How to uninstall PDF Expert on Mac
PDF Expert works on PDF files where they already live, in local folders or cloud storage, so your documents are ordinary files that removing the app does not delete. Back those up like any other file, cancel a website subscription if you have one, then deal with the app's own folders. This covers the official Mac download from Readdle, plus a Homebrew section for the pdf-expert cask.
Cancel the subscription, then quit and remove PDF Expert
- If you subscribed through Readdle's website and want to stop billing, open PDF Expert, click PDF Expert in the upper left corner, choose View My Account and cancel at least 24 hours before renewal, as Readdle's subscription guide describes. Removing the app does not cancel a subscription.
- Save and copy wanted PDFs to an independent location outside sync and the removal folders, verify those copies, then quit PDF Expert.
- In Finder's Applications folder, move PDF Expert to the Trash.
Where PDF Expert keeps its data
Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each path that exists. Apart from your own files, these are the paths the Homebrew cask lists for PDF Expert.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your PDF files, in local folders or cloud storage | The documents you opened or edited | Not app data; back them up like any other document |
~/Library/Application Support/PDF Expert |
PDF Expert's own folder, named after the app | Open it and copy out anything you want before removing |
~/Library/PDF Expert |
A second folder named after the app | Open it and copy out anything you want before removing |
~/Library/Application Support/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac |
Support data named after the bundle ID | Remove with the app |
~/Library/Caches/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac |
App cache | Safe to remove |
~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac |
Web storage | Remove with the app |
~/Library/Preferences/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac.plist |
App preferences | Remove with the app |
~/Library/Caches/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Installer and ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Installer |
Folders named after PDF Expert's installer | Safe to remove |
After quitting, copy wanted app state from the table paths to an independent backup outside all removal folders and verify it, then open the locations in Finder and move only confirmed unwanted PDF Expert items to the Trash. The current cask also lists ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments/com.readdle.pdfexpert-mac.sfl* and ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac.binarycookies; inspect actual matching names in their parent folders and keep shared parents. Keep the system-managed ~/Library/SyncedPreferences/com.apple.kvs/ChangeTokens/NoEncryption/PDF Expert out of manual cleanup. For any Widgets-container failure, use the exact path in Mole’s details and inspect it in Finder, back up wanted state and remove only a verified exclusive PDF Expert extension directory; retain it if another installed copy claims it.
Check the result
pgrep -il "pdf expert"
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac'"
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/PDF\ Expert ~/Library/PDF\ Expert
No output from pgrep only means its process-name pattern did not match; also check Activity Monitor for confirmed PDF Expert processes. No output from mdfind means no matching copy is in Spotlight’s current index, so also check Applications and any other location where you kept copies; unindexed or excluded folders may be missed. For each ls path, "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone, and the path printed back means it is still there, which is expected for anything you left unticked.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The pdf-expert cask quits PDF Expert before it removes the app, and its zap list covers every app path in the table, plus PDF Expert's Recent Documents record, a binarycookies file and a SyncedPreferences entry named PDF Expert. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap pdf-expert yourself moves all of them to the Trash, whatever you selected in Mole. To remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask pdf-expert
Mole skips --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or a removal scope it cannot verify; selected remnants still follow Mole's own removal flow. Leave either folder named after the app unticked and Mole drops --zap, while still removing the rows you ticked.
What Mole lists
Mole selects the rows named exactly after PDF Expert's bundle ID, such as its support folder, cache and preferences, by default. With Remove data and settings with apps off, the listed ~/Library/Application Support/PDF Expert and ~/Library/PDF Expert review rows start unchecked; with it on, eligible existing own unshared rows may start checked. Back up wanted state and uncheck either folder to retain it. PDF Expert's group.com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac.* group preferences are listed for review too; even when you tick them, Mole removes them only after confirming that no other installed app claims the group, and when it cannot confirm that, it keeps them and the result reads "Kept: couldn't confirm no other app uses this group".
What this test covered
On September 20, 2026, PDF Expert 3.13.3 from Readdle's official zip was copied into Applications and uninstalled live with Mole 1.15.0 build 282, with every review row selected. The app and the Application Support/PDF Expert folder went to the Trash. The group.com.readdle.PDFExpert-Mac.* group preferences were selected but stayed, kept by Mole's App Group check, and macOS refused to move PDF Expert's Widgets container to the Trash. Signing in and PDF editing were not tested.
Manage or cancel your PDF Expert subscription · Sync your PDF files between devices