Uninstall Brave on Mac

Sync or export your bookmarks and saved passwords before you remove Brave, and if you use Brave Wallet or Brave Rewards, back up your wallet's recovery phrase first, because that state lives only in the profile folder this guide removes. These steps cover the direct download from brave.com and the Homebrew cask brave-browser; the recorded test used the Homebrew cask.

Back up what the profile holds

Open Settings › Sync and check each data type you need. Brave Sync uses a device chain and its private Sync code, rather than restoring everything by signing into a Brave account. Before removal, verify bookmarks and passwords on another device you control and keep a way to rejoin that chain; otherwise export them first. Set up Brave Sync. If you use Brave Wallet, save its recovery phrase privately before deleting the profile. Check any unclaimed Rewards balance and payout status separately.

Quit Brave and remove the app

Finish downloads, quit Brave from its menu, then move Brave Browser from Applications to the Trash. Removing the app does not delete a synced profile on another device; deleting local data is a separate step.

Where Brave keeps its data

These paths come from the Homebrew Brave cask's zap list, which matches what a direct download from brave.com writes to the same locations.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal:

pgrep -ilf "Brave Browser"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser"

No output from pgrep means Brave is not running. The ls -d command shows only whether this profile folder exists: a listed path does not prove that bookmarks, passwords or wallet data remain inside. Inspect its contents and check any wanted backup before deleting it. "No such file or directory" means this exact folder is absent, while another profile location or a read error needs separate checking.

For freeing space in a profile you are keeping, see Free Up Chrome and Safari Storage on Mac Safely; the same cache layers apply to Brave's Chromium-based profile.

If you installed it with Homebrew

Brave is a browser, so Mole removes a Homebrew-installed copy with brew uninstall --cask brave-browser, without --zap, whatever you tick in Mole's review list, so Mole's Homebrew step never deletes your profile; it goes to the Trash only if you tick that row yourself, as described below. Homebrew Brave cask

Running the zap list yourself is a different matter. If you (not Mole) run brew uninstall --cask --zap brave-browser, that deletes the whole profile in the table above, wallet and Rewards state included, regardless of any backup you have made through Mole's review screen. Back up first, or leave --zap out:

brew uninstall --cask brave-browser

Account and subscription

Removing Brave does not delete the Sync chain or a synced profile on another device. It does not withdraw unclaimed Brave Rewards or move Brave Wallet funds anywhere; both stay tied to the local data above until you have backed them up elsewhere. Manage your Brave account, Sync devices, and Rewards payout status from brave.com.

What Mole lists

~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser is listed as sensitive browser data because it can hold Brave Wallet keys and Rewards state. You can tick it on its own: it is never selected by default or by select-all, Mole asks you to confirm, and it goes to the Trash, so it stays recoverable until you empty the Trash. Write down your wallet recovery phrase before you tick it.

What this test covered

The recorded uninstall used the Homebrew cask on September 17, 2026, with a development build of Mole. Caches and preferences were removed; the profile folder was left on disk, listed but locked from selection, as that build did. Brave Wallet and Brave Rewards were not set up on the test Mac, so their specific data was not present to verify.