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Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On May 27, 2026 at 7:03:48 AM MST, ""David B."" wrote
<n7obu5F9snuU1@mid.individual.net>:

> Hello again, folks! 😄
> 
> There has been some discussion across recent threads about standard
> macOS uninstallation behaviour — specifically whether dragging an
> application bundle ('App') to the Bin is sufficient for all software.
> 
> For most applications, it is. Self-contained, sandboxed apps leave
> nothing behind that matters, and dragging to the Bin is perfectly
> adequate. However, a distinct technical exception applies to utilities
> that require elevated privileges to scan system hardware, read
> restricted logs, or monitor storage health.
> 
> EtreCheck is a prime example of this class of software.
> 
> To perform its deep system analysis, EtreCheck installs a *Privileged
> Helper Tool* — an elevated background daemon that requires admin
> authorisation on first run. This is entirely legitimate behaviour, but
> it has a practical consequence for uninstallation.
> 
> *The problem with "drag to Bin" for this category of software*:-
> 
> 1. *The App Bundle* — Dragging the `.app` to the Bin removes the user-
> facing interface, as expected.
> 
> 2. *The Lingering Daemon* — macOS does not automatically unregister or
> remove privileged helpers when their parent app is trashed.
> 
> 3. *The Binary* — The helper executable persists in the root-level
> directory `/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/`.
> 
> 4. *The Property Lists* — Associated configuration files remain in the
> system launch directories.
> 
> For ordinary apps that only write to `~/Library/Application Support/` or
> `~/Library/Caches/`, this isn't a concern — those files are dormant and
> easily ignored or removed. But when a utility has installed a persistent
> background daemon that survives deletion of the main app bundle, a
> dedicated uninstaller (or at minimum an inline **Uninstall** menu
> option) is not just courteous — it's the correct design choice. Without
> one, users are left manually navigating root-level directories to remove
> components most wouldn't know to look for.
> 
> Hopefully this clarifies things for anyone tracking file-system
> behaviour or managing utility software on their Macs.

OK, did more work FOR you. To help you.

There is no evidence EtreCheck does as you say and puts something in

 /Library/LaunchDaemons/
 /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/

Or any other place where an uninstaller might be more useful. I even did a
check in /Library/ for "EtreCheck" and found one item, and it was in:

 /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/

No issue with that.

But guess what, even if it did have stuff there, that would not mean an
uninstaller would be absolutely needed. Here:

 
https://www.telestream.net/telestream-support/screen-flow/help/Install.11.6.html

No uninstaller -- you have to manually go to:

 /System/Library/Extensions/TelestreamAudio.kext

And delete it.

How about Windscribe?

 
https://windscribe.com/knowledge-base/articles/how-do-i-reinstall-the-windscribe-mac-app

This page talks about uninstalling it (even if the focus is on installing).
Drag to trash and delete. But guess what... unlike EtreCheck it DOES leave
things in the /Library folder.

 /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.windscribe.helper.macos.plist

Can you find anyone with a shred of concern about this? I would say ideally
they should have a simple way to do this -- apps like Zoom and TeamViewer do
have ways in the app itself.

But you are not only wrong -- there is no such cruft left behind in /Library/
-- but even if there was you would STILL be making a mountain out of a
molehill... whining about things you do not understand in the slightest.

David, I keep asking: stop these insane paranoid attacks against EtreCheck and
its developer. You are making a complete and utter fool of yourself and doing
so in thread after thread and across multiple newsgroups.


-- 
It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with you.

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macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-27 15:03 +0100
  Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 14:29 +0000
    Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Gremlin <nobody@haph.org> - 2026-05-27 15:15 +0000
      Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 15:34 +0000
    Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-27 18:34 +0100
      Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 20:00 +0000
        Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-27 23:36 +0100
          Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 23:33 +0000
    Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-28 12:48 +0100
  Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 20:31 +0000
    Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-27 23:42 +0100
      Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-27 23:39 +0000
        Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck "David B." <"David B."@invalid.org> - 2026-05-28 08:48 +0100
          Re: macOS Technical Note: Privileged Helpers, dragging to Trash, and EtreCheck Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-28 12:26 +0000

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