Uninstall Signal on Mac

Back up anything you need before removing Signal. Signal Desktop is a linked device tied to your phone, and its message history lives only in a local, encrypted database on this Mac. Signal's own servers deliver each message once and keep no copy for you to restore later. These steps cover the official Signal.org download and the Homebrew cask signal, which install the same app.

Check what is local-only before removing anything

If a conversation only shows up on this Mac, it is gone once the local database below is deleted; Signal's servers do not hold a backup you can pull it back from. Check the backup, export, or linked-device options your current Signal version documents on Signal's support site before you remove anything, and open your phone to confirm which devices are still linked. If you only need a handful of files, copy the attachments you want to a folder of your own and open the copies to confirm they are complete.

Quit Signal and remove the app

Quit Signal from its app menu, then move Signal from Applications to the Trash; if macOS says it is still running, check Activity Monitor before trying again. Signal's Homebrew cask declares no separate login item to turn off, so there is nothing beyond quitting the app itself before you remove it. Moving the app to the Trash does not remove its local data folder on its own. A long-standing report on Signal's own GitHub repository describes exactly this: after moving Signal.app to the Trash and reinstalling, old messages still loaded, because nothing had touched the data folder below.

Where Signal keeps its data

Check the result

Run these read-only commands in Terminal:

pgrep -il signal
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/Signal

No output from pgrep means Signal has quit; a listed process means it is still running, so quit it before touching any data. The ls command reports whether the data folder is still on this Mac: a printed path means your local chat history is still there, which is expected if you chose to keep it; "No such file or directory" means it is gone.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The next Mole update will skip --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot be fully checked. Mole will still clean the leftovers you selected. Preview 290 does not include this protection.

The signal cask's zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/Signal (your entire local message history and attachments) along with the app's preferences and saved window state. brew uninstall --cask --zap signal moves all of that to the Trash whatever you have selected in Mole. Back up what you need first, or skip zap to keep your data and remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask signal

Account and subscription

Signal has no subscription; the app is free. Uninstalling the desktop app does not delete your Signal account or unlink your phone number, since your account lives on your phone, not on this Mac. If you reinstall Signal Desktop later, you link it again as a new linked device from your phone, and it starts with no history unless you have a working way to bring your old conversations back. Check Signal's support site for the backup and transfer options your version currently offers, since these have changed between releases.

What Mole lists

This describes Mole 1.15 (currently in Preview), for both the official installer and a Homebrew install:

• ~/Library/Application Support/Signal is listed but not selected. Mole treats a folder named after the app's display name, rather than its bundle identifier, as user data for review, not something to select automatically.
• ~/Library/Preferences/org.whispersystems.signal-desktop.plist, the helper preferences file, and the saved window state are selected by default.
• For a Homebrew install in Preview 290, Mole runs brew uninstall --cask --zap signal, and the zap step deletes ~/Library/Application Support/Signal regardless of what you selected.

What this test covered

Signal was installed through the Homebrew cask and uninstalled on September 17, 2026, with a development build of Mole. That test build predated the review-only rule above, so on that run ~/Library/Application Support/Signal was selected by default; the folder held only empty first-run data at the time, not real chat history. Mole's current code lists that folder for review instead, but this specific change has not been re-verified against a live test with real message history. Signing in, linking a phone, receiving real messages, and the official direct download were not part of this test.