How to Remove Or Uninstall Dropbox from Mac? [5 Working Ways]

To remove or uninstall dropbox from Mac, there are various ways. You can uninstall the app completely from your macOS and delete its cache & files, or you can do it without deleting them. Also, you cannot sometimes remove dropbox from your device because its plugins are already in use.

So, how to get rid of Dropbox application for Mac in all these scenarios? Here I’ll walk you through 5 working methods for the same. 

Let’s see how to disconnect dropbox with Mac:

How to Remove Dropbox from Mac? [5 Working Ways]

1. Without deleting files – Unlink the account

Curious about how to remove dropbox from Mac without deleting files? Uninstalling or removing dropbox from your PC or Mac doesn’t delete any files in your account. You can still view the dropbox logs from dropbox.com. However, if you still don’t want to take a chance, you can simply unlink your account from that device. 

When you unlink your dropbox account on Mac or another PC, dropbox stops syncing files for that device while they are available on the web and other devices.

Steps to unlink or remove dropbox from Mac without deleting files:

1. Log into dropbox.com with your account credentials, click on your profile or avatar icon and select “Settings.”
2. Go to the “Security” tab under Settings and click on the “devices” option to view the list of connected devices on dropbox.
3. Now find the name of your Mac device in that list. Click on the “x” or trash icon next to its name to remove that device and confirm.

Alternatively, you can cancel syncing of dropbox folders. How to unsync dropbox from Mac? Just follow these steps:

1. From your Mac’s menu, go to the dropbox menu, click on a profile picture and choose “Preferences.”
2.  Head to the “Sync” tab and choose the folders you want to unsync by unchecking them. Those folders will stop syncing further for your mac device afterward.

After that, delete it from your Mac by following the steps mentioned in Method 2 below.

2. By uninstalling manually

Many people are curious to know how to remove dropbox from Mac menu bar. To do that, you have to uninstall dropbox manually by dragging it to the bin or trash to remove it.

However, if you have opened dropbox at startup or it is set to open there, you first have to quit the app and then move it to trash. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “dropbox” icon, hover over the profile icon and choose the “Quit” option.
2. Then search the app “dropbox” under “Applications” in the finder and right-click to move to trash.
3. Go to the trash and click on “empty trash” to remove it permanently.
4. To remove local dropbox folders and files under it, drag the files & folders to the trash. But for that, the folder should be in your home folder. Alternatively, go to Mac finder and search for “dropbox” and delete all the dropbox files and folders.
5. Right-Click on Dropbox and choose the option “Remove from sidebar” to uninstall it completely from your Mac.

3. By using an Uninstaller

The other quick and simple way to remove the dropbox folder from Mac is to use a third-party installer. Some of the best-known installers for Mac are:

• CleanMyMacX
• PowerMyMac
• AppCleaner & Uninstaller

Here we explain the steps of how to uninstall dropbox on a Mac using CleanMyMacX. The steps will be almost the same for all these tools. 

Just like a manual process, you must first quit dropbox from your Mac’s menu bar (as described in Method 2). Download CleanMyMacX for free, launch the app, and follow these steps to uninstall dropbox using it:

1. Go to the “Applications” section on your Mac and open “Uninstaller” from there.
2. From the application list of the uninstaller, choose “dropbox.” Tap on the mac dropbox uninstall option at the bottom of the screen to remove the app entirely.

4. Via Contextual Menu

If dropbox is in your Mac’s contextual menu because you use the app frequently, you can directly remove it from there by following these steps:

1. Launch Mac finder and go to the Contextual menu. There, click on the “move to dropbox” option under the “move to trash” option.
2. Now type /Library and press the “return” key.
3. Scroll down to find the “DropboxHelperTools” folder, right-click on it and move the folder to the trash.

5. When Dropbox Extension is in use

Sometimes, it is hard to remove dropbox from your Mac when its plugins/extensions are already in use. In such a scenario, you have first to delete the plugin folder and then uninstall dropbox from your Mac. To do so, follow these steps:

1. First, Quit Dropbox, then go to the Finder, search for dropbox under Applications, and right-click on it to access the “Show Package Contents” option.
2. Under the Package Contents, locate the “Plugin” folder, right-click on it and choose the “move to trash” option.
3. After removing the Plugin folder, go to the Finder>Applications>Dropbox. Right-click on dropbox to move it to the trash.
4. Go to the trash and delete it permanently.

How to Clear Dropbox Application Settings on Mac?

If you have deleted dropbox from the contextual menu of Mac and want to get rid of its application settings as well, follow these steps to do so:

1. Through Mac Finder, access the menu and then the dropbox folder.
2. Type /.dropbox and press the “Return” key. Choose all the files present in that folder and move them to the trash.
3. Open trash and delete them permanently to clear the dropbox application settings.

How to Stop Dropbox’s Launch at Startup on Mac?

If you are using multiple cloud storage on your Mac and want to access dropbox only when you need it, you can switch off/disable dropbox startup launch by following these simple steps:

1. Go to your Mac’s “System Preferences” and under the “Users & Groups,” access the “Login Items” option.
2. Choose “dropbox” from the list and click on the “-” icon at the bottom screen to remove it.
3. Alternatively, you can do it directly from the Dropbox app for mac desktop through the “Preferences” option under the app menu. There, untick the option “Start Dropbox on system startup” to disable dropbox launch at startup.

What to do if you face a problem uninstalling dropbox from Mac?

Facing a problem with uninstallation and wondering how to disconnect dropbox from mac? The possible reason behind it could be the running of dropbox processes in the background. 

In that scenario, you have to force quit all the processes one by one to remove the dropbox app from the mac. Here is how to do it:

1. Go to the “Utilities” section under the “Applications” tab and then access the “Launch Activity Monitor” option.
2. Under the list of active processes, look for dropbox or related processes. Select all the related dropbox processes one by one and force quit them by hitting the (x) button.
3. After all the processes are closed, exit the activity monitor.
4. Now uninstall the dropbox app from mac, and this time you will be able to do it.

How to Clean Dropbox Junk Files on Mac?

Sometimes, after uninstalling or removing dropbox from a mac, its cache or files remain leftover in your system’s memory. So if you want to free up such space, you can clean dropbox junk files on mac using any disk cleaner software or opt for the manual way.

To manually clean the junk files of dropbox on Mac, follow these steps:

1. Launch Mac finder and access the “Library” folder by using command+shift+G
2. To look for the dropbox cache file, check the paths below:

~/Library/Caches, 

~/Library/Cookies, 

~/Library/Application Support, 

~/Library/Application Scripts, 

~/Library/Saved Application State, 

~/Library/Containers, 

~/Library/Group Containers, 

~/Library/Preferences, 

~/Library/Launch Agents

Click on any folder named Dropbox under these paths and move to trash to remove the leftover junk files to clean up space.

FAQs

1. How to log out of dropbox?

To log out of dropbox from dropbox.com or a mobile app, you can simply go to its “Settings” and click on the Signout option. However, to log out from the dropbox desktop app, follow these steps:

• Open Dropbox desktop app preferences and click on the “Account” tab.
• Click on the “Sign Out” option and confirm.

2. How to add dropbox to the finder?

To add dropbox to the finder, first launch the finder and then follow these steps:

• Choose the drive (like Macintosh HD) where you want to move dropbox
• Go to the “Users” folder and tap on your username.
• Locate the Dropbox folder on your PC and drag it to the sidebar under Favorites to add.

3. Where is dropbox located on mac?

Dropbox is by default located under the “Users” folder on the hard drive of the Mac. But, in case you are not able to find it there, check this way:

• Launch Mac finder and tap on “Go to folder” from the Go menu.
• Type ~/Dropbox/ in the dialog box and press the return key to find the dropbox folder location on Mac.

4. What happens if I delete dropbox files on my computer?

If your computer is connected with your dropbox account and you delete any dropbox file, it gets deleted from dropbox.com and other synced devices. However, the file remains in the “deleted files” section on your account, and you can restore it within 30 or 180 days (depending upon your plan). 

To prevent changes to reflect on other devices, dropbox unlink is the ideal option on Mac before uninstalling or removing it.

5. How do I cancel a dropbox paid subscription?

If you don’t want to get charged for your current account plan, you can downgrade any time to a dropbox basic account (free version) with limited features. To cancel a dropbox subscription, go to the “Billing” tab of your dropbox account and click on the “Cancel Plan” option under the Manage Plans section. Your account will be downgraded at the end of the monthly billing cycle.

Conclusion

We hope that now you know how to remove dropbox app and files from mac in all the possible scenarios with these various working ways. But if you don’t want changes to get synced everywhere, don’t forget to unsync dropbox from your mac before uninstalling or removing it. For any further queries related to this topic, get in touch with us in the comments.