How to uninstall Brave on Windows

Brave can sync bookmarks, history, passwords and extensions to a Brave account, but a profile that has never synced, or a saved password you have not exported, exists only on this PC. Check your sync status and export anything you need before you remove Brave. Removing the app and removing your browsing data are separate decisions. This guide covers Brave installed machine-wide from the Brave.Brave winget package.

Quit Brave first

Brave runs one process per window and helper, so close every window from its own menu, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any brave process still listed before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Brave, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id Brave.Brave

Brave's own uninstaller opens its own window and asks "Are you sure you want to uninstall Brave?" with an unchecked box for also deleting your browsing data. Leave that box unchecked if you are not sure; the steps below cover removing your profile separately either way.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser`	Every profile: bookmarks, history, saved passwords, sign-in state and extensions	Personal data. Copy and verify it first if you want to keep it, or leave it if you plan to reinstall
The `Cache`, `Code Cache` and `GPUCache` folders inside each profile	Brave's disk cache	Safe to remove once the profile itself is gone
`Program Files (x86)\BraveSoftware\Update`	Brave's own background updater, shared across Brave installs on this PC	Not removed by uninstalling Brave; the updater and its two services stay installed even after Brave itself is gone

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process brave -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id Brave.Brave
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser"
Get-Service -Name "brave*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown. A listed process means a window or helper is still open.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
The first Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser" returning True means your profile is still there, which is expected unless you removed it yourself.
Get-Service listing rows named Brave Update Service means Brave's shared updater is still installed; this stays even after you remove Brave itself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs Brave's own uninstaller, which Settings › Apps also runs, and removes the same program files. It does not remove your profile in %LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser unless you tick that box in its own window, or remove it yourself afterward.

Account and sync

Uninstalling Brave does not sign you out of your Brave account or remove data already synced to it. If your bookmarks and passwords are fully synced, reinstalling and signing in restores them without needing the local profile folder above.

What Mole lists

For Brave installed machine-wide from winget:

The program folder is selected by default, alongside the app row.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser, your profile, is listed as personal data: never selected and never ticked by a bulk action; tick it yourself if you want it gone.
Brave's own update services and the shared Program Files (x86)\BraveSoftware\Update folder are not listed; they belong to Brave's own updater infrastructure, not to a single browser install.

What this test covered

Tested with Brave 154.1.96.59 installed through winget, machine scope, and removed by choosing Uninstall in Brave's own dialog without ticking its "Also delete your browsing data" box, then selecting every remaining item Mole listed. Brave was not signed in and sync was not exercised, so restoring synced data after removal was not tested. The historical test tool's select-all included personal-data rows, so these removal results do not establish Mole's UI bulk-selection behavior.