How To Delete LoL From Mac: A Complete Guide For A Clean System

Are you finding that League of Legends, or LoL as many call it, is taking up a rather significant chunk of space on your Mac? You know, sometimes a game just doesn't quite fit your play style anymore, or perhaps you're simply looking to free up some valuable storage for other things. It's almost like clearing out an old closet; you feel lighter and more organized afterward. So, if you're ready to say goodbye to Summoner's Rift on your Apple device, this guide is definitely for you.

Getting rid of applications on a Mac can sometimes feel a little less straightforward than just dragging an icon to the trash. That's because many programs, including games like LoL, tend to scatter little bits of data and support files across various hidden folders. You might think you've removed it, but those lingering pieces can still occupy space and, in some respects, even slow your system down slightly. We'll walk through how to make sure you get everything, leaving your Mac feeling fresh and speedy, which is that good feeling of a clean machine.

This process is about more than just deleting the main application. It's about ensuring a thorough cleanup, much like when you want to truly remove old browsing history or certain types of activity from your online accounts. You want to be sure that when you're done, the game is completely gone, leaving no trace behind. We'll cover everything, so you can reclaim your Mac's resources and enjoy a tidier setup, which is something many users want.

Table of Contents

• Why Remove League of Legends from Your Mac?
• The Initial Step: Dragging to Trash
• Digging Deeper: Removing Leftover Files
  • Accessing the Library Folder
  • Identifying and Deleting Specific LoL Folders
  • Checking Application Support
  • Looking at Caches and Preferences
• Ensuring LoL Isn't Running
• What If Access Is Denied?
• Troubleshooting When LoL Isn't Showing Up
• A Note on Your Riot Games Account
• Finalizing the Deletion
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Conclusion: A Cleaner Mac

Why Remove League of Legends from Your Mac?

There are quite a few good reasons why someone might want to remove League of Legends from their Mac, you know. For many, it's simply about reclaiming precious storage space. LoL can be a pretty large game, and over time, with updates and patches, it just gets bigger. That storage could be used for photos, videos, or other applications you use more often, which is a common need.

Another reason is system performance. While LoL is well-optimized, having a lot of applications and their associated files can sometimes make your Mac feel a little sluggish. Removing programs you no longer use can help your computer run a bit more smoothly, especially if you're experiencing slower load times or general system slowdowns. Also, some people just want a cleaner digital environment, much like wanting to keep your email inbox tidy, which is a good goal.

Sometimes, people just stop playing the game. Interests change, or perhaps you've moved on to other titles. In that case, there's no real reason to keep it installed. It's like having an old app on your phone that you never open; it's just taking up room. So, clearing it out makes perfect sense, honestly.

The Initial Step: Dragging to Trash

The first thing most people do when they want to get rid of an application on a Mac is to drag its icon from the Applications folder to the Trash. This is a good starting point, but it's important to know that it's often not the whole story. When you do this, you're essentially removing the main executable file for the game, you know.

To do this, simply open your Finder, then click on "Applications" in the sidebar. Find the "League of Legends" application icon. Then, just drag it directly to the Trash icon in your Dock. You might be asked to enter your administrator password to confirm this action, which is a standard security measure. This step is pretty straightforward, but it's just the beginning of a full cleanup.

After dragging the application to the Trash, you should empty the Trash immediately. You can do this by right-clicking or Control-clicking on the Trash icon in the Dock and selecting "Empty Trash." This will remove the main application file from your system, making sure that particular part is gone. However, as we'll see, there are usually other bits and pieces left behind, which is why we need to keep going.

Digging Deeper: Removing Leftover Files

This is where the real cleanup begins. When you uninstall a program like League of Legends, it often leaves behind support files, preferences, and caches in various hidden folders. These files can still take up space and, in a way, keep a tiny part of the game on your system. It's very much like how your web browser keeps a history or cache of sites you've visited, even after you close the tabs, you know.

We'll be looking primarily in your user's Library folder. This folder is hidden by default on macOS, so getting to it requires a specific step. These are the places where many applications store their data, and it's quite common for bits to linger after a basic uninstall. So, let's get into finding those hidden areas.

Accessing the Library Folder

To get to the hidden Library folder, you'll need to use a little trick with Finder. Open a new Finder window. Then, in the top menu bar, click on "Go." While holding down the Option (or Alt) key on your keyboard, you'll see "Library" appear in the dropdown menu. Click on "Library" to open it. This is a pretty neat way to get to files that are usually kept out of sight, you know.

Once you're inside the Library folder, you'll see a lot of other folders. These contain various files that applications use to run, store settings, and keep temporary data. We'll be focusing on a few specific subfolders within this Library folder to find all the League of Legends remnants. It's a bit like searching for specific documents in a very large filing cabinet, honestly.

Be careful when you're in the Library folder. It contains important system files, so only delete what you are absolutely sure belongs to League of Legends. If you're unsure about a file, it's better to leave it alone. We're looking for things clearly named "League of Legends," "LoL," "Riot Games," or similar, which is a good rule of thumb.

Identifying and Deleting Specific LoL Folders

Within the Library folder, you'll want to check a few key locations. These are where League of Legends typically stores its additional data. We're looking for anything with "League of Legends," "LoL," or "Riot Games" in its name. It's a bit like searching for all the pieces of a puzzle, you know.

Start by going into the "Application Support" folder. This is a common place for applications to store their main data files. Look for any folders named "League of Legends" or "Riot Games." If you find them, drag them to the Trash. This is a really important step for a complete removal.

Next, check the "Caches" folder. Applications store temporary files here to speed things up, but these can accumulate over time. Look for folders related to League of Legends or Riot Games and drag them to the Trash as well. Clearing these out can free up a surprising amount of space, which is often overlooked.

Finally, look in the "Preferences" folder. This is where applications store their settings. You might find files like `com.riotgames.leagueoflegends.plist` or similar. Drag any files clearly associated with LoL to the Trash. These are usually small files, but removing them ensures a truly clean slate, which is what we're aiming for.

Checking Application Support

As mentioned, the "Application Support" folder is a primary spot for leftover files. Once you're inside your user's Library folder, find and open the "Application Support" folder. You'll likely see many folders here, one for each application that uses this directory. You're specifically looking for anything that screams "League of Legends" or "Riot Games," you know.

Carefully scroll through the list. If you spot a folder named "League of Legends" or "Riot Games," go ahead and drag that entire folder to your Trash. This folder can contain a lot of game data, patch files, and other resources that weren't removed when you just dragged the main app. Removing it is a big step towards freeing up space, which is a primary goal.

It's possible you might find multiple folders if you've had different versions or installations over time. Make sure to check them all. Once you've moved them to the Trash, remember to empty your Trash when you're done with all the deletion steps. This ensures the files are actually gone, not just moved to a temporary holding spot, which is a common oversight.

Looking at Caches and Preferences

After tackling "Application Support," your next stops within the Library folder are "Caches" and "Preferences." The "Caches" folder holds temporary data that applications use to run faster. Over time, these can build up and become quite large, even for applications you no longer use. So, cleaning them out is a good idea, honestly.

Open the "Caches" folder and look for any folders or files that have "League of Legends," "LoL," or "Riot Games" in their name. Drag these to the Trash. These are often just temporary files, but they can add up. It's a pretty satisfying feeling to clear them out, you know.

Then, move on to the "Preferences" folder. This folder contains small files that store your application settings and preferences. Look for files that typically end with `.plist` and contain "riotgames" or "leagueoflegends" in their name, like `com.riotgames.leagueoflegends.plist`. Drag any such files to the Trash. While these files are tiny, removing them ensures that all traces of the game's settings are gone, which is a thorough approach.

Ensuring LoL Isn't Running

Sometimes, a program might still be running in the background, even if you think you've closed it. This can prevent you from deleting its files, leading to messages like "Access is denied" because the process is being used. It's very much like when you try to delete a document that's still open in another application, you know.

To check if League of Legends or any related processes are still active, you can use Activity Monitor. Open Finder, go to "Applications," then "Utilities," and open "Activity Monitor." In the Activity Monitor window, you can use the search bar at the top right to look for "League," "LoL," or "Riot." If you see any processes related to the game, select them and click the "X" button in the toolbar to quit them. You might need to force quit if they don't respond, which is sometimes necessary.

Making sure no processes are active is a pretty important step before you start deleting files. If a process is running, the system protects its files, and you won't be able to move them to the Trash. So, always double-check Activity Monitor to ensure a smooth deletion process. This is a bit like making sure all doors are closed before you leave a building, honestly.

What If Access Is Denied?

It can be really frustrating when you try to delete a file or folder and you get an "Access is denied" message. This often happens because the file is currently in use, or perhaps it's owned by another user account on your computer. It's a common issue, and there are ways to work around it, you know.

First, as mentioned before, make sure League of Legends and any related processes are completely shut down using Activity Monitor. If you've tried that and still get the message, it could be that the file is owned by a different user account on your Mac. My text mentions, "it shows that the process is being run by another user on the computer." If you have multiple user accounts, try logging into each one and checking if LoL is running or if the files are visible there. You might find that the program files are somehow associated with a different user's session, which can happen sometimes.

If you're still having trouble, you might need to try deleting the files in Safe Mode, or consider using Terminal for a more forceful deletion. However, using Terminal requires a bit more technical comfort and should be done with caution, as incorrect commands can affect your system. For most users, ensuring all processes are stopped and checking other user accounts usually solves the "Access is denied" problem, which is a good thing.

Troubleshooting When LoL Isn't Showing Up

Sometimes, you might go to your Applications folder, and League of Legends just isn't there, or you can't find its files where you expect them. My text mentions, "I login to that user's account and it isn't showing anywhere at all, I try to delete the program files (x86)." This can be a bit confusing, but there are a few reasons why this might happen, you know.

One possibility is that the application was installed in a non-standard location. While most apps go into the Applications folder, some users might have chosen a different spot during installation. Use the Finder's search function (Command + F) and type "League of Legends" or "Riot Games" to search your entire Mac. Make sure to set the search scope to "This Mac" to look everywhere. This can often reveal hidden installations, which is pretty useful.

Another reason could be that the application was already partially deleted, leaving only fragmented files behind. In this case, focusing on the Library folders (Application Support, Caches, Preferences) as we discussed earlier becomes even more important. Even if the main app isn't visible, its residual data might still be lurking there. So, manually checking those hidden spots is key to a complete cleanup, which is what we want.

A Note on Your Riot Games Account

It's really important to understand that deleting the League of Legends application from your Mac does not delete your Riot Games account. This is a pretty common question, and it's similar to how my text talks about "how to remove (not delete, as that is something totally different) Google accounts from the list of Google accounts on the sign in page." Removing the local files for the game is different from closing your online account, you know.

Your Riot Games account, along with your game progress, champions, skins, and everything else, is stored on Riot's servers. If you decide to play League of Legends again in the future, or if you want to play on a different computer, you can simply download the game client again and log in with your existing Riot Games credentials. All your progress will still be there, which is a good thing for players.

If you genuinely want to delete your Riot Games account permanently, that's a separate process that you would need to initiate through Riot Games' official support channels. This is much like how my text mentions "How to delete your channel from YouTube and delete all its content, Closing your YouTube channel permanently deletes all your content." So, be clear on whether you're just removing the game from your Mac or truly ending your relationship with your account, which are two very different things.

Finalizing the Deletion

After you've gone through all the steps—dragging the main application to the Trash, searching for and deleting all those hidden support files, caches, and preferences in your Library folder, and making sure no processes were running—you're almost done. The final step is to empty your Trash. This makes sure that all the files you've moved are permanently removed from your system, you know.

Right-click or Control-click on the Trash icon in your Dock and select "Empty Trash." You'll likely get a confirmation prompt asking if you're sure you want to permanently delete the items. Confirm that you do. Once the Trash is empty, those League of Legends files are truly gone from your Mac, which is pretty satisfying.

It's a good idea to restart your Mac after a major cleanup like this. A restart can help clear out any lingering temporary files or memory caches and ensure your system recognizes the newly freed space. It's like giving your Mac a fresh start, honestly, and it can help it feel a bit snappier. This whole process helps keep your system tidy, much like how Google sometimes deletes activity that's no longer useful to improve your experience, which is a pretty similar idea.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Does deleting LoL from my Mac delete my Riot Games account?
A: No, deleting the game files from your Mac only removes the local installation. Your Riot Games account, along with all your progress and purchases, is stored on Riot's servers. You can always redownload the game and log in again, which is a pretty common question.

Q: How much space does League of Legends actually take up on a Mac?
A: The game's size can vary, but it's typically quite large, often ranging from 10 GB to over 20 GB with all its updates and patches. Removing it can free up a significant amount of storage space on your Mac, which is a big benefit for many users.

Q: Can I just drag the League of Legends app to the Trash and be done with it?
A: While dragging the app to the Trash removes the main program, it doesn't remove all the associated files like caches, preferences, and application support data. For a complete cleanup and to free up all the space, you'll need to manually delete those leftover files from your Library folder, which is the thorough way to do it.

Conclusion: A Cleaner Mac

Taking the time to completely remove League of Legends from your Mac, including all those hidden files, is a really smart move for maintaining a healthy and efficient computer. It's more than just deleting an application; it's about reclaiming valuable disk space and ensuring your system isn't bogged down by unnecessary data. Think of it as a thorough spring cleaning for your digital life, which is always a good idea, you know. This approach helps you manage your Mac's resources better, leading to a smoother experience overall.

By following these steps, you've ensured that League of Legends is truly gone, leaving no trace behind. This comprehensive approach is pretty important for keeping your Mac running well, much like how regularly checking or deleting your browsing history can keep your online experience tidy. For more tips on keeping your Mac optimized, Learn more about Mac maintenance on our site. And if you're looking to understand more about managing your digital footprint, you might find useful information on data privacy practices.