Although iTunes is preinstalled on your new Mac, it may no longer be necessary in the near future so here are instructions in how to uninstall iTunes on your Mac.
- Make sure iTunes isn’t open, Open Finder and go to the Applications folder
- Drag the iTunes icon into the Trash
- Go back to the Applications folders and go into the Utilities folder, open the Activity Monitor app
- Find the process called “iTunes Helper” and quit it
- Open your Mac’s System Preferences and click ‘Accounts’
- Find your account on the left, click it and click the “Login Items” tab.
- If ‘iTunesHelper’ is listed, click the “-” button to remove it
- From the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder
- Enter (without quotes) “/System/Library/Extensions” and then click Go.
- Locate the file “AppleMobileDevice.kext” and drag it to the Trash.
- Choose Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter (without quotes) “/Library/Receipts/” and then click Go.
- Locate the file “AppleMobileDeviceSupport.pkg” and drag it to the trash. Note: This file may not be present in Mac OS X v10.6 or later; skip to the next step if this is the case.
- Remove any other file ending with “.pkg” that has iTunes in the title (such as “iTunesX.pkg”).
- Restart your Mac.
- Empty the Trash. This should fully remove iTunes.
Additionally, you may need to remove files and folders associated with iTunes. Use the following steps to remove these files and folders.
- Open the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and type in ~/Library/ and click Go.
- Drag the iTunes folder into the Trash
- Again click Go > Go to Folder and type in ~/Library/Preferences/ and click Go.
- Drag these files to the Trash:
- com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist
- com.apple.iTunes.plist
- com.apple.iTunesHelper.plist
- Again click Go > Go to Folder and type in /Library and click Go.
- Drag the iTunes folder into the Trash
- Lastly click Go > Go to Folder and type in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/ and click Go.
- Trash all preferences files that begin with com.apple.iTunes
- Empty the Trash.
There you go! Now if you change your mind you can always re-download iTunes from Apple’s website.
