Dropbox makes the work no longer be desk-bound, we don’t need to bring the laptop, hard drive or storage devices along with us anymore. Also, it facilitates good collaboration and boost productivity within a team. You may have downloaded and installed Dropbox on your Mac, but now want to remove Dropbox from your mac for one reason or another.

Here we will talk about how to remove Dropbox from Mac without deleting files, or how to uninstall it on different situations.

Quickest Way to Remove Dropbox from Mac without Deleting Files

Here is a quick way to remove Dropbox from mac automatically and leaving the folders & files untouched, using CleanMyMac X from MacPaw, one of the greatest utility tools to free up mac space and clean useless data/file on your mac, it can:

  • Remove apps, including malware
  • Clean caches, system junks
  • Clean incomplete download
  • Clean data in apps (iTunes, Mail, Photos, Trash bin, etc.)
  • Protect your privacy by deleting browser history, auto fill forms, log, etc.
  • Find and remove large hidden files
  • Update applications
  • Optimize and maintain your Mac performance

Check out the quick steps to remove Dropbox from Mac without deleting files

  1. Get a free copy of CleanMyMac X from MacPaw website, install and open the application on your Mac.
  2. Go to Applications>Uninstaller.
  3. Choose Dropbox from the application list.
  4. Then click on the Uninstall button at the bottom of the interface to remove dropbox from your Mac, but the folders and files are still on your Mac.cleanmymacx remove dropbox

How to Manually Remove Dropbox from Mac without Deleting Files

To remove Dropbox from Mac without deleting the files and folders, there are 2 workarounds.

Option 1. Remove Dropbox Folder from Mac without Deleting Files by Unlinking Account

You can sign out of the Dropbox account on your Mac, i.e. to unlink Dropbox account first, to disable the sync. Once Dropbox is removed from your Mac, the stored files and folders under your Dropbox account are still kept in your Dropbox online account. You just need to log into your Dropbox account online and download the files to your Mac again.

  1. Click your Avatar and go to Preferences.remove dropbox from mac 1
  2. Go to Account, click on Sign out.remove dropbox from mac 2
  3. Confirm to Sign out.remove dropbox from mac 3
  4. Now the Dropbox folder is removed from your Mac.
  5. Go to Finder>Applications, and find Dropbox.
  6. Right click on the Dropbox icon and select Move to Trash to uninstall.remove dropbox from mac 4
  7. Log into your Dropbox account online and download the files or folders to your Mac.remove dropbox from mac 5

Option 2. Remove Dropbox from Mac without Deleting Files

When moving Dropbox app to Trash bin with account signed in, it deletes the app only, the folder and files will be kept under home folder on your Mac. Also, you can have a backup of these files to our Mac before removing it, if you want no data loss.

  1. Open Finder App, go to Favorites>Dropbox folder.remove dropbox from mac 6
  2. Copy the files and folders to another location on your Mac to back up.
  3. Right click the Dropbox icon and select Quit Dropbox.remove dropbox from mac 7
  4. Head to Finder>Applications, select Dropbox, right click Move to Trash.remove dropbox from mac 4
  5. Go to Home folder and find files in Dropbox folder.dropbox folder

Uninstall Dropbox from Mac When Extensions in Use

It is much likely you will run into a situation that you are not allowed to uninstall Dropbox on Mac when its extensions in use.plugin in use

 

In this case, you will need to delete the Plugin folder first, then move to remove Dropbox from your mac.

  1. Make sure you have quit Dropbox.
  2. Go to Finder>Applications, find Dropbox, right click on the icon and choose Show Package Contents.remove dropbox from mac 9
  3. Click on the folder and locate the one named as Plugin, then right click and choose Move to Trash to delete.remove dropbox from mac 10
  4. Then go to Finder>Applications, right click on Dropbox icon to move to Trash.remove dropbox from mac 4
  5. Go to Trash, right click on Dropbox icon to delete immediately.

How to Uninstall Dropbox on Mac Completely ?

If you want to uninstall Dropbox completely, you need to permanently delete the application and all files.

  1. First, quit Dropbox.
  2. Head to Finder>Applications, find Dropbox, then right click on its icon to Move to Trash.remove dropbox from mac 4
  3. Then go to Finder>Dropbox, right click Move to Trash to delete all the folders and files in Dropbox.remove dropbox from mac 8
  4. Go to Trash, right click on Dropbox icon and all the deleted Dropbox files, then choose Delete Immediately.remove dropbox from mac 12
  5. Then go to Finder>Dropbox, right click and choose Remove from Sidebar.remove dropbox from mac 13

Now, everything in your Dropbox is removed and there is no portal accessing to your Dropbox account until a new installation.