Mac guides

How to uninstall WhatsApp on Mac completely

By Qiffe · Tested on macOS 27.0.1,

WhatsApp from the App Store is sandboxed, so almost everything it stores sits in a few predictable folders in your Library: its own container, one per extension, and group containers it shares with those extensions. When you drag the app to the Trash, all of them stay.

Two folders need care. group.net.whatsapp.family is shared by WhatsApp’s apps, and group.net.whatsapp.WhatsAppSMB.shared belongs to WhatsApp Business. If you also use WhatsApp Business on this Mac, keep both.

What WhatsApp leaves behind

Measured on macOS 27.0.1 with WhatsApp 26.38.74 (from the App Store, bundle ID net.whatsapp.WhatsApp). Your Mac may have fewer items, or more, depending on how you used it.

  • ~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp

    WhatsApp's sandboxed data: its settings, caches and local copy of your data.

  • ~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.Intents

    Data of WhatsApp's Siri and Shortcuts extension.

  • ~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.ServiceExtension

    Data of WhatsApp's notification extension.

  • ~/Library/Containers/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.WAAppKitBridgeService

    Data of a helper service inside WhatsApp.

  • ~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared

    Data WhatsApp shares with its own extensions.

  • ~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.private

    Private data WhatsApp shares with its own extensions.

  • ~/Library/Application Scripts/net.whatsapp.WhatsApp

    A scripts folder macOS creates for every sandboxed app; usually empty. There are matching folders for the .Intents, .ServiceExtension and .WAAppKitBridgeService extensions and for both group containers above.

  • ~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.family

    Shared · Data shared by WhatsApp's apps on this Mac, such as WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.

  • ~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsAppSMB.shared

    Shared · WhatsApp Business data (SMB is its internal name), not WhatsApp's.

Items marked shared are used by other apps too. Keep them if you still use those apps.

Remove WhatsApp by hand

  1. Quit WhatsApp (Command-Q).
  2. In Finder, open Applications and drag WhatsApp to the Trash.
  3. For each location in the list above, choose Go > Go to Folder… in Finder (Shift-Command-G), paste the path, and drag the item to the Trash. Skip the ones marked shared if you still use those apps.
  4. When you're sure nothing is missing, empty the Trash.

macOS protects some of these folders, such as those in Containers and Group Containers. If you can't move one, an uninstaller with Full Disk Access, such as Doff, can.

Or let Doff do it

Doff finds these leftovers for you. Drag WhatsApp to the Trash as usual and Doff offers to take the rest too, showing every item and its size first. Only confident matches are preselected, and everything goes to the Trash, so you can put it back. Scanning is free; removing takes a one-time $12.99 license.

Questions

Does uninstalling WhatsApp on Mac delete my chats?

It deletes the copy on your Mac. WhatsApp on a Mac is a linked device, so your chats stay on your phone, and linking the Mac again syncs your recent chats.

Why is WhatsApp still taking space after I deleted it?

Dragging the app to the Trash only removes the app. Its containers in your Library folder stay until you remove them; they hold its cached media and data.

Can I remove group.net.whatsapp.family?

Only if you don't use WhatsApp Business on the same Mac. It is shared by WhatsApp's apps.