You Installed Grammarly for Mac, Now You Need It Gone
You downloaded Grammarly for Mac to catch typos and polish your writing. It worked well for a while, but now it’s causing problems. Maybe it’s conflicting with another app, slowing down your system, or you’ve simply switched to a different writing tool. The issue is, removing an app on macOS isn’t always as simple as dragging it to the Trash.
Grammarly Desktop, like many modern productivity tools, installs more than just a single application icon. It adds background services, login items, and support files that persist even after you delete the main app. If you don’t remove these components, you might still see the Grammarly icon in your menu bar, or find its processes running and consuming resources.
This guide will walk you through the complete, step-by-step process to delete Grammarly Desktop from your Mac. We’ll cover the standard method, the manual deep-clean for stubborn remnants, and what to do if you encounter common issues along the way.
Why a Simple Drag to Trash Isn’t Enough
On macOS, when you install an application from the App Store, it’s typically self-contained. Deleting the app removes everything. However, many apps downloaded directly from developer websites, like Grammarly, use an installer package. These packages can place files in various library folders on your Mac.
Grammarly installs a helper application that runs in the background to provide its writing suggestions across different programs. It also adds a login item so it starts automatically with your computer and installs browser extensions if you allowed it during setup. Dragging the main Grammarly app to the Trash leaves these pieces behind.
These leftover files are usually harmless but can waste disk space and, in rare cases, cause software conflicts. For a clean system and to ensure the application is fully removed, following a thorough uninstall process is recommended.
The Standard Uninstall Method Using the Grammarly App
Before you start manually digging through folders, check if Grammarly provides its own uninstaller. This is the safest and easiest method. Recent versions of Grammarly for Mac include this option directly within the app.
First, open the Grammarly application from your Applications folder or Spotlight search. Look for the Grammarly icon in your menu bar at the top-right of your screen. Click on it and select “Open Grammarly” from the dropdown menu. This will launch the main app window.
Within the Grammarly app, navigate to its settings or preferences. The exact location varies by version, but look for a gear icon or a menu item named “Grammarly” next to the Apple menu. Inside settings, search for an option labeled “Uninstall Grammarly” or “Remove Grammarly Desktop.”
If you find this option, clicking it should launch a helper that guides you through removing the app and its associated components. Follow the on-screen prompts. This method is ideal because it’s designed by the developers to cleanly remove everything their installer placed on your system.
What to Do If the In-App Uninstaller Is Missing
If your version of Grammarly doesn’t have a built-in uninstall option, don’t worry. This is common with older installations. You’ll need to proceed with a manual removal, which is more involved but equally effective. The next section covers this process in detail.
It’s also possible the app is unresponsive or won’t open. In that case, you can force quit it before beginning manual removal. Press Command + Option + Escape to open the Force Quit Applications window, select “Grammarly” if it’s listed, and click “Force Quit.”
Manual Removal: A Step-by-Step Deep Clean
This method ensures every part of Grammarly is deleted from your Mac. We’ll move through it systematically, from quitting the app to hunting down leftover files in your library folders.
First, ensure Grammarly is not running. Right-click or Control-click on the Grammarly icon in your menu bar. If it’s there, select “Quit Grammarly.” If the icon is unresponsive, use the Force Quit method mentioned above.
Move the Main Application to Trash
Open a new Finder window. Go to your “Applications” folder. Scroll through the list and locate “Grammarly” or “Grammarly Desktop.” Click and drag the Grammarly app icon to the Trash icon in your Dock. Alternatively, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash.”
You may be prompted for your administrator password because the app was installed for all users on the computer. Enter your password to confirm. This step removes the primary application bundle.
Delete Grammarly’s Background Services and Support Files
Now we need to remove the hidden files. Open a new Finder window. Press and hold the “Option” key on your keyboard, then click the “Go” menu in the top Finder bar. You’ll see a new option appear: “Library.” Select it to open your user’s Library folder, which is normally hidden.
Inside the Library folder, look for and delete any folders or files related to Grammarly. Pay special attention to these common locations:
– Look in the `Application Support` folder for a “Grammarly” folder.
– Check the `Caches` folder for a “com.grammarly.Desktop” or similar folder.
– Look in the `Preferences` folder for files starting with “com.grammarly.”
– Check the `LaunchAgents` or `LaunchDaemons` folders for any Grammarly plist files.
– Look in the `Logs` folder for a Grammarly directory.
For each item you find, drag it to the Trash. Be careful not to delete files from other applications. Only remove items clearly labeled with “Grammarly” or “com.grammarly.”
Remove Grammarly from Your Browser Extensions
If you use Grammarly’s browser extension, you must remove it separately. The process differs slightly for each browser.
For Safari, open Safari and go to Safari > Settings (or Preferences) from the menu bar. Click on the “Extensions” tab. Find the Grammarly extension in the list and click its “Uninstall” button.
For Google Chrome, open Chrome and type `chrome://extensions/` into the address bar. Find the Grammarly extension and click “Remove.” Confirm the removal in the dialog box.
For Mozilla Firefox, open Firefox and type `about:addons` into the address bar. Go to the “Extensions” panel. Find Grammarly, click the three-dot menu next to it, and select “Remove.”
Clearing Grammarly Login Items and System Preferences
Even after deletion, Grammarly might still be set to launch at startup. To prevent this, you need to check your Login Items.
Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select “System Settings” (or “System Preferences” on older macOS versions). Go to “General” and then click “Login Items.” Look through the list under “Open at Login.” If you see “Grammarly” or “Grammarly Desktop,” select it and click the minus (-) button to remove it.
This ensures the app won’t try to relaunch the next time you restart your Mac, which could cause errors or confusion.
Troubleshooting Common Uninstall Problems
Sometimes, you might run into issues where files seem locked, or you get an error message saying Grammarly is still in use. Here’s how to handle these situations.
The File Is in Use Error
If you get an alert stating that an item can’t be moved to the Trash because it’s in use, it means a Grammarly process is still running in the background. Open the “Activity Monitor” application, which you can find in Applications > Utilities.
In Activity Monitor, type “grammarly” into the search bar. Look for any processes with “Grammarly” in the name. Select each one and click the “X” button in the toolbar to force quit the process. You may need to provide your administrator password. Once all processes are stopped, try moving the files to Trash again.
Can’t Find the Hidden Library Folder
If the “Library” option doesn’t appear when holding Option in the Go menu, you can access it directly. Open a Finder window, press Command + Shift + G to open the “Go to Folder” dialog, and type `~/Library`. Press Go. This will take you directly to your user Library folder.
For system-wide files that affect all users, you can also check the main Library folder at the root of your hard drive. To get there, in the “Go to Folder” dialog, type `/Library` (without the ~). Be extra cautious here, as deleting the wrong file from this folder can affect system stability.
Leftover Grammarly Menu Bar Icon After Uninstall
If the Grammarly icon persists in your menu bar after following all steps, it’s likely a cached image. The simplest fix is to log out of your macOS user account and log back in, or restart your Mac. This will refresh the menu bar and clear any ghost icons.
Ensuring the Uninstall Was Successful
After completing the steps, it’s good to verify that Grammarly is completely gone. Restart your Mac. After it boots up, check the menu bar for the Grammarly icon. It should be absent.
Open Activity Monitor again and search for “grammarly.” No processes should appear. Try opening a document in a text editor or a new email in your mail client. You should not see any Grammarly underlines or pop-up suggestions.
Finally, you can empty your Trash. Right-click on the Trash icon in your Dock and select “Empty Trash.” This permanently deletes all the Grammarly files you moved there, freeing up the disk space.
Your Mac Is Now Grammarly-Free
You’ve successfully navigated the process of completely removing Grammarly Desktop from your Mac. By moving beyond the simple drag-to-trash method, you’ve ensured that no background services, login items, or cached files are left behind to consume resources or cause conflicts.
This clean removal process is useful for many applications that install helper components. The key principles are the same: quit the app, remove the main application, search your user Library folder for associated files, and check your browser extensions and login items.
If you removed Grammarly to resolve a performance issue, you should notice a snappier response, particularly during startup. If you removed it to switch to another writing assistant, you can now proceed with a clean installation of your new tool. Your system is reset, and you’re back in full control of your Mac’s software environment.
