CNET Editors' review
Amnesia is a shareware utility that can help you completely uninstall applications from your Mac. Amnesia joins the ranks of similar apps that fill a functionality gap in Mac OS--the capability to completely delete software from your machine, not just the app file but also the many support files that apps often install in various places on your computer, including caches and log files.
The main interface of Amnesia lets you both search and browse through all your applications (as well as widgets, preference panes, screen savers, and plug-ins), and you can mark for removal any that you want to delete. Amnesia will then show you all the associated files it can find for the selected apps (your may mileage may vary here, as is common with this type of application) before performing the final uninstall. The app offers a nice extra feature at this point in the process, letting you backup software before you remove it, in case you change your mind later.
Overall, Amnesia is one of your better choices for this kind of app, with solid basic functionality and a lot of thoughtful extras (like Launch Services rebuild and the ability to omit Apple software from scans), all at a reasonable price.
Publisher's Description
From Koingo Software:
Many software titles on Mac OS come with the uninstall directions of simply "Drag the application to the Trash and empty it". In reality, this often leaves many related files on the computer taking up valuable hard drive space. Amnesia performs a smart scan to determine all related files to be removed. Easily uninstall not just applications, but also Screen Savers, Dashboard Widgets, and Preference Panes. Amnesia will remove logs, caches, application support files, preferences, crash reports, and other application specific files. Take the frustration and time out of searching for all of these files manually. In addition, turn on a secure deletion option to prevent recovery of the removed files. Scared to accidently remove something you may need later? Amnesia comes with a built-in backup function which creates an archive of related files incase you wish to restore them at a later time. It will reinstall the pieces of the product exactly where they came from -- even if you choose to restore to a different machine! Another powerful feature Amnesia has to offer is the ability to create a list of Untouchables (in addition to the ones built-in). Untouchables are software products which Amnesia will warn you about incase a remove is attempted. This is handy incase a particular software product should be removed using a manufacturer-provided uninstaller instead.
What's new in this version:
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Results 1-5 of 5
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"Well-written but pricey."
Version: Amnesia 1.2.3
Pros
Nice, easy to use interface that scans well and gives many options for uninstalling.
Cons
Only dislike is price: you can achieve pretty much the same with trash me and Onyx.
Summary
If you have to take care of other people's macs or are one of those frequent app changers, like me, then this is a great tool. 20 USD is a bit steep for scripts with a nice interface, though.
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"Feel very confident using Amnesia"
Version: Amnesia 1.1.7
Pros
Pleasure to use
Cons
nothing wrong to my observation
Summary
I think it's the better choice of many
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"More expensive than the rest, but ultimately n..."
Version: Amnesia 1.1.6
Summary
...more
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
There are several applications out there that claim to do a more complete job of deleting apps from OS X along with the related support files that often get left behind if one merely moves an unwanted application to the trash. Amnesia, at $19.95, is the most expensive of these dedicated app "uninstallers". So what does it do that the other don't do? Well it has an "untouchables" list that will keep you from mistakenly deleting an app. It also has a couple other options like rebuilding the Launch Services after removal (a pretty good idea actually) that come in handy.
Ok, so aside from the extra options that may be handy, just how good is it at its core job... deleting apps and their support files? In a nutshell... it is no better than the rest. At all. Every app uninstaller I've tried has failed to delete some related files/folders found in /Library/Application Support. A folder created by Firefox named "Mozilla" is one example, but there are quite a few others. Additionally, most of these apps are incapable of deleting the support files for other users on your system if the files are in their user Library. Amnesia is equally incapable in all these respects. In fact, the only one I've found that will scrub all user Libraries is TinkerTool System, but even it misses the same files/folders in /Library that the others miss.
So bottom line... if you have a single user system; are possibly clumsy enough to accidentally select an app for deletion when you know you'd never ever ever want to do so, yet have the foresight to add it to the "untouchables" list; and are willing to pay more than double the cheapest alternative, then Amnesia may be for you. -
"Programs Completely Removed"
Version: Amnesia 1.0.8
Pros
Works perfectly, low cost to buy, ease of use
Cons
There are no cons
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"This should be a must for alll computers."
Version: Amnesia 1.0.6
Pros
It does what it says it does.
Cons
I haven't found any .
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