# Uninstalling an installed PWA

> How users uninstall an installed PWA on desktop and iOS, and where each platform surfaces the management UI, per MDN and Microsoft Edge's own documentation.

**In one line:** uninstalling an installed PWA is a per-platform action — desktop
Chromium browsers manage it from an apps list, iOS manages it from the Home Screen icon
— and per MDN it does more than just remove a shortcut.

## What it is

Per MDN's installing-and-uninstalling guide, installing a PWA goes beyond creating a
link to a page (it can register the app as a standalone window or a file handler), and
MDN states uninstalling likewise does more than remove the PWA's icon — without detailing
exactly which OS-level integrations get reversed.

## Where it is supported

MDN says PWAs can be uninstalled: on most mobile operating systems this works like
uninstalling other applications, some mobile systems also expose an application control
panel, and some desktop systems provide an uninstall action inside the opened PWA.
Documented surfaces include:

- **Chrome (desktop):** installed PWAs are listed and managed at `chrome://apps`.
- **Edge (desktop):** installed PWAs are listed and managed at `edge://apps`. On some
  desktop operating systems, per MDN, uninstalling can also be done from inside the
  opened PWA itself, not only from the browser's apps list. Per Microsoft's own Edge PWA
  UX documentation, Windows also surfaces installed PWAs in the OS-level "Add or remove
  programs" settings, alongside native apps.
- **iOS (Safari-installed):** installed PWAs appear in the iOS App Library, where they
  can be found by search, but per MDN they are not listed in Settings alongside other
  installed apps. The PWA is removed the same way any Home Screen icon is removed, and
  the deletion confirmation indicates whether removing the icon removes a bookmark or
  the installed application.

## How to use it

Chrome and Edge document browser-managed routes for installed PWAs. Chrome lists and
manages them at `chrome://apps`; for Edge, Microsoft says to open `edge://apps`, click
**Open**, then **Details** to reach the uninstall action:

```text
Chrome: chrome://apps
Edge:   edge://apps → Open → Details → Uninstall
```

## How to detect it at runtime

A supported and correctly configured page can check for installed related applications
with
[`getInstalledRelatedApps()`](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/capabilities/get-installed-related-apps/),
which requires the manifest to declare a matching `related_applications` entry and is not
available on every browser or platform:

```js
if ('getInstalledRelatedApps' in navigator) {
  const relatedApps = await navigator.getInstalledRelatedApps();
  console.log(relatedApps);
} else {
  // This installation check is unavailable here; show the documented manual routes.
  console.log('Manage the app from chrome://apps or edge://apps');
}
```

## What goes wrong

- [ ] Do not assume every desktop browser exposes an in-app uninstall option; MDN
      documents that only some desktop operating systems support uninstalling from
      inside the opened PWA — the apps-list surface (`chrome://apps`, `edge://apps`) is
      the more broadly available path.
- [ ] On iOS, installed PWAs are not listed in Settings the way native apps are —
      instruct users to find the app in the App Library or remove the Home Screen icon,
      and read the deletion confirmation, since it distinguishes a bookmark from the
      full installed app.
- [ ] `getInstalledRelatedApps()` reports installed related applications only when its
      platform, scope, and application-relationship requirements are met; keep the
      documented manual management routes available as a fallback.
- [ ] MDN states uninstalling does more than remove the icon, without specifying exactly
      what else is reversed — do not assume a partial or manual "delete the shortcut"
      step is equivalent to a full uninstall.

## Where to go next

- [Desktop PWA installation](/reference/installation/desktop-install/) — the install
  side of the OS-level integration this entry's uninstall reverses.
- [iOS Add to Home Screen](/reference/installation/ios-add-to-home-screen/) — how
  installation (and therefore the Home Screen icon this entry removes) works on iOS.