Uninstall Spotify on Mac
Dragging Spotify to the Trash removes the app. Offline music and podcasts are not removed by that drag. Spotify’s clean reinstall deletes local app data, and those downloads have to be fetched again.
Remove the app
- Quit Spotify.
- In Finder, open Applications and drag Spotify to the Trash.
That is Spotify’s quick reinstall for the Mac app: Reinstalling your Spotify app. Empty the Trash when you want the app itself gone. Your Spotify account is separate from this copy.
Spotify says music and podcasts downloaded in the app must be downloaded again after a reinstall.
Delete local data only for a clean reinstall
Quit Spotify first. In Finder, open the Go menu, hold the Option key, and choose Library. Spotify then names three items. Move those to the Trash. Do not delete Library or Application Support.
| Location | What to do |
|---|---|
~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client |
Cache Spotify tells you to delete for a clean reinstall. |
~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client.helper |
Listed with the cache above. Skip it when it is missing. |
~/Library/Application Support/Spotify |
Local app data. Spotify’s clean reinstall deletes this folder, and offline downloads in the app go with it. |
A missing folder is not an error. Restart the Mac only if you are continuing into Spotify’s reinstall, not because the uninstall itself requires it.
What this test covered
The steps above follow the official Mac app. The recorded uninstall used a Homebrew cask, which removes Spotify through a different flow. Mole did not add a Spotify-only path for that check, so the three folders above are Spotify’s clean-reinstall list, not items Mole preselects. Keeping ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify on purpose, because you still want the downloads, is not a failed uninstall.