How to Delete Mail App on Mac along with Mail Storage

January 19, 2022Ashley Mae

"I know the Mail app on my Mac laptop takes up space because it downloads all of the mail I have stored, how to delete the Mail app on Mac?" It is well-known that mail storage is consumed by various attachments that come with your emails, such as documents, videos, photos, etc. If you are searching for an effective way to clean up the Mail app, this guide is right for you.

Delete Mail App on Mac

Part 1: The Ultimate Way to Delete Mail App on Mac

If you drag the Mail app into the Trash folder, you can only get an alert message saying that Mail cannot be removed to the Trash because it cannot be deleted. Since the Mail app comes with macOS, it cannot be deleted. Fortunately, Aiseesoft Mac Cleaner can meet your need.

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How to Delete Mail Storage on Mac

Step 1:
Delete mail storage

Launch the best app manager app after you install it on your Mac computer. Go to the Cleaner tab on the left side, and choose Email Junk. Click the Scan button to display the emails stored on your hard drive. Press the View button after scanning, select the unwanted mails, and click the Clean button to delete mail storage on Mac.

Main Interface
Step 2.
Scan apps on Mac

Switch to the Toolkit tab on the left sidebar and click the Uninstall button. Now, click on the Scan  button to begin looking for the apps on your machine. Wait for app scanning to finish and press the View button to display them.

Scan Installed Apps on Mac
Step 3.
Delete unwanted apps

Check the box next to each app that you want to delete from Mac. You can locate the specific apps with the Search box at the top right side. At last, click on the Clean button at the bottom right corner to delete the apps from Mac immediately.

Uninstall App

Part 2: How to Delete Mail App on Mac Manually

As mentioned previously, the Mail app is preinstalled on your MacBook. You cannot delete or uninstall it in order to protect the system integrity. To delete the Mail app from Mac, you have to disable the System Integrity Protection. In order to help you understand, we show the whole process in three stages.

Stage 1: Disable System Integrity Protection

Restart Mac
Step 1.
Open the Finder app from the Dock, click and expand the Apple menu, and choose Restart.
Interface
Step 2.
Hold down the Command + R keys on your keyboard immediately until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe. Then the computer will enter the Recovery Mode and show you the Recovery Mode Utilities screen.
Step 3.
Now, go to the Utilities folder and double-click the Terminal app to run it.
Interface
Step 4.
Type in csrutil disable in the Terminal window and press the Return key on your keyboard. Then restart your Mac to disable the System Integrity Protection.

Stage 2: Delete Mail App on Mac

Step 1.
Next, run the Terminal app again after your Mac turns back on. Enter the command cd/Applications/, and press the Return key. Then you will be presented with a directory of applications.
Interface
Step 2.
Type in the command sudo rm –rf Mail.app/, and press the Return key. Now, the Mail app is deleted on Mac. However, your Mac is running without System Integrity Protection. You need to enable it again.

Stage 3: Enable System Integrity Protection

Terminal App
Step 1.
Fire up the Terminal app in the Utilities folder.
Step 2.
Type the command csrutil enable into the Terminal app and press the Return key on your keyboard. 
Step 3.
Go to the Apple menu in the Finder app, and choose the Restart option. When your computer turns back on, you can use it as usual. 

If you are using another email client and never want the built-in Mail app, you can remove your accounts. That stops it from receiving messages. Go to the Apple menu, choose the System Preferences option, and select Internet accounts. Navigate to the accounts associated with Mail, select one and uncheck Mail, repeat it to other accounts.

Part 3: FAQs about Deleting Mail App on Mac

Question 1. Does Mail take up space on Mac?

Yes, the Mail app does not let you receive and send emails but also downloads the messages and attachments to your hard disk. The amount of storage it takes up is determined by the type and number of your emails. If you have subscribed to a bunch of brands and newsletters, it comes considerably large and may slow down your computer.

Question 2. How to prevent Mail from downloading messages?

Go to the Mail menu, choose Preferences, and then Accounts. Click an account, and choose the Mailbox Behaviors. Click on the menu beneath Erase junk messages, and select a period. Click the menu under Erase deleted messages, and select a period too. Then the Mail app will delete messages regularly. You can stop Mail from downloading attachments in the Account Information tab on the Accounts dialog.

Question 3. Why I cannot delete Safari plugins?

Once you delete the Mail app on Mac, you cannot receive or send emails anymore. That may bring trouble to your machine. Therefore, you'd better use a third-party email client or reinstall the Mail app to your machine.

Conclusion

This guide has talked about how to delete the built-in Mail app on MacBook Pro or other machines. To get it, you need to disable System Integrity Protection. The process is a bit complicated and requires technical skills. For average people, Aiseesoft Mac Cleaner is an easy solution to clean up mail storage and free up space. If you have other questions, such as did Mail uninstalling makes a noticeable difference to your hard disk storage, let us know in the comment area below this post.

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