Having a wide selection of apps on your Mac may help you handle various tasks, but mostly, we use only some of them regularly. So, if you want to clear some space on your Mac, unused apps are your target for deletion.
The key to cleaning out old apps effectively is using an uninstaller, a tool that fully removes all traces of the app you’re trying to delete. There are a lot of uninstallers out there to choose from, so I recently gave Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller a try. Here’s how it went.
Features of Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller for Mac
Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller uses a variety of tools to deep-clean your Mac’s hard disk. Here’s an overview of its features:
- Scan: This feature does a deep dive on your Mac’s hard disk, showing you all the applications, extensions, and remains taking up room on your disk. The scan is the first step whenever you use Nektony, and it’s a quick and effective way to get a comprehensive look at your Mac and see what’s taking up room.
- Applications: This tab gives you a rundown of all your installed applications, but it also goes into detail about which files on your computer correspond to each one. You can click each app and scroll to see a list of support files, caches, library files, plugins, preferences, logs, login items, and crash reports.
- Extensions: This tab lets you view all user extensions by type, showing you how much disk space each one is consuming. Click Launch Agents, Login Items, Installation Files, Web Browser Extensions, and Screen Savers tabs to see the individual files taking up room on your Mac, so you can decide what to get rid of.
- Remaining files: Remains are files left over when you delete an application but don’t do a complete uninstall. This tab gathers any files from the depths of your Mac that don’t have a corresponding application, usually orphaned caches and preference files. These useless leftovers are very satisfying to clean out.
- Deletion: Each of the lists above includes a system of checkboxes that lets you designate individual files, folders, and groups for deletion. As you check the boxes, the size of those files is added to a running total at the bottom of the screen. When you’re ready to scrub them for good, click the Remove Service Files button, review and confirm your selections, and hit Remove.
- Open With: If you’re ever unsure about whether you need all those apps you have on your Mac, you can use this tool to see what apps work with different file formats. This will give you a clear picture of the apps you have for different purposes and let you remove the unneeded ones.
Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller: What makes it special?
There are plenty of app uninstallers on the market, and they can all basically do the same thing: completely remove files for good. But subtle differences can have big impacts on how well these apps work for you. Here’s what Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller does differently:
- Detailed approach
The app has a very clear and informative approach to file management. It groups associated files by application, but it also sorts them by type, helping you to see exactly where space is being taken up. Many uninstallers treat all associated files the same, but Nektony’s decision to sort them helped me learn more about the file structure of my computer even as I was using the app.
- Flexibility
Often, uninstalling tools becomes a necessary thing to do when we run out of disk space and need to do some serious spring cleaning. Usually, this means chucking out entire applications and all their support files at once. Nektony’s flexible checkbox system feature makes it easy to use as a maintenance tool between major cleanouts.
One place where Nektony misses the mark a bit is its lack of a visualizer or any other way to interpret the information it gives you. The numerical totals might work for some, but I found myself wanting the color-coded display that other uninstallers use to help you see the volume of junk on your disk.
CleanMyMac X, for example, pairs a powerful and flexible Uninstaller feature with an innovative Space Lens tool that helps you see what’s taking up the most room on your hard drive. It’s a great alternative if Nektony’s number-heavy approach doesn’t work for you. Here’s how CleanMyMac X visually presents the size of all my folders:
Is Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller safe?
Nektony AppCleaner & Uninstaller strikes a good balance between flexibility and safety. It sorts apps and extensions for you, warning you if you’re going to delete something critical to your Mac. Its grouping system adds another layer of protection, making you less likely to delete something that will cause problems down the line.
As with any application downloaded from the internet, it’s important to make sure you’re getting your uninstaller from a trusted source. After all, these apps need a high level of access to your Mac’s hard disk. Always make sure you are downloading Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller directly from Nektony’s website, not from a third-party distributor. This will help ensure you get the safest and most reliable version available.
Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller Review: The verdict
In the end, there’s plenty to recommend this app as a tool. It’s safe to use and flexible and helps you learn a thing or two as well. In a market crowded with uninstaller apps, this one has features that will please seasoned users and amateurs alike.
But there’s always something missing. It would be perfect if the app makes any suggestions about what you should prioritize for deletion. For a top-notch uninstaller that also identifies system junk and malware for removal, you can try CleanMyMac X.
