Library Containers - folders with apps I no longer use; ok to delete?

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Level 1

26 points

Library Containers - folders with apps I no longer use; ok to delete?

I was trying to clean up after removal of an App I no longer use and I found folders with the same name in the following location:

~/Library/Containers

Books has 2 folders and all files and folders inside look to be identical including size and date.

Game Center, same as above

iCloud Drive has 5 folders but all have different dates modified

The list goes on.

I've seen that in another thread, these can be large and are supposed to be updated by Apps as Apps are using them since this is like a Sandbox area apps use to share info but it seems like 19GB is a lot of space these folders are taking when some of the Apps I previously loaded, are no longer in use.

An app I got rid of in January left junk behind: Friendly Social has a folder in Containers with same path as above.

My only question here is whether I can delete Friendly Social's folder manually?

I wish Apps would clean up after themselves. They're slowly leaving junk behind and I like to keep things tidy.

iMac 27″, macOS 14.3

Posted on Feb 4, 2024 10:30 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

leroydouglas

Level 10

201,034 points

Feb 4, 2024 11:14 AM in response to Nyobie

Nyobie wrote:

Thanks leroydouglas! I went ahead and deleted the Friendly Social folder.

While in the same Containers folder, I found a Bitdefender folder which I've uninstalled using the Bitdefender Uninstall app that came with the zip file originally.

The filename begins with com.apple.XYZ. I've deleted that folder and in doing so, it shows up in my Trash with a different name. The name is Trash just says Bitdefender. The problem is that there's something still using the folders. I try deleting them with no luck. I tried also using this command and I still couldn't delete the folder:

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/

Why is this folder still present? I can't delete it no matter what I've tried and the original app it came from is uninstalled the "right way" but I'm still seeing a remindd at > 100% CPU and Family (Not Responding) in Activity Monitor and I'm trying to see if this is related in any way by ridding the computer of all things related to Bitdefender.

Did you use the official uninstaller...you may have to re-install to get to the uninstaller(?)

if in doubt search the developers website or contact their: Support/Help/FAQ/Known issues/compatibility/updates…

Contact a third-party vendor - Apple Support

reference—

How to uninstall Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

compare:

sudo rm -Ri ~/.Trash

note on flags:

- i request confirmation before attempting to remove each file

-f attempt to remove the files without prompting for confirmation,

-R attempt to remove the file hierarchy rooted in each file argument

(The -R option implies the -d option / directories as well as other types of files)

You can boot into Safeboot mode and try again deleting...

Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

You may have to temporarily disable SIP to empty trash(?).

Important to re-enable immediately after your action

Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection

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Answer 2

leroydouglas

Level 10

201,034 points

Feb 4, 2024 10:35 AM in response to Nyobie

Nyobie wrote:

I was trying to clean up after removal of an App I no longer use and I found folders with the same name in the following location:

~/Library/Containers

My only question here is whether I can delete Friendly Social's folder manually?

Yes.

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Answer 3

Nyobie Author

Level 1

26 points

Feb 4, 2024 10:55 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks leroydouglas! I went ahead and deleted the Friendly Social folder.

While in the same Containers folder, I found a Bitdefender folder which I've uninstalled using the Bitdefender Uninstall app that came with the zip file originally. The filename begins with com.apple.XYZ. I've deleted that folder and in doing so, it shows up in my Trash with a different name. The name is Trash just says Bitdefender. The problem is that there's something still using the folders. I try deleting them with no luck. I tried also using this command and I still couldn't delete the folder:

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/

Why is this folder still present? I can't delete it no matter what I've tried and the original app it came from is uninstalled the "right way" but I'm still seeing a remindd at > 100% CPU and Family (Not Responding) in Activity Monitor and I'm trying to see if this is related in any way by ridding the computer of all things related to Bitdefender.

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Answer 4

Nyobie Author

Level 1

26 points

Feb 4, 2024 11:21 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks again for these additional details including Safeboot mode and SIP.

I've uninstalled the Bitdefender app more than once using the same uninstall app that came with it and the most recent time I had to reinstall then uninstall it was around a week or so ago.

I'll go to the Bitdefender web site and seek support there. I've had open tickets with them in the past on a VPN issue and it was really great support. Wish me luck!

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