In this guide, we will take a look at the shocking reason why many users are trying to quit Google Chrome as their main browser. We will also see how to delete Google Chrome Browser from different systems.
Reasons To Delete Google Chrome Browser
In the recent times, the concern for digital privacy and security is increasing. Sadly, Google Chrome is not the best browser when these things matter. Advertisers, Technology Firms, Spammers, Cyber Criminals, and others continuously track your online activity. Google Chrome, on one side admits that web tracking is getting out of hand, and on the other does nothing (or very little) to prevent third-party cookies, tracking, and data harvesting. The main reason why Google Chrome is going slows towards user privacy is, of course, money. If they restrict tracking, they lose a huge revenue from advertisers. This is one of the primary reasons why many Google Chrome users want to delete it from their computers and smartphones. The other reason why people want to delete Google Chrome Browser is to try other browsers such as Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, etc. Google Chrome also has a bad reputation of being RAM hungry. If your system is running on low RAM, then opening Google Chrome with couple of tabs will slow down the system. In this case, you can uninstall Chrome and try some other web browser.
How To Delete Google Chrome Browser?
Let us now see how to uninstall or completely delete Google Chrome Browser from your computer or smartphone.
a. In Windows
We will start deleting the most popular web browser from the most popular operating system. First, we will see the “Control Panel” method, which is applicable to all version of Windows from 7 to 11. Later, we will also see how to delete Google Chrome Browser from Windows 10 or 11 using the “Apps” method. Press Windows Key, search for “Control Panel” and open it. If the view of your Control Panel is large or small icons, then click on “Programs and Features”.
But if the view is category, then select “Uninstall a program” under the “Programs” section.
Alternatively, you can use one simple command to open this. Press Windows key and R key together (Win + R) to open the Run command. In this, type “appwiz.cpl” and click on OK.
In the “Uninstall or change a program” page, look for Google Chrome in the list of applications. Right click on it and then select “Uninstall”. With Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft started “Apps” feature. You can also uninstall Google Chrome using this as well. Press Windows key and search for “Settings”. Open the Settings app.
From the left pane, select the “Apps” option and then click on “Installed Apps” from the right. You will see a list of all the apps installed in your Windows system. Look or search for Google Chrome. Click on the three horizontal dots on the right corner of Google Chrome and then click on “Uninstall”.
Sadly, even after uninstalling Google Chrome using any of the previous method, there will still remain some Chrome-related data in the system. We will see how to delete that as well. First, we will delete the Chrome application folder. Navigate to “C:\Program Files\Google” or “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google” and delete the Chrome folder.
Next, we will delete the Google Chrome’s Profile Storage Folder. An important point here is that this step will delete all the Chrome’s stored data such as Bookmarks, Settings, Extensions, etc. Make sure to back those up before proceeding. Open Run command by pressing Windows key and R key together (Win + R) and type “%LOCALAPPDATA%” and click on OK. Open the “Google” folder and then delete the Chrome.
You can also rename the Chrome folder if you want to keep the data but not use them for future installations. A common name would be “ChromeBAK”.
b. In Mac
Close the Chrome browser on your Mac system. Right click on the Chrome icon or hold the Ctrl key while selecting Chrome to open a pop-up window. In that, select the “Quit” option. You won’t get the “Quit” option if you already closed Google Chrome. This step is important because you cannot uninstall or delete Google Chrome Browser from your Mac unless you close it properly. Sometime, even after you closed Chrome, you might get error saying “Chrome is running” while you are trying to uninstall it. In this case, you have to force quit it. For this, press Option key, command key and Esc at the same time. Select Google Chrome from the window and then click on “Force Quit”. Now, click on the “Finder” in the Mac’s dock. Then go to “Go” and then select “Applications”. This will open a list of all the applications in your Mac. Look for Google Chrome. Right click on Google Chrome and then select “Move to Trash”. Alternatively, you can simply drag and drop the Google Chrome Application into the Trash. Empty the Trash to delete Google Chrome. Additionally, you might need to delete the Chrome’s installation folder. Click on “Finder” in the Dock and then click on “Go” and the click on “Go to Folder” option. Enter the following path “~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome” and click on Go. Drag and drop all the files and folders in this folder to Trash. You can also select all and then right click on them and then select “Move to Trash” option. Empty the Trash to completely delete Google Chrome Browser from your Mac.
c. In Android
As both Android OS and Chrome Browser are from Google, you cannot completely uninstall the Google Chrome Browser from an Android Smartphone. But you can delete all the data, uninstall any updates and disable it. Different Android Phones have different naming systems. We are going to explain how to uninstall or delete Google Chrome Browser on a Samsung phone. You follow similar procedure for other Android Phones as well. Open “Settings” app on your Smartphone and then select “Apps”. From the list of apps, click on “Chrome”. Click on “Storage” and then select “Manage Storage”. Then tap “CLEAR ALL DATA”. Now go back and in the Chrome App Info, tap on the three vertical dots on the top right and then select “Uninstall updates”. Once it finishes uninstalling all the updates, select “Disable” and then confirm by taping on “Disable app” option.
d. In iOS
First, we will see how to delete all the Chrome’s user data in your iPhone (or iPad). Launch the Google Chrome Browser in your iPhone and then open a new tab. From the top left corner, go to the menu and then click on “Settings”. Look for “Privacy and Security” and then tap on “Clear Browsing Data”. Select “Advanced” tab and then select all the data. Click on “Clear Data”. Close the Chrome Browser and go back to the home screen. Look for Google Chrome in your iPhone and tap and hold it (long press). You will get a “cross” on the top left corner. Tap on it and then tap on “Delete”.
Conclusion
Google Chrome, despite being a popular web browser, has seen a severe backlash in the recent times from users due to its policy on cookies and tracking. As a result, several longtime Chrome users are trying to uninstall it from their system and venturing into other web browsers. In this guide, we saw how to uninstall or delete Google Chrome Browser in Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. If you feel that we missed something, then please do let us know in the comments section below. It will help us as well as other readers. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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