Uninstall WhatsApp on Mac
Check that the conversations you need are still available on your primary phone and save attachments downloaded separately on the Mac before removing WhatsApp. A linked Mac is not a complete backup of your phone’s chats. Photos and videos received on this Mac can take a lot of space in a shared folder, covered below. These steps cover the native Mac app, whether it came from WhatsApp's website, the App Store or Homebrew.
Check your account and data first
Find this Mac in Linked Devices on your primary phone and unlink it there if you want to end its session. Handle backup and restore through the options for your phone’s operating system. This guide has not verified a separate full-chat backup feature in the Mac desktop app. WhatsApp Help Center
Quit and remove the app
Quit WhatsApp on the Mac and move it from Applications to the Trash. Check Activity Monitor first if macOS says it is still in use. Removing the app does not delete the WhatsApp account or replace checking your phone’s chat backup.
Where WhatsApp keeps local data
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists. Copy out and open images or documents you still need before removing any of them.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp |
The app's sandboxed data on this Mac | Remove it only after the phone and your saved files are checked |
~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared |
Photos and video received on this Mac; can reach tens of GB | Copy out media you want, then decide |
~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.private |
More data for the same app | Review with the folder above |
~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.family |
A shared WhatsApp namespace, not specific to this app | Keep it if WhatsApp Business or another WhatsApp app is installed |
~/Library/Caches/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp |
Cache | Safe to remove after quitting |
These paths come from the Homebrew WhatsApp cask's cleanup list. Not every Mac has every entry.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -ilf "WhatsApp.app"
du -sh "$HOME/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp" "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared"
No output from pgrep means WhatsApp is no longer running; a line with a process ID means it is still open. du prints the size of each folder that still exists; "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone. A large size on the .shared folder means received media is still on the disk.
After removal, check your phone’s messages and the attachments you saved.
If you plan to relink this Mac
Confirm that chats and backups are usable on the phone first, then follow WhatsApp's linked-device flow to connect the desktop app again. A remaining Mac directory is not a substitute for restoring phone chats.
Unlinking on the phone can leave the Mac app installed. Conversely, removing the icon does not establish that the linked-device session was ended. Check those two actions separately.
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.
Running brew uninstall --cask --zap whatsapp yourself runs the cask's zap list on its own, whatever you selected in Mole. It includes the app container, every ~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp* folder (the .shared media folder and the shared group.net.whatsapp.family among them) and ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.facebook.family. Copy out the media you want first. Homebrew WhatsApp cask
To remove only the app and keep that local data:
brew uninstall --cask whatsapp
What Mole lists
~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp and the cache are selected by default because they carry the app's bundle id. group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared and group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.private are listed but not selected, since they hold received media. group.net.whatsapp.family is not listed: its name has no part that belongs to this one app. Mole can also list the group.net.whatsapp.* folders under ~/Library/Application Scripts, taken from Homebrew's zap list for this app, but does not select them and keeps them as protected even when ticked.
What this test covered
The recorded uninstall used the Homebrew cask on September 17, 2026, so the files were removed by Homebrew's zap list, which also covers the shared group.net.whatsapp.family. On September 26, 2026, WhatsApp 26.38 from WhatsApp's website was installed again and removed with a development build of Mole with every row ticked: the app, its container, its extension's container and the two group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp group folders went to the Trash. Mole kept four group.net.whatsapp.* folders under Application Scripts as protected, and the shared group.net.whatsapp.family, group.net.whatsapp.WhatsAppSMB.shared and group.com.facebook.family folders, which it does not list, stayed as well. Neither run was a chat-restoration test or checked an App Store installation.