COMPLETELY removing Google Chrome, once and for all?

TidBITS Talk
1

I have moved all my bookmarks to another browser. How do I remove every vestige of Chrome (and its sneaky updater that hasn’t exactly been problem-free over the years?)

If it matters, I am on Mojave 10.14.6.

Thanks!

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There’s a pretty complete list of things to delete here - https://chromeisbad.com

3 Likes
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I just went through the process of deleting Google/Chrome files & folders. It was stunning how many bits and pieces were spread across my Mac. This might explain the problem I sometimes have of the Mac not shutting down. I feel like I have regained a little control.

Thank you for the link.

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Thank you!

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Now I’m really curious. I’ve been having the same problem!

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I haven’t been able to test the effects so far. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is other software that I have installed over the years that has remnants of files that interfere with shutdown. As the chromeisbad.com blog indicated, Activity Monitor is not a reliable way to identify programs that are using resources.

7

A friend at Google who works on Chrome said that 9to5Mac’s take was more accurate.

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My main interest in removing Chrome is to be rid of their updater, since it doesn’t have a spotless record. It seems like they needlessly reinvented the wheel for such a simple task. Alternatives like Brave use a more sensible mechanism, like Sparkle.

I also can’t say I’ve seen huge performance problems, or a clear improvement since removing it, but I have had odd occasions where my Mac won’t shut down and I end up holding in the power button. If this removal happens to cure that, I will consider it a bonus. It will take some time to know whether that is the case or not.