How to uninstall QQ on Windows

Check whether the chat history you need is on your phone or another signed-in device before removing QQ from this PC; QQ's own local chat store was not part of this test, so it is not covered by this guide's data table. This guide covers QQ installed machine-wide from the Tencent.QQ.NT winget package. QQ for Windows

Quit QQ first

Finish any calls or file transfers, then quit QQ from its tray icon. It runs as several processes at once, so check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for anything still listed as QQ before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

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

winget uninstall --id Tencent.QQ.NT

This is a machine-wide install, so the uninstaller asks for administrator access.

Where the data lives

QQ's own local chat history folder was not measured in this test; check what you need on your phone, in another signed-in session, or in QQ's own chat backup feature before you remove anything above.

A security-SDK config file (Seconfig.dat) and an install flag for QQProtect, Tencent's shared protection module, were also on this PC. Both are used by other Tencent apps, not QQ alone, and this test left them in place.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process QQ -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id Tencent.QQ.NT
Test-Path "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Tencent\QQNT"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Tencent\QQNT"

• 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 it is still running.
• 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.
• Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Tencent\QQNT" returning True means app data is still there, which is expected unless you removed it yourself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same NSIS uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch the %APPDATA% folders above on its own.

Account and other devices

Uninstalling does not delete your QQ account or sign you out on your phone or another PC.

What Mole lists

For QQ installed machine-wide from winget:

• %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Tencent\QQNT, the program folder, is selected by default.
• %APPDATA%\QQ, %APPDATA%\Tencent\QQ and %APPDATA%\Tencent\QQNT are listed but not selected; one of them may hold your local sign-in state.
• Two firewall rules QQ added are reported in the removal result but not removed.
• A security-SDK config file and an install flag for QQProtect that other Tencent apps also use are left in place; Mole does not treat them as QQ's own.
• Protocol and file-association registrations QQ adds are not offered: Mole does not list Classes registrations for removal.

What this test covered

Tested with QQ 9.9.33.52230 installed through winget, machine scope, uninstaller NSIS run silently. An earlier pass on the same install listed nothing at all, because the installed-app record named no install folder and "QQ" was shorter than the name match Mole used at the time; a later pass listed everything above. Not verified: signed-in chat history, or QQ's own local chat backup feature.