How to Update Chrome on a Mac

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years’ of professional technology experience. He’s been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

How to Uninstall Chrome on a Mac

Want to know how to uninstall Google Chrome on your Mac? Here are some simple instructions to follow.

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You’ve really thought about it, and you’ve decided that Google Chrome for Mac just isn’t the browser for you. You have other browsers you prefer, which makes sense, as there are many great browsers for Mac out there.

So now you want to uninstall Chrome from your Mac. But you don’t want to just not see it anymore. You want to make sure it’s fully gone, data traces and all.

We’re here to help you with that. Read on to learn how to uninstall Google Chrome and delete all of its data from your Mac in just a few steps.

Before You Uninstall the Google Chrome Application

Before you uninstall Google Chrome from your Mac, it’s a good idea to delete your Google Chrome Profiles and clear out your browsing data. You might also want to uninstall Google Drive from your Mac to prevent data from staying online and getting back onto your Mac that way too.

When you’ve done all that, now you’re ready to uninstall the app itself.

A lot of data is deleted when you uninstall the Google Chrome app from your Mac, though not all of it, as the next section illustrates. Some data also stays on Google’s servers, or on other devices you own that are synced to your Google accounts and Google apps.

That server information should be deleted if you want to permanently purge your Mac of Google Chrome and its data.

To remove your browsing data, open Google Chrome and click on the three dot menu icon. Then click on More Tools > Clear Browsing Data. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Cmd + Delete.

How to Update Chrome on a Mac

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years’ of professional technology experience. He’s been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

Updated on August 18, 2022
Reviewed by

• Western Governors University

Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years’ experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.

What to Know

• Chrome installs updates automatically when the browser restarts.
• Check manually from the menu: Help >About Google Chrome.
• Green, orange, and red alerts are pending updates; click to apply.

This article explains how to apply a Google Chrome update on a Mac. It should work the same for all versions of Mac running a modern edition of the browser.

How to Update Chrome Manually on a Mac

Not sure if there’s an update ready? Check the “About Chrome” area of the settings for details.

1. Select the three-dot menu at the top right of the browser.

How to Apply Pending Chrome Updates on a Mac

Another situation where Chrome can be updated is if it’s been a while since the update was released and you’ve been putting off applying it.

When this happens, the menu button at the top right will change to a different color to indicate the urgency:

• Green: An update has been ready for 2 days.
• Orange: An update has been ready for 4 days.
• Red: An update has been ready for at least a week.

Selecting the colored button shows a prompt to apply the update. Click to restart Chrome and install it.

Chrome Can Also Update Automatically

Typically, the browser updates automatically in the background. If you regularly close and reopen Chrome, they’ll be applied largely without you noticing. It’s the best way to keep the software fresh with updates.

The only reasons to follow the other directions above are if you know Chrome recently pushed out an update, but you don’t see the green alert, or you haven’t installed an update in a while.

Can’t Update Chrome?

Sometimes, the update utility doesn’t work, and you can’t get new updates from Google. The best thing to do in this situation is to delete the browser and install a fresh copy from Google’s website.

To ensure nothing gets removed during the uninstallation process, consider signing in to your Google account and syncing your bookmarks, passwords, etc., so when you reinstall it, those items will for sure still be available.

Are Chrome Updates Necessary?

Updates are the only way we get improvements from software makers. It’s how we get a snappier and more stable program, and how new and exciting features become available.

But even if you’re not interested in new functions, updates are the only way to patch security holes and other vulnerabilities, which is essential when dealing with a browser since it’s your direct communication with the internet.

If you’ve had experience with a Chrome update crashing your computer or causing more harm than good, wait a day or two to apply the update. Feel free to wait for the green menu button; by then, hopefully, you’d have heard of significant issues with the update and can hold off for a fix from Google.