mail (on macOS 10.14): sudo rm -rf Mail.app
    • FaceTime: sudo rm -rf FaceTime.app
    • QuickTime: sudo rm -rf QuickTime\ Player.app
    • Notes: sudo rm -rf Stickies.app
    • Chess: sudo rm -rf Chess.app
    • Photo: sudo rm -rf Photo\ Booth.app
    • ITunes: sudo rm -rf iTunes.app
    Important
    Usually, after deleting the apps, we recommend enabling back the System Integrity Protection in order to not remove other important apps by mistake. However, note that on macOS Monterey, the apps can be restored after enabling SIP.
    If you use earlier versions of macOS, here is how to enable SIP: restart your Mac → use Command+R shortcut → open Terminal and this time type the command csrutil enable. Then restart the Mac.
    Disable System Integrity Protection command launched in Terminal application

Steps to uninstall default apps on macOS (Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura)

This guide is based on the user’s experience on StackExchange. We’ve tested and checked how it works on macOS (Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura) and added additional steps for a safe experience.

  1. Make sure that FileVault is disabled. On macOS Big Sur and Moterey, do the following:
    • Open System Preferences.
    • go to Security & Privacy → FileVault. If needed, click the Lock icon, provide your admin password and click Turn Off FileVault.
    System Preferences window showing FileVault settings
  2. If you have macOS Ventura, follow these steps to turn off FileVault:

    • Open System Settings.
    • Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
    • Scroll down, find FileVault and turn it off.
    System Settings showing FileVault
  3. Reboot your Mac in Recovery mode. For this, press and hold CMD+R while restarting.
  4. Go to the menu bar → select Utilities → Terminal.
  5. In the Terminal window, type the following commands, and after each of them, press Enter.

    csrutil disable – it will disable System Integrity Protection (SIP)
    csrutil authenticated-root disable – it will disable Signed System Volume (SSV)

  6. Reboot your Mac in a normal mode and enter your admin account. You can remove default apps only if you have administrator rights.
  7. Run Terminal.
  8. Create a new directory

    mkdir -p -m777 NAME_DIRECTORY

    For example, for the ~/mount directory, type the following:

    mkdir -p -m777 ~/mount Terminal window showing the command to creat ea new directory

  9. Find your root mount’s device. For this, type the following command:

    mount
    Chop off the last s, e.g., if your root is /dev/disk1s5s1, you’ll mount /dev/disk1s5. Terminal window showing the command to find root mount's device

  10. Mount the root mount’s device to have a Read & Write permission. For this, type the following command (using the values from above):

    sudo mount -o nobrowse -t apfs DISK_PATH MOUNT_PATH

    For example,

    sudo mount -o nobrowse -t apfs /dev/disk1s5 ~/mount

  11. Modify the files under the mounted directory. Remove default applications using the following command:

    show the application directory and press the Return (Enter) key

    cd ~/MOUNT_PATH/System/Applications/

    For example,

    cd ~/mount/System/Applications/

    Now you can start deleting applications using Terminal. To remove apps with Terminal, use the command

    sudo rm -rf ~/MOUNT_PATH/System/Applications/NAME_APPLICATION.app

    Please be careful: when you remove items via Terminal, the system does not ask for confirmation. Each application has its own command:

    • Safari: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/Applications/Safari.app
    • Mail: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/Mail.app
    • FaceTime: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/FaceTime.app
    • QuickTime: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/ QuickTime\ Player.app
    • Notes: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/Stickies.app
    • Chess: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/Chess.app
    • Photo: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/Photo\ Booth.app
    • ITunes: sudo rm -rf ~/mount/System/Applications/iTunes.app
    Terminal window showing commands to remove default apps from Mac
  12. Note: On macOS Ventura (13.0), Safari is located in the following root: /System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/App/System/Applications/Safari.app. This means that if you want to uninstall Safari on macOS Ventura, you need to use the following command in Terminal:
    sudo rm -rf  ~/mount/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/App/System/Applications/Safari.app

  13. Then run this command:

    sudo bless --folder MOUNT_PATH/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

    For example:

    sudo bless --folder ~/mount/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

  14. Reboot your Mac. The system automatically be booted from the new snapshot you have. The default apps will be removed.

    Please, don’t forget to enable back SIP и SSV to protect yourself from removing other important apps by mistake. For this, again restart your Mac in Recovery mode and, in the Terminal, type these commands:

    csrutil enable
    csrutil authenticated-root enable

That’s all!

Important
Once again, you should understand that uninstalling macOS built-in programs is at your own risk. And it may happen that the only way to reestablish an app and solve issues arising is to reinstall your macOS system (Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur etc.)

Therefore, if you are not exactly sure what you are doing, it’s better not to attempt it!


How to correctly uninstall third-party apps on Mac

You might know that when you simply move apps to the Trash, they leave their service files on the disk. So usually you then need to go to the Library folder  andremove the app’s related items from the Application Support folder. To get to Library, open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G and type the file path ~/Library in the search bar.

Content of Application Support folder in Finder

Also, you can use App Cleaner & Uninstaller – a professional utility to remove applications correctly and completely. With App Cleaner & Uninstaller you can save time and do all these necessary activities in just one click.

  1. Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller and swith on the Expert mode.
  2. Sort the apps by size.
  3. Select the app or the list of the biggest apps have not been used for a long time.
  4. Click the Remove button.
  5. Confirm deleting applications with all their service files.
  6. Choosing Large & Old sorting type in App Cleaner & Uninstaller The app finds all the service files of used apps and even the leftovers of already removed apps. On the screenshot, you can see the list of installed apps on the left and the program’s support items on the right.Choosing application for complete uninstallation in App Cleaner & Uninstaller

Here you will not find default Apple applications like Safari, Notes, Photos and others. As we explained above, Apple does not allow to remove its default apps. That’s why App Cleaner & Uninstaller does not uninstall such apps as well. However, you can remove the service files of default apps and reset them.


How to reset default Apple apps

  1. Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
  2. Go to its settings and Enable Displaying System Applications in the General tab.
  3. Settings window with Disable System Applications option highlighted

  4. Find system apps and select their service files for removal.Choosing Select Service Files for Removal command in App Cleaner & Uninstaller window
  5. Click on Remove.

Thus, if you need to free up space on your Mac, we recommend uninstalling only third-party applications and clear service files of default apps. With App Cleaner & Uninstaller you’re able to uninstall apps in lesst than a minute. 



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