How to completely uninstall Skype on Mac
Dragging Skype to the Trash removes the app itself, but its support files, caches and settings stay on your Mac. Here is where they are and how to remove all of them.
Microsoft retired Skype in May 2025 and moved its users to Microsoft Teams, so the app no longer works and can be removed. It leaves a data folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Skype for Desktop, and very old versions left one called Skype.
Nothing on your Mac needs saving for the app to be removed. If you still want your old chat history, check Microsoft's current guidance on exporting Skype data from your Microsoft account, since the export option was only offered for a limited time.
com.skype.skypeRemove Skype by hand
- Quit Skype. If it has a menu bar icon or runs in the background, quit that too.
- Open the Applications folder and drag Skype to the Trash.
- In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), paste each location below, and move what you find to the Trash. Not every location exists for every version.
- Empty the Trash, then restart your Mac so nothing from Skype is left running.
Where Skype keeps its files
/Applications/Skype.app~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Skype for Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Skype~/Library/Caches/com.skype.skype~/Library/Preferences/com.skype.skype.plist~/Library/Saved Application State/com.skype.skype.savedState~/Library/Containers/com.skype.skype~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.skype.skype~/Library/WebKit/com.skype.skype~/Library/Logs/Microsoft/Skype for Desktop~/Library/Logs/Skype
Other places Skype uses
~/Library/Caches/com.skype.skype.ShipItData
The quick way
Diskzy finds Skype and the files listed here, shows the size of each one, and moves them to the Trash together. Files that another app also uses are left alone.
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