As one of the world‘s most popular chat platforms surpassing 150 million monthly active users in 2022, Discord holds a special place for keeping people connected. However, over time our usage tendencies and performance needs change. This guide will examine how and why you may want to uninstall Discord, provide detailed steps to fully remove it from all major platforms, discuss alternatives, and address frequently asked questions around deleting this chat app from your devices.
Why Bother Uninstalling Discord?
Before looking at the how-tos, it‘s reasonable to ask – why uninstall Discord in the first place? Here are the top reasons for wanting to remove this ubiquitous chat platform.
Recoup Significant Storage Savings
As of March 2022, Discord‘s mobile app consumes an average of 103MB of installed storage space on Android devices according to Statista. On iPhone, it clocks in around 104MB.
That may not seem like much, but system storage capacity gets eaten up quickly these days. By deleting just 10 unused apps averaging 100MB each, you can free up 1GB of on-device capacity! Add in the associated cached data and files that build up over time, and removing Discord could claw back over 250MB+ per user.
| Platform | Approx. Storage Reclaimed |
|---|---|
| iPhone | 104MB (App) + 100MB (Files) = 204MB |
| Android | 103MB (App) + 100MB (Files) = 203MB |
| Windows | 120MB (App) + 500MB (Files) = 620MB |
| MacOS | 115MB (App) + 150MB (Files) = 265MB |
That‘s significant storage real estate better served for productive apps instead of languishing unused!
Boost System Performance
In addition to freeing up tangible storage capacity, removing unused apps helps streamline overall system performance in a few key ways:
Memory & CPU Processing
Less installed apps means less strain on available CPU cycles and RAM consumption. Discord and associated libraries/frameworks claimed roughly 60-150MB RAM on average per Android Authority testing. With Discord uninstalled, that memory gets passed back to the OS to better manage active workflow tasks.
Battery & Power Efficiency
Similarly, one less app contending for background CPU and network connectivity means less battery drain over time. Android‘s battery usage monitor often showed Discord utilizing 3-5% of juice despite no active usage. Getting rid of unneeded apps directly correlates to longer battery life from your system resources no longer getting tapped.
Security & Privacy
The less apps with access privileges to your mic, camera, files and sensitive system-level functions, the smaller your potential attack surface area for exploits. Chat apps like WhatsApp and of course Discord have been vulnerable in the past to malicious attacks. Eliminating unused apps wholesale reduces your risk footprint.
Plus, outdated and no longer maintained software poses an inherent creep risk of exposing your personal data without your knowledge or consent. Spotify memorably had a data access violation in 2015. Uninstalling Discord fully eliminates these privacy risks.
Emotional & Psychological Benefits
In a broad sense, removing unused apps helps foster a healthier digital minimalism approach to technology. The principles – strive for intentionality, clarity, mindfulness over impulsive reactivity – have proven mental & emotional benefits according to noted researchers.
Beyond just the rotational uninstalling of apps, even small steps like tidying up your home screen by deleting visual app clutter has shown in studies to reduce anxiety levels and instill greater user empowerment.
Discord‘s Meteoritic Rise
Before diving into the specifics around uninstalling Discord itself, it‘s helpful context to understand Discord‘s origins and rapid growth trajectory that led to its astounding market position today.
In the Beginning
Discord launched only seven years ago in 2015, the brainchild of Jason Citron who founded the gaming chat platform to enable his own gaming communities to connect in a lighter, easier way compared to existing Voice-over-IP options. The free service quickly caught on among the Reddit and Minecraft crowd given its browser integration and multi-device syncing capabilities.
Hockey Stick Growth
Fast forward to 2022, and Discord has over 150 million monthly active users out of roughly 480 million total registered accounts. It has become the chat app of choice across friend groups, communities of all types, companies, clubs and special interest groups. Amassing this meteoric growth in just seven years with no signs of slowing earns Discord a unique place in consumer internet history.
Funding & Valuation
All the capital investment confirms Discord‘s winning formula. They raised an eye-popping $500 million in 2021 off the heels of strong pandemic growth, giving the company a $15 billion valuation. Index Ventures, one of Discord‘s key VC investors, called their ROI from 2017 on Discord “the fastest-growing consumer application we’ve ever seen.”
Of course, what goes up also comes down in tech. But for now, Discord has a stranglehold on the modern chat app landscape. Understanding this context better informs why uninstalling Discord today carries more significance than eliminating a typical consumer app.
How to Uninstall Discord on Mac
Let‘s start with looking at the proper way to fully remove Discord from a MacOS device.
The process involves just a few easy steps, but skipping any leaves leftover app traces that continue occupying space and resources.
Step 1: Remove The App Package
This part is the most straightforward. In Finder, simply navigate to your Applications folder and locate the Discord listing. Select the icon, right click to pull up the menu, choose Move to Trash.
Here we have simply removed the interfacing components but not yet purged associated files.
Step 2: Obliterate App Preferences & Caches
Discord litters traces of itself across a couple Mac-specific directories. We need to wipe these too for a full purge.
In Finder choose Go > Go to Folder from the top menu and enter the following paths one by one to locate residuals:
~/library/preferences/com.hnc.Discord.plist
~/library/application support/discord/
~/library/caches/com.hnc.Discord
Delete anything related to Discord by dragging to Trash.
Step 3: Empty That Trash!
Finally, open your Trash icon in the Dock and click Empty Trash to commit all those Discord bits to oblivion!
A fresh restart, and Discord will have vanished completely off into digital dust with nary a trace. Our work here is done.
Uninstalling Discord on Windows 10 & 11
Switching over to Windows, removing Discord follows similar logic – we force remove the app package itself and then systematically track down and delete any lingering files squirreled away in obscure user folders.
So without further ado, here is the foolproof way to remove Discord on a Windows machine:
Step 1: Uninstall via Apps & Features
In Windows, the main app packages are easily managed all in one place thankfully. Simply head to Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features and locate Discord. Click the listing, choose Uninstall, confirm OK to removing it.
So far so good! But this modern convenience still leaves traces behind…
Step 2: Wipe User Profile Traces
Now we need to dig into the user account folders where Windows apps notoriously scatter data debris.
Hit the Windows key and R to open the file Run dialog. Type in %appdata% and hit Enter. This will automatically open the AppData folder hierarchy for your user profile.
Navigate to each subfolder – Local, LocalLow, Roaming – and delete any Discord or Discord Canary (PTB) files and folders.
Be sure to have hidden files/folders view enabled in File Explorer to expose all of Discord‘s hidden vestiges.
Step 3: Revoke Registry Permissions
Finally, we‘ll look at removing lingering registry authorizations. Windows apps integrate permissions and configurations into the registry database.
Press Win + R again to launch Registry Editor. Navigate carefully to the following registry keys and delete any Discord-related entries:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\discord
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Discord
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Discord Inc.
And check under both the 32-bit and native 64-bit registry hive locations.
With that, Discord should be fully removed from the system! A restart will clear out any still lingering memory.
Uninstall Discord on iPhone & Android
The mobile platforms make removing apps blessedly simple. Just a couple quick gestures, and apps vanish instantly with all files. None of the lingering trace nonsense plaguing desktop OSes.
However, each mobile OS has slightly different specifics worth covering.
Removing Discord on iPhone
To uninstall Discord from an iOS device, follow these steps:
- Locate Discord app icon on your Home Screen
- Press and hold the icon until all apps begin shaking
- Tap the minus [–] icon that appears in corner of the Discord icon
- Confirm the pop-up prompt to delete the app
And done! Discord disappears instantly without a trace along with all cached data on iPhone storage.
How to Uninstall Discord on Android
Similarly speedy process for Android devices:
- Press and hold the Discord app icon
- Select Uninstall option from pop-up menu
- Confirm OK to deleting Discord from your Android system
After just a few seconds, your apps tray gets decluttered and storage freed up!
Alternatives to Installed Discord App
If you find yourself wanting ongoing access to Discord but without the dedicated mobile or desktop app commitment, there are a couple alternative options worth considering:
Access via Web Browser
You can navigate to Discord‘s website and access nearly full functionality straight through your web browser of choice. Browser access means no local app eating up storage.
Of course, this does require having an internet connection active to operate. And browser-based Discord performance may suffer versus running native. But for sporadic access, this provides a perfectly viable workaround.
Just be warned – browser cache and local website data can still accumulate over time. Make sure to periodically clear out cookies, site storage, cached files allocated to Discord web sessions. This ensures temporary usage doesn‘t still eat up device storage indirectly.
Unofficial 3rd Party Clients
If going completely browser-based doesn‘t cut it for you feature-wise but you still have an uninstall mindset, unofficial third-party Discord clients exist as well. These effectively act as wrappers around Discord‘s online infrastructure.
Top alternate Discord clients include:
-
Ripcord – Open source Discord client for Windows and Linux featuring a compact memory footprint around 25MB.
-
Quarrel – Lightweight Windows/Xbox client sporting under 5MB installation size and low system demands.
-
Cordial – Promising multi-platform upstart packing robust feature set resembling official Discord.
These alternative Discord front-ends provide full chat and community access without the bulk or baggage of first-party clients. Just keep in mind unofficial options violate Discord‘s ToS and run the risk of sudden shutdown or missing features.
FAQs Around Uninstalling Discord
Let‘s circle back to address some frequently asked questions that often arise around uninstalling this chat behemoth:
Will uninstalling cause me to lose Discord data?
The bulk of your personal Discord account data – messages, connections, servers, etc – gets maintained in the cloud rather than locally. So simply removing the app should not lead to losing anything substantial.
Of course anytime altering device files we recommend first backing up locally stored content like chat media attachments or server assets somewhere secure. Just in case.
Additionally, if removing cached/stored app data folders, pay attention to ensuring you only delete Discord-specific files rather than wiping personal documents accidentally co-located in the user profile.
Can I delete my Discord account?
Beyond uninstalling the app locally, you also hold the nuclear option of deleting your entire Discord account and all history. Head to the Discord Account Deletion page while still logged in to initiate this process.
Note this permanently erases your personal Discord presence versus simply logging out which can be undone. And cached messages often still persist on other users devices even post-account deletion. But still an option if wanting to wipe the slate 100%.
Is it bad to leave Discord always running?
This circles back to the performance hits we outlined earlier around unused apps passively running. While active in a voice or video chat, of course Discord leverages higher levels of device resources.
But upon exiting conversations, Discord minimizes to an always-on background process continuing to consume ~30-60MB RAM, periodic chunks of CPU cycles, sporadic network pings to keep live notifications primed for any server activity.
Multiplying these passive demands across all inactive background apps quickly overburdens mobile devices and laptops alike. Which is where being judicious in removing unnecessary apps pays major optimization dividends.
What gets included in Discord browser cache data?
If opting to use the web version route, bear in mind browser caches accumulate more than just temporary text and images from each session. Local browser data related to Discord can also contain:
- Audio/video call multimedia
- Writable cached objects like server assets
- Offline accessible app code chunks
- Background sync job queues
- Service worker logic
- Not to mention tracking cookies
So while convenient and lightweight, browser usage still merits occasional maintenance to avoid unintended storage side effects long term.
Key Takeaways
We‘ve covered quite a lot of ground when it comes to removing Discord across major platforms. Let‘s recap the key lessons as a TL;DR:
- Uninstalling unused apps saves storage and speeds up devices – Every little bit counts as it adds up!
- Follow official uninstall paths – Removes main packages.
- Delete all hidden app folders and caches – Cleans up leftover clutter.
- Discord grew at unprecedented scale – Context for why removing it holds significance.
- Alternatives exist like browsers or 3rd party apps.
- Account deletion erases all history – Nuclear option if wanting more permanence.
Hopefully this guide gives you clarity plus confidence to reclaim valuable device resources being squandered by neglected apps!
Did uninstalling Discord help you reclaim a bunch of storage capacity and speed? What other apps are unnecessarily lingering on your gadgets? Let us know if this comprehensive walkthrough made the process smooth and successful!
