You know that feeling when a helpful tool has served its purpose, and it's time to move on? For many Mac users, Grammarly has been that trusty sidekick, polishing prose and catching those pesky typos. But if you've decided it's time to uninstall Grammarly from your Mac, whether the desktop app or its browser extensions, it's good to know how to do it thoroughly. It’s not just about freeing up a bit of digital space; it’s about ensuring your system stays clean and efficient.
Grammarly, as we know, is designed to make our writing shine. It goes beyond simple spell-checking, offering suggestions for conciseness, tone, and clarity. You can even set specific writing goals. It's available as a standalone desktop application and as browser extensions for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. And here's a key point: uninstalling the app or extensions won't delete your Grammarly account. Your profile and settings remain, which is handy if you plan to use Grammarly on other devices. If you do want to delete your account entirely, that's a separate step we can look at later.
The Manual Way to Remove Grammarly Desktop
Now, when it comes to uninstalling applications on a Mac, simply dragging an app to the Trash from your Applications folder often isn't enough. Many programs, Grammarly included, scatter supporting files across your system. To truly remove Grammarly desktop, you'll want to follow a few more steps.
First things first, make sure Grammarly isn't running. You can do this by quitting the application. If you're unsure if any processes are still active, opening Activity Monitor (found in Applications > Utilities) and searching for 'Grammarly' is a good idea. If you find any running processes, select them and click the 'Quit' button.
Once you've confirmed Grammarly is closed, you can drag the Grammarly application itself from your Applications folder to the Trash.
But we're not done yet. To get rid of all the associated files, you'll need to venture into your Mac's hidden Library folder. In Finder, click on the 'Go' menu, then select 'Go to Folder...'. Now, you'll need to paste in a few specific paths, one at a time, pressing Return after each:
~/Library/Application Support/~/Library/Caches/~/Library/Saved Application State/
In each of these locations, look for any folders or files that have 'Grammarly' in their name and drag them to the Trash. Once you've cleared out all these remnants, remember to empty your Trash to finalize the removal.
A Smoother Path: Using a Dedicated Uninstaller
If all that folder-navigating sounds a bit tedious, and let's be honest, it can be, there's a much simpler route. Dedicated uninstaller tools can handle this process for you, sweeping up all the associated files without you having to hunt them down manually. One such tool is CleanMyMac. It's designed to keep your Mac running smoothly by clearing out junk and managing applications.
Using its Uninstaller feature is remarkably straightforward. After downloading and opening CleanMyMac, you simply select the 'Uninstaller' module. You can then scroll through the list of installed applications or use the search bar to find Grammarly. Once selected, a click on 'Uninstall' will prompt the tool to remove Grammarly and all its related files. It’s a quick and clean way to declutter your system.
Removing Grammarly Browser Extensions
Grammarly isn't just on your desktop; it lives in your browser too. If you're using Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, you'll want to remove the extension there as well.
For Safari:
Open Safari, go to the Safari menu, and select 'Settings'. In the toolbar, click on 'Extensions'. Find Grammarly in the sidebar and click 'Uninstall'. If you've already removed the desktop app, this is all you need to do. If not, you might see a prompt reminding you to remove the application from your Applications folder.
For Chrome:
Open Chrome. The easiest way is often to right-click (or control-click) the Grammarly icon in your toolbar and select 'Remove from Chrome', then confirm. If you don't see the icon, you can type chrome://extensions/ into your address bar, find Grammarly in the list, and remove it from there.
For Firefox:
Open Firefox. Click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner (next to the address bar) to open the menu. Go to 'Settings', then select 'Add-ons & themes' from the left-hand menu, and click on 'Extensions'. Find Grammarly, click the three dots next to it, and choose the uninstall option.
By following these steps, you can ensure Grammarly is completely removed from your Mac, leaving your system tidy and ready for whatever you need it for next.
