How to Completely Uninstall Discord from a Computer: Windows and macOS

The standard uninstall removes the program itself but leaves behind folders with your settings, cache and login data. If Discord has to go for good — or you're reinstalling it after a broken update — those folders have to be deleted by hand.

Quick answer

• Windows: quit Discord from the tray → Settings → Apps → find Discord → Uninstall. Then delete the AppData\Local\Discord and AppData\Roaming\discord folders.
• macOS: quit the app with Cmd + Q → drag Discord from Applications to the Trash → remove the Discord support files from your user Library.

Uninstalling the program doesn't touch your account: your profile, servers and message history stay exactly as they were. Those are two separate operations, and the second one happens in your user settings, not in the operating system.

Step 1: close Discord completely

The most common reason an uninstall fails is that the app is still running in the background. The X in the corner doesn't close it — it minimises it to the notification area.

1. Find the Discord icon in the tray next to the clock, right-click it and choose Quit.
2. Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
3. On the Processes tab, find every Discord process and end it.

Only then start the uninstall — otherwise Windows will report that the files are in use.

Uninstalling on Windows 10 and 11

1. Open Settings with Win + I.
2. Go to Apps → Installed apps (on Windows 10 it's "Apps & features").
3. Find Discord in the list, click the three dots beside it and choose Uninstall.
4. Confirm and wait for the process to finish.

The classic Control Panel → Programs and Features route gives the same result. If you installed the test builds — Discord PTB or Discord Canary — they appear as separate programs and have to be removed one by one.

Removing the leftover files

Two folders survive the uninstall: they hold your account settings, cache and local data. They're the reason a reinstalled Discord opens straight into your profile with your old settings intact.

1. Press Win + R, type %localappdata% and delete the Discord folder.
2. Press Win + R again, type %appdata% and delete the discord folder.

This isn't always the right move. If you're removing Discord temporarily and plan to come back, leave the folders alone — you won't have to sign in and reconfigure everything afterwards. Full cleanup makes sense in two cases: you're leaving the platform for good, or you're fighting an update error.

Discord also leaves registry entries, but they have no effect on how the system runs. There's no need to clean the registry by hand: the risk of removing something else outweighs the few kilobytes you'd free.

Uninstalling on macOS

1. Quit Discord with Cmd + Q — closing the window doesn't shut the app down.
2. Open Applications and drag Discord to the Trash.
3. In Finder, press Shift + Cmd + G and go to ~/Library.
4. Delete the Discord-related items inside Application Support, Caches, Preferences and Saved Application State — they carry discord or com.hnc.Discord in the name.
5. Empty the Trash.

If the app refuses to move to the Trash, the process is still running: end it in Activity Monitor.

When Discord won't uninstall or keeps coming back

• Windows says a file is in use. End the processes in Task Manager and try again; if the error persists, restart and uninstall immediately after boot without launching the app.
• Discord reappears after a restart. Check your startup items and make sure both AppData folders are gone — that's where the updater lives.
• The program isn't in the installed apps list. This happens after a failed update: deleting the AppData folders manually is enough.
• The uninstall hangs. Turn off the overlay and close any games and launchers — Discord may still be hooked into them.

Uninstalling the app is not deleting the account

Removing the program changes nothing about your account: mentions still pile up, you're still in every server, and you can log in from a browser or your phone at any time.

If closing the account is the actual goal, your user settings offer two options. Disabling is reversible: the profile is hidden but the data is kept, and logging back in restores everything. Deleting starts an irreversible process — the account is queued for deletion and erased for good after roughly two weeks, and logging in during that window cancels it. Note that Discord won't let you delete an account while you still own servers: transfer ownership to another member or delete the server first.

Sometimes "delete everything" really means something narrower — separating personal chats from work communities. Using separate profiles is simpler than erasing an account and building a new one; you can browse the available Discord accounts for separate projects on Fire Accs.

If you only want Discord out of startup

Plenty of people uninstall the app purely because it launches with the system and slows down boot. That's fixable without removing anything: open Task Manager, go to the Startup tab and disable Discord. The same switch exists in the app's own settings, under the Windows options.

Common mistakes

• Deleting the desktop shortcut and assuming the program is gone.
• Starting the uninstall without quitting the app in the tray.
• Wiping the program folder manually instead of running the proper uninstall — that leaves system entries and the updater in place.
• Cleaning the registry with third-party "optimisers" without a backup.
• Believing the uninstall closes your account and removes you from servers.

FAQ

Will my message history disappear when I uninstall the app?

No. Messages live on Discord's servers and will be there the next time you log in from any device.

Should I delete the AppData folders before reinstalling?

Only if you're solving a problem: an endless update loop, launch errors, a corrupted cache. Otherwise leave them — your settings and login are preserved.

How do I uninstall Discord if several people use the computer?

Discord installs into a specific user profile, so each Windows account has its own folders. You'll need to uninstall it under each user separately.

How much space does it free up?

It depends on how much cache has accumulated over time. The bulk of the weight is in the AppData folders, not the program itself.

How do I remove the web version?

There's nothing to uninstall — just log out in the browser. If you added Discord as a web app, remove it from your browser's list of installed apps.

Does uninstalling affect a Nitro subscription?

No. The subscription belongs to the account and is managed in your user settings or in the store you bought it through.

Can I get my account back after deleting it?

Yes, if you log in within the grace period — roughly two weeks. After that, recovery isn't possible.

Bottom line

To fully uninstall Discord, quit it in the tray, remove it through your system settings, and delete the Discord folders in AppData (or the matching items in your user Library on macOS). If you expect to come back, keep the leftover data. And remember that your account stays active through all of this — closing it is a separate step in your user settings.