How to uninstall Foxmail on Mac
Foxmail is a sandboxed mail client, so what it keeps on this Mac, including any locally stored mail, sits in its container under ~/Library/Containers. Before removal, confirm server copies of wanted messages and separately back up local-only mail, drafts and attachments. Normal sync does not prove an independent backup exists. This covers the official Mac download from foxmail.com, Foxmail.app with the bundle id com.tencent.Foxmail, and the Homebrew cask foxmail, which installs the same download.
Quit and remove the app
- Confirm wanted server mail, then quit Foxmail from its menu. In Finder, copy the entire
~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.Foxmailcontainer to an independent private location outside all removal folders and verify the copy before deleting data. - Open Finder's Applications folder, find Foxmail, and move it to the Trash.
Where Foxmail keeps its data
After verifying the backup and quitting, press Shift + Command + G in Finder to open each existing location or its parent, then move only unwanted Foxmail items to the Trash. Keep data used by another Foxmail copy and every parent folder.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.Foxmail |
The app's sandbox; with accounts added, this can include locally stored mail | Selected by default in Mole; verify an independent local-mail backup first |
~/Library/Application Scripts/com.tencent.Foxmail |
Scripts folder tied to the sandbox | Selected by default |
Check the result
pgrep -il Foxmail
ls -d ~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.Foxmail
No output from pgrep means Foxmail is not running; a listed process means it is still open, so quit it first. For ls -d, "No such file or directory" means the container is gone. A surviving path alone does not identify the cause. Read Mole's details to distinguish retained data from a failed Trash move. If they explicitly report missing Full Disk Access, grant it in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access and review the removal again; otherwise inspect the reported permission error before moving the folder in Finder.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Mole skips --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot be fully checked, and still cleans the leftovers you selected.
The foxmail cask's zap list is ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.tencent.Foxmail* and ~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.Foxmail*. Exact own rows may be selected by default, but that alone does not authorize zap; the whole list still needs ownership and scope checks. The wildcard also reaches any other folder starting with com.tencent.Foxmail. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap foxmail yourself removes the container whatever you ticked in Mole. To keep the container and look through it first, remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask foxmail
What Mole lists
For Foxmail, Mole selects the app, ~/Library/Containers/com.tencent.Foxmail and ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.tencent.Foxmail by default. Mole does not claim other Tencent apps' app groups, such as WeChat's or WeRead's, on the same Mac. Uncheck the container to retain local mail. The historical Trash error does not establish a missing-permission cause on your Mac.
What this test covered
On September 20, 2026, Foxmail 1.5.8 was copied from the official package into Applications, opened without signing in, and removed with a Mole 1.15 Preview (build 280). The app came off; the 252 KB container failed to move to the Trash with error 513 and stayed on disk. WeChat's and the official WeRead app's groups on the same Mac were not claimed. A signed-in account with local mail and the Homebrew cask were not tested.