CleanMyMac: how to uninstall it cleanly

If CleanMyMac notifications keep appearing after the app has gone to the Trash, something it installed is still running. Dragging the app to the Trash removes the app bundle, but not the background helper, the login item, or the settings that tell macOS the app may send alerts. The fix has three parts. Find out which of those is still there, remove it, and check that the alert really comes from CleanMyMac and not from a website using its name. Cancelling a subscription is a separate fourth step, because removing the app does not stop billing. Every step below uses the names shown on screen, checked against MacPaw's and Apple's own support pages on 18 October 2026.

Why the notifications continue after the app is deleted

CleanMyMac is not a single app that only runs when its window is open. MacPaw's support article on background processes of CleanMyMac X describes a component called Health Monitor. It runs in the background, subscribes to system notifications, and passes health readings on to the app. MacPaw lists what it watches: memory, free disk space, battery, processor load, network use, hung apps and Trash size. It also drives the low-disk, low-RAM and frozen-app reminders, and the offer to fully uninstall an app when you drop it in the Trash.

The second piece is the Menu. MacPaw's article on the CleanMyMac X Menu says the Menu icon appears in the menu bar the first time CleanMyMac starts, and that while it is active it shows tips and reminders. These include weekly cleanup reminders, warnings about a full Trash and cluttered drives, and suggestions for features you have not yet used.

Both of these are built to keep running when the main window is closed. That is their purpose. If the main app is deleted without them, the helper may still be registered with macOS as something to start at login, and it can keep sending alerts until it is removed or the Mac is restarted without it.

So the notification that appears after uninstalling is rarely a mystery. It is usually one of three things:

1. The background helper is still installed and still starting at login.
2. The Menu is still running from before the uninstall, and will stop after a restart.
3. The alert is not from the app at all, but from a web page.

The next sections take them in that order, starting with the route MacPaw recommends.

The uninstall route MacPaw recommends

MacPaw's current support article, Uninstall CleanMyMac (updated 11 August 2026), says dragging the app to the Trash is the easiest method, but that the most effective is to use the app's own Applications module. The FAQ on the CleanMyMac site adds that the Trash method leaves application leftovers behind.

If CleanMyMac is still installed, or you can put it back from the Trash with File, then Put Back, use these steps:

1. Open CleanMyMac and click Applications in the sidebar.
2. Click Scan and wait for the results.
3. Click Manage My Applications, then go to the Uninstaller category.
4. Find and select CleanMyMac in the list of installed apps.
5. Click Uninstall and confirm.

MacPaw says the app then removes itself completely. After it finishes, restart the Mac. A restart matters because a helper that was already running stays in memory until the session ends, even when its files are gone.

If the app is already deleted and the Trash has been emptied, you have two choices. Download CleanMyMac again from MacPaw, open it, and run the five steps above. Or remove the leftovers by hand, which the next section covers.

Apple's general guidance, in Install and uninstall apps from the internet or a disc on Mac, points the same way. If an app's folder contains an Uninstall or Uninstaller item, use it. If not, drag the app to the Trash. Apple adds that if macOS says an app is in use, you should make sure it is not open, and restart or use safe mode if needed.

Removing the leftovers by hand

Work through these in order. Each one is a place where a deleted app can leave something that still runs or still has permission to notify.

Login Items & Extensions

Choose Apple menu, then System Settings, click General, then Login Items & Extensions. Apple's page on Login Items & Extensions settings describes two lists here. Open at Login holds apps that open when you log in. App Background Activity holds apps allowed to perform tasks when the app is not open.

Look in both lists for anything from MacPaw or with CleanMyMac in its name. In Open at Login, select the item and click the minus button. In App Background Activity, turn the switch off. Apple notes that an item marked with a warning symbol will not open because it was moved or deleted. Those entries are harmless, but removing them keeps the list honest.

Notifications

Choose Apple menu, then System Settings, then Notifications. Apple's Notifications settings page says the Application Notifications list covers both apps and websites. Find CleanMyMac, or its Menu or helper, select it and turn off Allow notifications. This stops banners even if a helper is still somewhere on disk, so it is a useful first move while you finish the rest.

Launch agents and helper tools

Background helpers are started by small property list files. To see them, open Finder, choose Go, then Go to Folder, and check these locations one at a time:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents
• /Library/LaunchAgents
• /Library/LaunchDaemons
• /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools

Files belonging to MacPaw's apps start with com.macpaw. MacPaw's own manual removal steps for the older CleanMyMac Classic name three of them in ~/Library/LaunchAgents: com.macpaw.CleanMyMac.helperTool.plist, com.macpaw.CleanMyMac.volumeWatcher.plist and com.macpaw.CleanMyMac.trashSizeWatcher.plist. Newer versions use different names, so look for the prefix rather than an exact file name. Move only files that clearly belong to CleanMyMac to the Trash. The two folders under /Library ask for an administrator password.

Application Support and Preferences

Last, check ~/Library/Application Support for a CleanMyMac folder, and ~/Library/Preferences for files starting with com.macpaw.CleanMyMac. These hold settings and caches. They do not send notifications on their own, but removing them avoids old settings coming back if you reinstall later.

Restart the Mac when you are done. If the alert does not come back after a restart, the cause was a helper still running in memory.

Checking that nothing is still running

A restart is the simplest check, but it is not always convenient in the middle of a working day. Activity Monitor shows the same thing without restarting.

1. Open Finder, choose Applications, then Utilities, and open Activity Monitor.
2. Click the CPU tab, then type CleanMyMac into the search field at the top right of the window.
3. Clear the field and type MacPaw, then HealthMonitor, and look at the results each time.

Anything that appears is a process from the app that is still in memory. Select it, click the Stop button in the toolbar, and choose Quit. If it reappears within a few seconds, something is restarting it, which means a launch agent or a background item from the previous section is still in place. Go back to Login Items & Extensions and the four Library folders and look again.

When the search comes back empty, and the Notifications list no longer shows the app, the removal is complete. One more sign is useful: the CleanMyMac Menu icon in the menu bar should be gone. If it is still drawn after the processes are stopped, it usually belongs to a copy of the app that is still installed somewhere else, for example a second copy in the Downloads folder or an older version in another account's Applications folder.

Note that MacPaw sells CleanMyMac through several stores, and its support pages say the App Store version differs slightly from the others. The App Store version, for example, does not include the real-time malware monitor, so its background components are fewer. The steps above cover all of them, because they look for what is on disk and in memory rather than for one version's file names.

When the alert comes from a website, not the app

Some people searching for this problem never had CleanMyMac installed, or removed it long ago. The alert that keeps appearing looks like a scanner warning and names a cleaning app, but it comes from a website that was once allowed to send notifications.

Telling them apart takes a few seconds. A real app notification names the app at the top of the banner. A website notification names the browser, or shows the site's address. In Notifications settings, Apple lists websites alongside apps, so a site you allowed by mistake can appear in the same list. Turn it off there, and in the browser's own website settings remove that site's permission to notify.

A banner that says your Mac is infected, asks you to click to scan, or opens a sales page is almost never a message from an installed app. Close it, and do not install anything from it.

Cancelling the subscription is a separate step

Uninstalling does not cancel billing. MacPaw's article on cancelling a subscription says a subscription can be cancelled any time during the period already paid for, the product keeps working until that period ends, and a cancelled subscription does not renew. The route depends on where you bought it:

Where you bought it	Where to cancel
MacPaw Store, with a MacPaw Account	Sign in to the MacPaw Account, choose CleanMyMac, click the arrow below the logo, choose Cancel Subscription
MacPaw Store, years ago, using an activation code	MacPaw's Subscription Manager page: enter the code or email, then follow the emailed MacPaw Access Link
Mac App Store	Your Apple Account subscriptions
Setapp	Through your Setapp membership, which covers all its apps together

MacPaw notes that the status changes to Inactive in the MacPaw Account within two or three minutes. If it still shows as active, refresh the page.

Do this before or after uninstalling, but do not skip it. A deleted app with a live subscription still bills on the renewal date.

If what you wanted was a quieter menu bar

Many people uninstall a utility like this for a smaller reason than the cleaning features: its icon and its reminders took up space they wanted back. If that is the real goal, there are lighter options than removal. Inside the app, MacPaw's support pages say the Notifications tab in Preferences lets you deselect each type of reminder, and the Menu can be hidden. In macOS, the Notifications pane can turn the alerts off without touching the app.

The menu bar side is a wider problem, because almost every background utility adds an icon. A menu bar manager for macOS hides those icons behind a divider while keeping their apps running, so the bar stays readable without deleting tools you still use now and then.

What to do now

Turn off CleanMyMac in System Settings, Notifications, so the banners stop today. Then remove its entries from Login Items & Extensions, check the four launch folders for com.macpaw files, restart, and cancel any subscription where you bought it. If the goal was a calmer menu bar rather than one less app, Koffret hides the icons you rarely use and keeps their menus one click away; the FAQ explains the two permissions it needs.