Removing a macup app is a two-part idea: taking the software off this Mac, and deciding what to do with the encrypted backups it has been keeping for you. This article covers both, in order, with no surprises.
Before you start: if you are moving to a new Mac, you probably do not want to uninstall — you want to reassign your license. Skip to the note at the bottom.
Step 1 — Quit macup cleanly
Click the macup icon in the menu bar and choose Quit macup. Wait for the icon to disappear. This gives any in-flight backup a chance to finalize its snapshot, flush its index, and close cleanly. An unclean quit does not corrupt backups — every snapshot is sealed on write — but a clean quit is faster to reopen if you change your mind.
If macup is actively uploading a first backup, the menu will tell you. You can either wait for that run to finish or cancel it before you quit. Cancelling is safe.
Step 2 — Run the uninstall script
Open Terminal and run:
/Applications/macup.app/Contents/Resources/uninstall.sh
You will be prompted for your admin password. The script removes:
- The background daemon (the part of macup that keeps watching files while the app itself is closed).
- The launch agent that starts the daemon at login.
- Keychain entries holding your local encryption keys and account session.
- App preferences and the local on-disk cache.
The script does not touch your backups. Anything already uploaded to a destination stays there. Anything on an external drive stays on the drive.
Step 3 — Delete the app
Drag /Applications/macup.app to the Trash and empty the Trash. The app is gone.
Step 4 — What stays, and where
This is the part people ask about most, so here is the full picture.
macup Cloud
Your encrypted backups stay in macup Cloud, untouched, until you close your account. You can still sign in at web.macup.app to browse and restore snapshots from any Mac. Nothing is deleted just because the desktop app is gone.
Bring-your-own-storage (S3-compatible)
Your backups stay in your bucket because it is your bucket. We never had delete rights. If you want the data gone, delete the repository folder yourself with the tools you already use for that bucket.
External drive
Your backups stay on the drive as a folder of encrypted blobs. Delete the repository folder to remove them. You can also re-attach the drive to another Mac running macup and restore from it directly — see the restore guides on the marketing site.
Step 5 — Close your account
If you want macup Cloud data removed, close your macup account from Account > Close Account at web.macup.app. You get a 30-day grace period to download anything you still need. After 30 days your backups are purged and the keys are destroyed, as described in our Privacy Policy. That purge is irreversible.
BYOS and external-drive data is yours to delete on your own schedule. Closing your macup account does not touch it.
A note if you are switching Macs
Do not uninstall. Your license is attached to your account, not this physical Mac, and you can move it without losing snapshot history. Install macup on the new Mac, sign in with the same account, and choose This replaces another Mac in the welcome flow. See Reassign a license for the exact steps — it takes about a minute and preserves every snapshot you have ever taken.