How to Uninstall Skype on Mac - Removal Guide

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For some reasons, you might need to uninstall Skype from your Mac, for example, to fix some problems and reinstall it, delete your messages history, make more free space on your computer, or decide to switch to another video conferencing application. From this article, you will learn how to completely and correctly uninstall Skype from your Mac.

Important notes and the methodologies used to uninstall Skype from Mac

To completely uninstall any application on Mac, you need to remove all of its service files and leftovers as well.
Before writing this guide, we checked Skype’s uninstallation guide on its official website. However, this method does not fully uninstall the app.
This article will explain how to uninstall Skype correctly and completely.
Even if you have already removed Skype from your Mac, we will show how to find its remaining files.

What happens when you remove Skype from Mac

Uninstalling Skype does not remove your account. You can reinstall the app again and continue using your account. Also, you can log in from any other platform.

When you delete Skype from Mac completely, all your cache files, logs, cookies, and other support files will be deleted. This means that your chat history will also be cleared. However, your chat history can be synced and restored for 30 days once you reinstall the new version.

Uninstalling Skype from Mac requires following the same steps used to uninstall any application from Mac. The vital thing you should know is to remove Skype’s remaining files as well.

How to uninstall Skype from Mac manually?

For a clean uninstallation of the app from your Mac, you first need to remove the application’s executable file, then remove all of its support files. Below, we will provide a step-by-step guide for this:

Quit Skype. You can do this from the Dock panel or the toolbar.
Go to the Applications folder and remove Skype.
Now you need to find and remove the app`s system files. By default, they should be located in the system Library folder. To open the Library folder in Finder, press Shift+Command+G shortcut. It will open the “Go to the Folder” search field. Navigate ~/Library and press Enter.
In the Library folder, check the following system folders for files associated with Skype and remove them:

Copied!
Once you remove all unneeded service files, empty your Trash. This will permanently remove Skype from your Mac.

Note, some temporary files might be located in other hidden corners of your Mac’s hard drive. It’s not always so easy to find every temporary file of applications. We recommend that you check your Mac for applications’ leftovers with the help of a free application from Nektony called Funter, which searches for hidden files by a name.

Another easy option is to use App Cleaner & Uninstaller, which automatically finds the applications’ leftovers and displays them in the Remaining Files section.

How to uninstall Skype for Business from Mac

The steps are almost the same as for the regular version of Skype. The difference is the list of temporary files you will need to find and remove for the Business version. Also, Microsoft recommends deleting the application’s support files with the help of Terminal. Below, we will explain how to do this. However, you can uninstall Skype for Business using the manual method above or with App Cleaner & Uninstaller:

Quit Skype for Business.
Remove the app from the Applications folder.
Launch Terminal. It’s a default Apple application that you will find in Applications → Utilities.
Type the following commands in the Terminal window. After each command, press Return:
- sudo rm -rf /Applications/Skype\ for\ Business.app
- sudo rm -rf /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/MeetingJoinPlugin.plugin
- defaults delete com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness || true
- rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness
- rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Skype\ for\ Business_*
- rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness.savedState
- rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness.plist
- rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/CrashReporter/Skype\ for\ Business_*
- rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments/com.microsoft.skypeforbusiness*
- rm -rf ~/Library/Cookies/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness*
- sudo rm -rf /private/var/db/receipts/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness*
- rmdir ~/Library/Application\ Scripts/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness
- find -f /private/var/db/BootCaches/* -name “app.com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness*” -exec sudo rm -rf {} +
Once you finish with the command line, open Keychain Access. You will find it in Applications → Utilities.
Switch to the Login section. Find and delete Skype for Business keychain.

Note that App Cleaner & Uninstaller allows you to completely uninstall any Mac application.

How to remove Skype using App Cleaner & Uninstaller

App Cleaner & Uninstaller is a software tool designed to completely uninstall any Mac application with just a few clicks. App Cleaner & Uninstaller will help you remove Skype and clean up all its system files that usually are left after simple deletion to Trash.

Run App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
Select Skype from the list of scanned applications.
Click the Remove button.
Confirm removal.
Empty your Trash.

That’s all. App Cleaner & Uninstaller will delete apps completely without remaining any single temporary file. If you use Skype for Business, its removal steps are the same: just select the app and click to remove it.

Video Guide: How to uninstall applications on Mac with App Cleaner & Uninstaller

How to find Skype’s remaining files on Mac

If you have already removed the video conferencing app from your computer, you can easily find its leftovers with App Cleaner & Uninstaller. Just switch to the Remaining File section. Here you will find all files associated with leftovers. Select them and click to remove.

How to stop Skype from starting automatically

Despite the uninstalling option, App Cleaner & Uninstaller also allows you to change startup programs and stop applications from the autorun. If you reinstall Skype and now the application automatically launches each time you log in to your Mac, with App Cleaner & Uninstaller’s help, you can disable its launch agent.
Steps on how to stop Skype from starting at Mac login:

Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
Switch to the Startup Programs section.
Find Skype’s login item and disable it using the toggle button. Skype will stop the autorun.

Note that you can also remove launch agents by clicking on Remove under the toggle button next to the file’s name.

App Cleaner & Uninstaller provides a free trial with unlimited features. After the trial period ends, you can still remove applications’ service files and use some more additional features. Learn what’s the difference between the Free and Pro modes of App Cleaner & Uninstaller.