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steve62388

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2013
3,090
1,944
Hi,

I'm looking for a OS X trash app. Paid is okay.

What I specifically want is something that will monitor all installs in the background and then if and when I come to trash something it will be able to find all the little bits of stuff an app drops in different folders.

I know there is some software that does this, I have found it on the net before but now I can't remember which one it is.

I currently use both AppTrap and AppCleaner but they don't monitor and I find one will pick up stuff the other won't so I am after something more reliable.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
I'm looking for a OS X trash app. Paid is okay.

What I specifically want is something that will monitor all installs in the background and then if and when I come to trash something it will be able to find all the little bits of stuff an app drops in different folders.

I know there is some software that does this, I have found it on the net before but now I can't remember which one it is.

I currently use both AppTrap and AppCleaner but they don't monitor and I find one will pick up stuff the other won't so I am after something more reliable.
I use Hazel.

If you elect to use such apps, be aware that in most cases, app removal software doesn't do a thorough job of finding and removing files/folders related to deleted apps. For more information, read this and this. If you just want to delete the app, drag the .app file to the trash. No other software needed. If you want to completely remove all associated files/folders, no removal apps will do the job.
The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:
 

steve62388

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2013
3,090
1,944
I use Hazel. It does that and other stuff as well.

http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of buying Hazel for other reasons anyway. But looking on their website and a quick scan through the forums it doesn't look like it continuously monitors app installs in the background for later use in deletion.

Unless you know otherwise?

----------

If you elect to use such apps, be aware that in most cases, app removal software doesn't do a thorough job of finding and removing files/folders related to deleted apps. For more information, read this and this. If you just want to delete the app, drag the .app file to the trash. No other software needed. If you want to completely remove all associated files/folders, no removal apps will do the job.
The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:

Yes, I'm aware of this. That's why I wanted an app that constantly runs in the background and monitors installs to do a clean sweep when deleting apps. I know such a thing exists, but I can't remember for the life of me what it's called.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
Yes, I'm aware of this. That's why I wanted an app that constantly runs in the background and monitors installs to do a clean sweep when deleting apps. I know such a thing exists, but I can't remember for the life of me what it's called.
There is no such app available for OS X. None of the app removal software, including Hazel, is completely effective.
 

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
Currently, the best I know of is AppDelete. As noted, no app is perfect, but this one gets all of the cruft most of the time.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
Currently, the best I know of is AppDelete. As noted, no app is perfect, but this one gets all of the cruft most of the time.
AppDelete was actually one of the worst performers I tested. Only 2 apps missed more.
 

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
AppDelete was actually one of the worst performers I tested. Only 2 apps missed more.

To each their own experience …

IME, AppDelete is the best I've used. Perhaps I managed to only uninstall apps it worked well with. It's good enough to mostly replace my manual uninstall process. Looks like your mileage varied.
 

steve62388

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2013
3,090
1,944
There is no such app available for OS X. None of the app removal software, including Hazel, is completely effective.

Would you like some cheese and bread with those words you're eating?

http://www.syniumsoftware.com/cleanapp/

CleanApp relies on sophisticated methods for analysing files and applications. There is even a background service monitoring all file activity - this way, no application can hide anything from you.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
Would you like some cheese and bread with those words you're eating?

http://www.syniumsoftware.com/cleanapp/

CleanApp relies on sophisticated methods for analysing files and applications. There is even a background service monitoring all file activity - this way, no application can hide anything from you.
If you read the links I posted earlier, you'll see that I've tested CleanApp and, like all the others, it is not effective in finding all the files related to deleted apps. They've been making that claim for years, but marketing fluff is quite different from real-world experience. I've been testing and re-testing newer versions of all a great number of these apps for about 4 years and I haven't found one that is as effective as removing apps manually, using Finder.

If you want to use CleanApp or any of the others, that's up to you. You should just be aware that none of those apps will consistently find all components of apps you want to delete. For many users, that's not a problem. If complete removal is your goal, the manual method is the only effective way.
 

steve62388

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2013
3,090
1,944
If you read the links I posted earlier, you'll see that I've tested CleanApp and, like all the others, it is not effective in finding all the files related to deleted apps. They've been making that claim for years, but marketing fluff is quite different from real-world experience. I've been testing and re-testing newer versions of all a great number of these apps for about 4 years and I haven't found one that is as effective as removing apps manually, using Finder.

If you want to use CleanApp or any of the others, that's up to you. You should just be aware that none of those apps will consistently find all components of apps you want to delete. For many users, that's not a problem. If complete removal is your goal, the manual method is the only effective way.

You pretty much dodged my point there. I asked for an app that monitors in the background and you said there was no such thing. I found one.

I searched the thread you linked and there is no mention of 'Cleanapp'. Out of interest I also tried your Skype test using finder vs Cleanapp after it had been installed and was running the background monitoring. It came up with more files than your finder method, which would never have been found because it didn't include the string 'Skype'. Cleanapp is quicker too because it's just a single button press to do the search.

Saying all that is Cleanapp 100% reliable? Unlikely. But at the very least it looks like it matches up to your manual method but faster.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
You pretty much dodged my point there. I asked for an app that monitors in the background and you said there was no such thing. I found one.
It's obvious that although CleanApp claims to monitor in the background, it doesn't catch everything, so the claim is false or the monitoring is flawed.
I searched the thread you linked and there is no mention of 'Cleanapp'.
From the first this link in post #3 of this thread:
AppZapper, AppCleaner, CleanApp, TrashMe, and similar apps do not do a thorough job of removing all files/folders related to deleted apps. I tested several of these, using Skype as the app to be removed. Of 17 items to be removed:
AppZapper missed 13 items
AppCleaner missed 11 items
AppDelete missed 8 items
Hazel missed 9 items​
I also tested AppTrap, CleanMyMac and a few others, but don't recall how many items they missed. All left files/folders behind. In most cases, they remove .plist files and a few others, but leave behind much larger files and folders.
As I said before, if you prefer to use such an app, that's certainly up to you. If the results satisfy you, that's all that matters. I've done my part by making you and others aware of the limitations.
 
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