CleanApps you deleted are still taking up space on your Mac
Macs don't have a real uninstaller. You drag the app to the Trash and its data stays behind. A real example: 22 GB from a UTM virtual machine, 6.6 GB from BlueStacks and traces of Adobe in 11 different folders, all from apps that were no longer installed.
Where they hide
Search for the app's name (or the company's) in these folders: ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Containers, ~/Library/Group Containers, ~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/Preferences and /Users/Shared.
Find them from Terminal
Regenerates, with a costReplace bluestacks with the name of the app you deleted:
find ~/Library /Library /Users/Shared -maxdepth 3 -iname '*bluestacks*' 2>/dev/nullMake sure the app is really gone from /Applications before deleting its data. If you reinstall it, it'll start from scratch.
The heaviest offenders
The ones that leave the most behind are virtual machines (UTM, Parallels), emulators (BlueStacks, Android), video editors (Filmora, Adobe) and Docker. If you ever used any of them, check those first.
FAQ
Is there a free app that does this?
AppCleaner is free and removes leftovers if you use it when uninstalling. For apps you deleted earlier, you have to look by hand or use a tool that compares what's installed with what was left behind.
Keep reading
How to free up space on your Mac: the complete guide (2026)
Step by step to reclaim tens of GB on your Mac without deleting anything important: what to check first, what's safe, and what to never touch.
What is "System Data" on Mac and how do you shrink it?
Why "System Data" (formerly "Other") takes so much space on your Mac, what's inside it and what you can safely delete.