Easy Way to Uninstall Citrix Receiver on Mac for Free

Now that Citrix Receiver has been replaced by the faster and more up-to-date Citrix Workspace, many users are scrambling to uninstall the older format to make way for the new. The process for doing a complete uninstall of Citrix Receiver isn’t as complicated as you may think. Still, it does require following some pretty essential steps to avoid any mistakes. However, there is an easy way to safely uninstall Citrix Receiver for Mac users.

In this post, I will show you why we don't need Citrix Receiver anymore and how to uninstall it for safety and free! Let’s get start now!

Part 1: What is Citrix Receiver?

The Citrix Receiver was developed and launched in 2009 as a tool that allows you to connect to virtualization platforms like XenDesktop. It allows you to run virtual desktops on your computer. This is incredibly handy for remote workers, IT departments, and team-based projects. It is a safe platform for sharing information because everything you complete is stored on a remote server instead of your local device. This way, you won’t unintentionally transfer compromised files or grant access to information others should not see.

A good example would be a manager accessing their employee's PC. Citrix creates a secure connection using HDX protocols built on top of ICA protocols. This way, you can use all of your peripherals across the servers to communicate with remote devices.

Part 2: Citrix Receiver is Unnecessary on Your Mac

The Citrix Receiver application was discontinued and superseded by the new, up-to-date Citrix Workspace. This means you should not still be using the native Citrix Receiver app because it no longer receives support. Even though you can still find the program through third-party sites for downloading, you will not receive security fixes or patches that plug any potential holes in the program. The further we get from the date of stopped support, the more likely the program will become susceptible to attack and infiltration.

You will most likely lose the ability to connect to the Citrix Cloud service if you still use the out-of-date Citrix Receiver. This is because the required TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 cryptographic protocol is no longer supported by the older Citrix Receiver application. Without that protocol, you cannot create a secure connection.

Don’t worry if you are confused by the upgrade in applications. You will still get all the same functionality of Citrix Receiver when you upgrade to the new Citrix Workspace application. You will even get some new features and tools that help smooth out some of the older security and speed issues. Before you can upgrade, you need to uninstall the Citrix Receiver app from your Mac entirely to avoid conflict with the new application.

Part 3: How to Uninstall Citrix Receiver on Mac Manually

The good news is that Citrix Receiver has a built-in uninstaller utility. This is because it came preinstalled on many machines of that era. Companies wanted to quickly remove it from systems that would not use the technology to free up space and resources. Unfortunately, sometimes the uninstaller would automatically remove itself after a new install of Citrix Receiver was placed on a device. For that reason, you need to know how to manually uninstall and remove the application from your Mac OS and other devices.

Here is the step to uninstall manually:

• 1 – Start by locating your Download folder and looking for the Installer Package you downloaded when you first installed Citrix Receiver. If you do not have this package available, you can find the file on the Citrix website and get the download package from the Mac client.
• 2 – Double click the file to check it and mount the .dmg file.
• 3 – Look for the disk image and locate the uninstaller file. Once found, double-click the file to launch it.
• 4 – Find and select the file called “Uninstall Citrix Receiver.”
• 5 – Follow the instruction dialog on your screen step by step to ensure you have completed the uninstall procedure.
• 6 – At one point, you will need to enter your name and password to ensure the uninstall has occurred on your Mac.
• 7 – Restart your Mac.

The easiest way to do this is by leveraging the “Go to Folder” feature available from the Go menu of your Finder.

• 1 – Go to the app folder and look for “Citrix Receiver.App”, then drag that into the trash.
• 2 – Open your Finder and click on the Go menu. Select Go to Folder.
• 3 – Type /Library into the box.
• 4 – Look for the following files, then drag them to the trash:

• /Internet plug-ins/CitrixICAClientPlugIn.plugin
• /LaunchAgents/com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist
• /LaunchAgents/com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist

• 5 - Go back to the Go menu and type /users/Shared to locate the /Citrix/Receiver. Locate the Integration folder and then put that in the trash.
• 6 - Locate the /Library from the Go menu and locate, then drage the following files:

• /Internet plug-ins/ CitrixICAClientPlugIn.plugin
• /Application Support/Citrix Receiver
• Citrix
• Config
• Module
• /Preferences/com.Citrix.reciever.nomas.plis
• /Preferences/com.Citrix.reciever.nomas.plist.lockfile
• /Preferences/com.Citrix.recieverFTU.AccountRecords.plist
• /Preferences/com.Citrix.receiverFTU.AccountRecords.plist.lockfile