TidyMacOpen Zoom and choose zoom.us › Uninstall Zoom from the menu bar; Zoom removes itself. Then check for leftovers: ~/Library/Application Support/zoom.us, ~/Library/Caches/us.zoom.xos, its preferences file, and the ZoomAudioDevice driver. Copy any local recordings out of ~/Documents/Zoom first if you want to keep them.
Uninstall Zoom step by step
- Copy recordings you want to keep from ~/Documents/Zoom.
- Open Zoom and choose zoom.us › Uninstall Zoom in the menu bar, then confirm.
- If Zoom won’t open, quit it and drag zoom.us from Applications to the Trash instead.
- Move ~/Library/Application Support/zoom.us and ~/Library/Caches/us.zoom.xos to the Trash, if they’re still there.
- Move ~/Library/Preferences/us.zoom.xos.plist to the Trash.
- If /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/ZoomAudioDevice.driver exists, move it to the Trash (asks for your password).
- Empty the Trash and restart.
Where Zoom leaves files
| Location | What it is | After uninstalling |
|---|---|---|
| ~/Library/Application Support/zoom.us | Settings, sign-in and app data | Safe |
| ~/Library/Caches/us.zoom.xos | Cached avatars and meeting data | Safe |
| ~/Library/Preferences/us.zoom.xos.plist | Preferences | Safe |
| ~/Library/Saved Application State/us.zoom.xos.savedState | Window positions | Safe |
| ~/Documents/Zoom | Local meeting recordings | Check first |
| /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/ZoomAudioDevice.driver | Zoom’s virtual audio device for sharing computer sound | Safe |
In Finder choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G) and paste a path to open it. Safe means nothing you made is inside; Check first means it may hold the only copy of something. To see how much space they use, run this read-only command in Terminal:
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/zoom.us ~/Library/Caches/us.zoom.xos ~/Library/Preferences/us.zoom.xos.plist ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/us.zoom.xos.savedState ~/Documents/Zoom 2>/dev/nullZoom has its own uninstaller
Unlike most apps, Zoom includes an Uninstall Zoom command in its own menu (click zoom.us in the menu bar). It’s the cleanest route because Zoom knows what it installed. Use the manual steps only if the app won’t open.
The audio driver
To share computer sound in meetings, Zoom installs a small audio driver in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL. It’s outside your home folder, so removing it by hand asks for an administrator password. After a restart, Zoom’s audio device disappears from Sound settings.
Recordings are yours
TidyMac and Zoom’s uninstaller treat ~/Documents/Zoom as your documents, not app data. Decide what to keep before removing it. More about us.zoom.xos
Uninstall Zoom with TidyMac
TidyMac’s uninstaller lists every app with its size and last use, and finds the leftovers that belong to it by bundle ID. Remove Zoom and its leftovers in one review: everything goes to the Trash first, you confirm twice, TidyMac checks the disk afterwards, and you can put anything back. Leftovers from apps you already deleted are found too, labelled Check first.
Uninstall apps and their leftovers in one step
See every part of your storage explained, and clean only what’s safe after you confirm twice. $9.99, one time.
Frequently asked questions
Does dragging Zoom to the Trash uninstall it completely?
No. It removes the app, but Zoom leaves 6 kinds of files behind in your Library and elsewhere: settings, sign-in and app data; cached avatars and meeting data; preferences. The steps above remove them.
What is Zoom’s bundle ID on Mac?
us.zoom.xos. Most of its leftover files and folders are named after it, which is how you (and TidyMac) can tell they belong to Zoom.
Can I reinstall Zoom later?
Yes. Download it again from Zoom Video Communications. Anything stored in your account online comes back when you sign in; local-only data you removed does not.