Many people choose Dropbox for their cloud storage, and it’s a great application even for Mac and Linux users. However, you may find that you no longer want or need it. In this article, we’ll look into how you can uninstall Dropbox for Mac while keeping your data safe.

Some users may want to uninstall Dropbox due to the concerns about its security. If this is the case, you can delete your Dropbox account after you finish uninstalling Dropbox.

If you choose to uninstall Dropbox because you don’t think it’s worth the cost, you should check out our Dropbox review to ensure you aren’t missing out on any features. However, there are many providers fighting to be the best cloud storage available, and one of these other applications, such as Sync.com, may better meet your requirements.

How To Uninstall Dropbox From Mac

First, find and select the Dropbox symbol in your top menu bar. If the icon isn’t here, you should open Dropbox to make it appear.

After you click this icon, you should see your round profile picture or initials in the top-right corner. Select this circle and then click “preferences” from the dropdown menu to bring up the settings window.

In the settings window, choose the “account” tab.

In this tab, click the button to unlink your Mac from your Dropbox account. This will remove access to any files that you haven’t saved to your system, but they will still be in your account.

The Dropbox icon in your top menu bar should still be there, but it will be faded. You should select it again.

If you click the icon that has replaced your profile picture or initials, you will receive an option to quit Dropbox. This should also stop any background processes.

To remove Dropbox, search for its launcher in Finder. It should be in the Applications folder.

Finally, move the Dropbox application launcher into the trash and choose to empty it.

Why Can’t I Delete Dropbox From My Mac?

Sometimes you can’t delete Dropbox on Mac because background processes of the application aren’t shutting down properly. You can close these manually in the Activity Monitor, but they may restart if you open Dropbox again. You can find the Activity Monitor inside the Utilities folder within your Applications.

Carefully look through the processes. If it has Dropbox in the name, select it and click the “X” in the top-left corner.

After removing each process, you should try uninstalling Dropbox again by deleting the app from within Finder.

How Do I Completely Remove Dropbox?

If you want to remove all traces of Dropbox when you uninstall it, there are three more things you will need to delete.

First, you need to go to the Dropbox folder on your hard drive. This will contain any files you had downloaded before you uninstalled Dropbox. Save any data you don’t want to lose and delete the folder.

Next, open Finder and press shift+command+G to open the “go to folder” text box. Enter “/Library” and find the folder titled “DropboxHelperTools.” You can delete this to remove the Dropbox contextual menu.

Finally, to remove the Dropbox application settings, reopen the “go to folder” text box, enter “~/.dropbox” and delete everything inside the folder.

How Do I Remove Dropbox From My Mac Without Deleting Files?

If you want to uninstall Dropbox and not lose any data, there are two effective solutions. You should do these before removing the application, but even if you don’t, your files will remain in your account.

The easiest way to ensure no data will be lost is to check for the green mark next to the file’s icon. This means it is safely on your hard drive so you can freely uninstall Dropbox. 

A more thorough way to ensure your data is safe is to move it out of your Dropbox account. You can do this by creating a copy or moving the original out of your Dropbox folder. If the files are no longer in your account, you won’t be able to download them elsewhere, but they will be on your Mac.

Final Thoughts

If you need to uninstall Dropbox, there is a clear and effective way to do so. Although Dropbox isn’t the best cloud storage for Mac, you can reinstall at any time. Also, if you choose not to clear out the Dropbox folder or application settings, you can even go straight back to where you left off.

Although you may have decided to uninstall Dropbox on Mac, a cloud storage application is handy to have. For a breakdown of the other top choices and how they compare, you should read our Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive comparison.

Have you needed to uninstall the Dropbox app on Mac? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading.