The Apple macOS Blog

With the calendar year coming to an end, now might be a good time to look back and reflect on the top 40 most uninstalled Mac Apps in 2024.Think of it as our reverse Mac App Advent Calendar.

How we gathered data

iBoostUp features a powerful and comprehensive application uninstaller.While the application uninstaller contains some advanced logic to detect and remove all app files for any app, sometimes Mac apps use non-standard locations — in this case we make use of our powerful cloud APIs (also used in Spyware Doctor) to determine which additional files to remove for a clean uninstall. This API logs the bundle id of the app you are uninstalling, then checks our vast software database for non-standard files to remove. Doing it this way we don't need to ship a big database of apps you might never install, let alone uninstall, to everyone that has iBoostUp.

An important note: all data is gathered in an anonymous fashion.

Today I wrote a script to count the number of times each bundle id was uninstalled and am presenting you the results below. There is also some limited commentary and speculation where appropriate — I hope you find this information interesting!

Top 40 countdown:

The most uninstalled macOS apps

40. Android File Transfer

Android File Transfer is a discontinued app from Google and the latest macOS versions are no longer supported, makes sense that people are removing it from their Macs.

39. Grammarly Desktop

Grammarly Desktop is an AI writing subscription service that helps you "to write that tricky email, to get your point across, to keep your work moving". It appears there are now many free and low cost LLMs available for example ChatGPT where users can replicate Grammarly functionality with minimal effort.

38. MSP Anywhere Agent

MSP Anywhere Agent is a monitoring and helpdesk software often used by IT departments in larger corporations. Users may prefer not to have monitoring software on their Mac.

37. Adobe Photoshop

Recent improvments to the already great GIMP, and Apple's recent acquisition of PixelMator might have something to do with this.

36. XQuartz

XQuartz is an open-source version of the X.Org X server, a component of the X Window System that runs on macOS. It might be that people are simply freeing up space, or that more OSS projects have proper macOS versions these days thereby making XQuartz redundant.

35. Adobe IPC Broker

A component of Adobe Creative Cloud — this would indicate that users are having issues with this component of the software, or the official uninstaller leaves this behind.

34. Microsoft Teams

Perhaps more people are returning to the office so there is less need for this collaboration software?

33. Wargaming.net Game Center

Digital distribution platform and launcher for Wargaming.net games.

32. Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop is a subscription based virtualisation tool, allowing you to run Windows or Linux inside macOS. Broadcom has acquired VMware and made all consumer versions of the VMWare virtualization software free for home and commercial use.

31. Canva

App for the hyped and user friendly design service Canva. Their web version works just as well.

30. Adobe Creative Cloud

Perhaps due to a downturn in the economy, buggy apps, or a higher quality selection of cheaper alternatives.

29. CurseForge

Client to download video game modifications and add-ons for games like World of Warcraft, Minecraft and StarCraft II.Since Curseforge hosts user-generated content, CurseForge has faced cyber threats before with malware being hidden in some user-uploaded mods.

28. Microsoft Excel

Apple provides Numbers at no additional cost, Google provides Sheets for free.

27. WhatsApp Desktop

Desktop client for Facebook's WhatsApp service.

26. Mozilla Firefox

The Mozilla Firefox browser. A much loved browser currently lagging behind others in several important technologies. Please keep up Mozilla, the web needs you!

25. CCleaner

Mac version of the Windows Crap Cleaner.

24. OpenCore Legacy Patcher

A set of scripts that wrap and extend OpenCore. It is used for creating patched macOS installers that run on officially unsupported hardware.

23. Adobe Creative Cloud (older version)

Older version of Creative Cloud.

22. WhatsApp Desktop

A different version of the WhatsApp desktop client.

21. Spotify for macOS

Spotify client for macOS. Several popular podcasts are no longer Spotify exclusives.

The top 20

20. Microsoft Teams 2 Preview

A beta version of the Microsoft Teams collaboration software.

19. CapCut

The 'oveseas' (non-China) version of TikTok parent company Bytedance's video clip editor.

18. Cisdem AppCrypt

"Lock applications and block websites." — similar to many parental control apps. Cisdem entity is based in HK/China.

17. CleanMyMac (App Store version)

CleanMyMac is utility software by Ukranian software company MacPaw. Known for having an friendly user interface and prolific online marketing activities. Many users are uninstalling the AppStore version.

16. Zoom for macOS

Possibly the same reason as MS Teams?

15. Adobe Acrobat Reader

The built-in macOS pdf reader is sufficient for most users.

14. Adobe Acrobat Pro

Part of Adobe Creative Cloud.

13. Rectangle

Newer versions of macOS now have this functionality built-in.

12. Steam

macOS client for the Steam gaming service. At this stage, Apple Arcade and the AppStore has more Apple native and Apple optimized games.

11. CleanMyMac 4

The second app from MacPaw in the top 20 most uninstalled macOS apps for 2024. Users might be upgrading to CleanMyMac 5, or have simply decided to stop using this app.

The top 10

10. Adobe Creative Cloud Diagnostics

A component of Adobe Creative Cloud — this would indicate that users are having issues with this component of the software, or the official uninstaller leaves this behind.

09. AppLocker

Similar to Cisdem's AppEncrypt.

08. ChatGPT

App for macOS that brings ChatGPT to your desktop. Apple Intelligence?

07. DragonDrop

Questionable file sharing application we'll need to investigate further, an app of this name was originally released almost 15 years ago. The current incarnation is signed by 'Munir Ahmed'.

06. Cold Turkey Blocker

Freemium website and app locker. Paid version weighs in at $55. Similar to Cisdem's AppEncrypt.

05. CCXProcess

Yet another component of Adobe Creative Cloud — this would indicate that users are having issues with this component of the software, or the official uninstaller leaves this behind.

04. Check Point Firewall

Some users have experienced issues with the kernel extensions in Endpoint Security; they may be performing a full uninstall with a view to do a clean re-install, or simply abandoning this software.

03. Google Chrome

The Google Chrome browser. Not 100% sure why but online chatter suggests user concerns over memory use, particularly on MacBooks with limited RAM.

02. Whisky

Runs Windows apps on macOS without launching a full VM. Whisky is a basic a wrapper around the WINE project. While compatability is good, it is not as effective as running a full virtual machine.

01. UTM

Coming in at #1 is UTM which is a free wrapper around the excellent and open source QEMU.We are uncertain whether many users are not happy with this app, or have simply moved to the now free VMWare Fusion.

Actions speak louder than words

Virtualization apps like Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion top the list, reflecting a continued need for cross-platform compatibility. Mac users need a stable way to run business critical Windows applications and games. Adobe software is disproportionately represented, followed by web browsers, collaboration/messaging apps and utilities like CCleaner and CleanMyMac. Users might be uninstalling these apps after trialing them or due to incompatibilty issues. There may be bugs, general disatisfaction, or they're simply migrating to other comparable apps — either way they are uninstalling these apps en-masse.

Happy holidays!

✌️ Charlie