How to

Follow This Guide to Uninstall Dropbox From Your Mac

Updated On June 4, 2021 | by Louise Simon

Dropbox is a cloud-storage app that many people use daily. According to the 2020 stats, Dropbox has a 21% market share in the cloud storage space. But there might be several reasons to uninstall Dropbox from your Mac. For example, you might’ve bought an SSD or want to switch to another storage option. In such cases, you might be wondering if you can completely uninstall Dropbox from your Mac or whether you can uninstall it while keeping your downloaded files in your Mac. Keep reading to find how you can remove Dropbox from mac. 

Also Read: How to Improve your Mac Performance

The Manual Way

Uninstalling Dropbox from your Mac is very easy if you use the manual uninstallation process. All you have to do is go to the Finder and in the Finder Menu, move to the” Applications” box. From there, you can drag the Dropbox app and drop it into the Trash on the left side of the screen. 

After you are done moving the Dropbox app to the Trash, empty the Trash folder to permanently remove the app. 

However, if your Dropbox starts on the system startup or you opened it, you will have to first close it before uninstalling it. Only then can you drag the app to the Trash and uninstall it permanently. Follow these steps for stopping the Dropbox app:

1. Move to the menu bar on your Mac
2. Click on the Dropbox icon. 
3. Click on your profile icon. 
4. Press the “Quit” button. 

Now that you have quit the Dropbox app, you can easily uninstall it by dragging it to the Trash folder. 

Delete the Dropbox Folder

If you no longer need the files you have downloaded in your Dropbox folder; you can easily get rid of them by following this process:

• Go to the Finder on your Mac.
• Open the “Go” section. 
• Click on the “Home” menu. 
• Locate the “Dropbox” folder. 
• Drag and drop it into Trash. 

Doing this will completely remove all the files you have downloaded on your Mac using the Dropbox app.

Deleting Selected Files

You will want to delete only a few files that you have downloaded from Dropbox in most cases. You can easily delete selected files by going into the Dropbox folder. You can follow the procedure given above to open the Dropbox folder on your Mac. From there, you can drag and drop the files you no longer need in the Trash folder. 

Delete the Leftover Dropbox Files

After the uninstallation of your Dropbox app and removal of the Dropbox folder, there are still Dropbox files stored in your Mac. Deleting these files is not necessary, but they do occupy some space on your Mac. Follow this process for getting rid of these files:

1. Open the “Finder” tab. 
2. Press Shift + Command + G keys simultaneously. 
3. Go to the Library folder. 
4. Locate the Dropbox folder. 
5. Drag and drop the Dropbox folder in the Trash. 

Removing Dropbox Without Deleting Files

When you uninstall the Dropbox app from your Mac, there are chances that your files might get removed from Dropbox online storage as well. You should take an extra step before uninstalling the Dropbox app, so your files stay safe in the cloud servers. 

The easiest way you can ensure that your files on your Dropbox account don’t get affected by uninstalling the Dropbox app is by unlinking your Mac from your Dropbox account. The unlinking process doesn’t take up any time. Follow these steps:

1. Open your web browser. 
2. Visit Dropbox.com. 
3. Click on your profile pic. 
4. Navigate to the Settings section. 
5. Scroll down to the Security tab. 
6. Open the “Devices” menu. 
7. Click on the Trash Icon. 

After you click on the Trash icon, your Mac will be unlinked from the Dropbox account. This way, you can easily uninstall the Dropbox app without changing your files. 

Stop Syncing Your Files

There might be some folders on your Mac that automatically sync with your Dropbox account. This can not only slow down your Mac but also put a strain on your Data Usage. Therefore, unless you want 24/7 cloud availability of some of your files, you can easily disable the sync feature. 

Follow this procedure to stop the syncing of your folders with Dropbox:

1. Go to the Menu bar. 
2. Navigate to the Dropbox menu.  
3. Click on your profile picture. 
4. Open the Preferences menu. 
5. Navigate to the Sync tab. 
6. Click on the Choose Folders menu. 

In this menu, you can easily uncheck any folder that is automatically syncing with your Dropbox account. 

Reset the Dropbox App

In some cases, you might want to remove the preferences of your Dropbox app without completely uninstalling it. Removing the preferences allows you to change how you use your Dropbox app and ensure that no setting is there without your approval. For doing this, you will have to visit the Library folder, where you will have to delete the configuration files. 

You can quickly open the Library folder of the Dropbox app by using the Shift + Command + G command on your Mac. After running this command, you will see a pop-up window, where you will have to type “~/.dropbox” to open the Library folder of your Dropbox app. Press on the Go button, and you will be redirected to Dropbox’s Library folder. 

Once in the folder, you can select all the files then drag and drop them in the Trash folder. Now you can use the Dropbox app in the default state and make any changes according to your needs. 

Uninstall Dropbox Using an App

In case you had enough of going through hoops for uninstalling apps like Dropbox, you can use a 3^rd-party uninstaller as well. One of Mac’s most trusted uninstaller apps is CleanMyMac X. This tool is available via the Setapp platform. To use this uninstaller for removing the Dropbox app from your Mac, first, stop the Dropbox app on your Mac using the steps mentioned above. 

Then, all you have to do is to open the CleanMyMac X app. In this app, quickly navigate to the “Uninstaller” menu and click on the Dropbox icon. Press the “Uninstall” button, and Dropbox will remove from your Mac within seconds.