•Kristina Horvat• 20 min read
League of Legends
How to Uninstall League of Legends on Windows and Mac
Uninstalling League of Legends takes a few clicks in Windows Settings or Finder on Mac, but the game is only one of three programs Riot puts on a PC. Riot Client and the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat can stay behind after the game is gone, along with folders full of settings and replays.
Riot's own support pages explain how to uninstall League of Legends cleanly, and the steps below follow them on Windows and Mac, plus the fix for an uninstall that refuses to finish.
How to Uninstall League of Legends Summary
League of Legends on Windows comes with the Riot Client and Riot Vanguard, and each part can stay installed after the game is removed.
Closing the Riot Client comes first before uninstalling any Riot game, and a restart may be needed to finish.
Uninstalling League of Legends through Windows only takes a search for "Installed apps" and one click on Uninstall.
Mac players remove League of Legends by moving it to the Trash from the Applications folder.
Leftover folders get deleted with Riot's clean uninstall, covering Riot Games, AppData, ProgramData and Documents, which also removes the Riot Client.
Vanguard, Riot's anti-cheat, stays on the PC if Valorant is still installed, since both games use it.
What Gets Installed With League of Legends
League of Legends on a Windows PC includes three separate programs that work together. Removing only the game leaves the other two in place.
League of Legends installs the following parts:
League of Legends (the game itself): Champions, maps and game files live here, and it takes up most of the storage space.
Riot Client (the launcher): Players sign in and start League through this app, which also downloads updates and other Riot games.
Riot Vanguard (anti-cheat): Riot says Vanguard must be running to play League of Legends, and Valorant uses it too.
Riot notes that uninstalling League of Legends does not remove Vanguard if Valorant is also installed, since Vanguard only goes away once no Riot game needs it.
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How to Uninstall League of Legends on Windows
Windows Settings is the method Riot Support lists for uninstalling League of Legends, and it works the same on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Closing the Riot Client first is required, otherwise Windows can't remove files the client still uses.
Uninstalling League of Legends through Windows Settings follows these steps:
Close the Riot Client: Open the system tray (the small up arrow on the right side of the taskbar), right-click the Riot Client icon and choose Exit.
Open Installed apps: Press the Windows key, type "Installed apps" and open it.
Uninstall League of Legends: Find League of Legends in the list, select it and choose Uninstall, then confirm.
Restart if needed: Riot notes that a restart may be needed to finish the uninstall.
Control Panel works as a backup on both Windows versions. Press the Windows key, type "control panel" and open it, then select Uninstall a program, pick League of Legends and select Uninstall.
How to Uninstall League of Legends on Mac
Mac players remove League of Legends from Finder, since Mac apps uninstall by moving them to the Trash.
Uninstalling League of Legends on Mac follows Riot's steps below:
Quit the game and the Riot Client: Close League of Legends and fully quit the Riot Client.
Open the Applications folder: Open Finder and select Applications in the sidebar.
Move the game to the Trash: Drag League of Legends.app to the Trash.
Empty the Trash: In the top menu, select Finder, then Empty Trash.
Restart the Mac: Restarting clears any files the game still had open.
How to Delete Leftover League of Legends and Riot Client Files
Riot Support lists a clean uninstall for Windows that removes the files a normal uninstall leaves behind. It also deletes the Riot Client folder, which answers how to uninstall the Riot Client on Windows.
Riot's clean uninstall follows these steps:
Delete the Riot Client folder: Go to the C:\Riot Games folder and delete the Riot Client folder.
Clear the local app data: Press Windows key + R, type %localappdata% and press Enter, then delete the Riot Games folder.
Clear the program data: Press Windows key + R, type %programdata% and press Enter, then delete the Riot Games folder.
Delete saved replays: Open Documents and delete the League of Legends folder, which holds saved replays. Copy any replays to keep somewhere else first.
Empty the Recycle Bin: Emptying it frees the space for good.
Deleting these folders means a longer download if League of Legends gets installed again later.
How to Uninstall Riot Vanguard
Riot Vanguard is a separate program on Windows, so it has its own uninstall. Riot lists two ways to remove it.
Riot Vanguard comes off in one of the following ways:
From the system tray: Right-click the red Vanguard icon in the system tray, select Advanced, then Uninstall Vanguard and follow the prompts.
From Windows Settings: Press the Windows key, type "Add or remove programs" and press Enter, then find Riot Vanguard and uninstall it.
Vanguard is fully removed once its icon no longer shows in the system tray after a restart. Opening the Riot Client or League of Legends again reinstalls Vanguard automatically. Players who want Vanguard gone for good also need to uninstall Valorant if it's on the same PC.
What to Do When League of Legends Won't Uninstall
Most failed uninstalls happen when the Riot Client or another Riot program is still running in the background. Riot recommends closing the Riot Client, restarting the computer and trying again.
Riot lists the following fixes when the uninstall still fails:
Check other drives: Look for a second League of Legends install on another drive, since an extra copy can block a full removal.
Run the clean uninstall: Delete the leftover folders from the section above to remove what Windows missed.
Remove Vanguard manually: If Vanguard refuses to uninstall, open Command Prompt as administrator, type sc delete vgc and press Enter, type sc delete vgk and press Enter, then restart and delete the Riot Vanguard folder in Program Files.
Contact Riot Support: If nothing works, Riot asks players to submit a ticket through its support site.
FAQs About Uninstalling League of Legends
Conclusion
Uninstalling League of Legends fully means removing the game, then the Riot Client folder and finally Vanguard if no other Riot game needs it. Riot's clean uninstall clears the leftover folders, and a restart finishes the job on both Windows and Mac.
Reinstalling later only takes the official installer, and every champion and skin stays on the Riot account.
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“ Kristina joined GameBoost in 2024 as an SEO specialist and quickly became the go-to writer for third-person shooter and competitive games. She covers titles like Fortnite, Valorant, League of Legends, GTA 5, and Roblox, focusing on how-to guides, practical tips, and updates.”
