How do you uninstall Skype?

Question

The old way of uninstalling a program doesn't apply anymore. That is, Skype is not listed under Control Panel > Uninstall a Program.

I did a little googling and I found what some people said was a solution for them.

run powershell as administrator
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.SkypeApp | Remove-AppxPackage
alternatively ...
get-appxpackage *skype* | remove-appxpackage

That logged me out of Skype but Skype is still there, launching at startup.

I do not want Skype. I want it off this computer like I would want a ceti eel out of my ear. That Microsoft obfuscates and changes the removal process to this degree concerns me.

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '19 at 22:01

The command line (Command Prompt) can be used to uninstall Skype:

Open a command prompt.
Type wmic and press Enter. You will see a prompt that looks like this:

wmic:root\cli>
At the new prompt, execute the following command:
```
product get name
```
(This will generate a list of installed applications.)
At the prompt, execute the following command:
```
product where name="application name" call uninstall
```
... where application name is the name of the program you wish to uninstall. (Use the exact name provided by the previously generated list.) For example, if I wanted to uninstall Adobe Reader 9, my command would look like this:
```
product where name="Adobe Reader 9" call uninstall`
```
When prompted, input y to confirm that you wish to uninstall the application and press Enter.

User025 · Accepted Answer · 2025-04-10T17:55:14.040

The reason of Skype not appearing in the the list of installed programs (the one found in the control panel) is the fact that it is a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app.
These apps can be uninstall in the modern settings app by navigating into Apps -> Apps & Features. There you can select the unwanted app and press the uninstall button.
Another way is to search the app in the start menu and selecting Uninstall in the right click menu.
Normally there is no need to use Powershell (only system apps like the Xbox app needs to be removed that way)

Note: If an UWP App (an App from the Windows Store) gets uninstalled it will be instantly removed. However if you have .lnk of that UWP App on your Desktop and launch it the app will simply be reinstalled and starts itself. This means if you have the modern Skype in your "Startup" folder Skype will reinstall itself when you login and then start itself. An .lnk to an UWP app looks like this:

Notice how the target is simply the apps internal name.

How do you uninstall Skype?

2 Answers2