How to uninstall Youdao Dictionary on Mac
Youdao Dictionary shows up on the Mac under the display name "网易有道翻译" (NetEase Youdao Translate). Its lookup history and settings stay on this Mac, so if you signed in and keep a word list, make sure it has synced to your Youdao account before you remove the app. This covers the official package from Youdao's site and the Homebrew cask youdaodict.
Quit Youdao Dictionary and remove the app
- Quit the app from its Dock icon or menu bar. Its translation and reading views run as WebKit helper processes, which quit with it.
- Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off the Youdao entry. The app carries a
LaunchAtLoginHelperthat registers there. - Find 网易有道翻译 in Finder's Applications folder and move it to the Trash.
Where its data lives
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ~/Library/com.youdao.YoudaoDict | App data kept directly under Library instead of Application Support | Listed by Mole for review, not selected; back it up if you want to keep your settings |
| ~/Library/Application Support/com.youdao.YoudaoDict | App data, when present | Selected by default in Mole |
| ~/Library/Containers/com.youdao.YoudaoDict | The app's sandbox container | Selected by default in Mole |
| ~/Library/Caches/com.youdao.YoudaoDict | Regenerable cache | Selected by default |
In the recorded test an empty ~/Library/Application Support/MacDictPro folder and an empty ~/Library/Caches/YoudaoCacheFile folder were also on disk. Mole does not list either one, because their names are too generic to prove they belong to this app. If you find them empty after removing Youdao Dictionary, you can move them to the Trash yourself.
Check the result
pgrep -il youdao
ls -d ~/Library/com.youdao.YoudaoDict ~/Library/Containers/com.youdao.YoudaoDict
- No output from
pgrepmeans no Youdao process, WebKit helpers included, is still running; a listed process means it is still open, so quit it first. ls -dprinting a path means that folder is still on disk, which is expected for the Library folder if you kept it; "No such file or directory" means it is gone.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Mole skips --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot be fully checked, and still cleans the leftovers you selected.
The youdaodict cask's zap list covers ~/Library/com.youdao.YoudaoDict, the Application Support, Caches, Containers, HTTPStorages and WebKit folders for com.youdao.YoudaoDict, the group container group.com.youdao.YoudaoDict, its cookies file, preferences and saved window state. Because ~/Library/com.youdao.YoudaoDict is a review row Mole leaves unticked, Mole drops --zap unless you tick it. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap youdaodict yourself removes all of it whatever you ticked in Mole. To keep your data, remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask youdaodict
What Mole lists
For Youdao Dictionary, Mole's Uninstall tab selects the app and the Application Support, Containers and Caches folders named after com.youdao.YoudaoDict by default, and lists ~/Library/com.youdao.YoudaoDict for review without selecting it. Mole does not edit Login Items & Extensions, so turn the LaunchAtLoginHelper entry off there yourself. ~/Library/Application Support/MacDictPro and ~/Library/Caches/YoudaoCacheFile are not listed.
What this test covered
On September 19, 2026, the official package was copied into Applications, opened, and removed with a Mole 1.15 Preview (build 277) that had Full Disk Access. Mole's Status page folded 31 WebKit-related processes into one 网易有道翻译 row. The app's container failed to move to the Trash in that run, with a Trash permission error. After removal, the LaunchAtLoginHelper entry was still in Login Items & Extensions, pointing at the app in the Trash. Signing in, syncing a word list and paid membership were not tested, and the Homebrew cask was not installed.