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Third-party preference panes and how to remove them

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Third-party preference panes are .prefPane bundles in ~/Library/PreferencePanes (just you) or /Library/PreferencePanes (everyone), and Apple's own are in /System/Library/PreferencePanes. Here is how to find and remove one.

The locations

Preference panes are the little add-on settings screens older apps and drivers install into System Settings (System Preferences before Ventura). The file is a bundle ending in .prefPane, and it lives in one of three places:

~/Library/PreferencePanes
/Library/PreferencePanes
/System/Library/PreferencePanes

Folder	Whose pane	Can you change it?
~/Library/PreferencePanes	Panes installed for your account only	Yes, it is your folder
/Library/PreferencePanes	Panes installed for every user of the Mac	Yes, with an administrator password
/System/Library/PreferencePanes	Apple's own panes	No. It is on the sealed system volume, and the System Settings installer refuses to replace an Apple pane

On the Mac used for this guide, the first two folders exist and are empty, because no third-party pane has been installed. The system folder holds forty Apple .prefPane bundles, and some of those are little more than placeholders (Bluetooth.prefPane is an empty folder there), because Apple's current settings screens are built as extensions inside macOS, for example Bluetooth.appex and Wi-Fi.appex in /System/Library/ExtensionKit/Extensions. You cannot add to or remove from either system folder.

Open the folders

~/Library is hidden in Finder. Choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), paste one of the paths above and press Return. Or from Terminal:

ls -la ~/Library/PreferencePanes /Library/PreferencePanes
open /Library/PreferencePanes

If a folder does not exist, nothing has been installed there, and that is fine. The ls line only lists names and changes nothing.

How a pane gets installed

You normally install one by double-clicking the .prefPane file. System Settings opens an installer dialog that says the settings pane must be installed before you can use it, with the choices Install for this user only and Install for all users of this computer. The all-users route warns that you will be asked for an administrator name and password. By long-standing convention, all users means /Library/PreferencePanes and this user only means ~/Library/PreferencePanes; check with the ls line above afterwards. For some panes, System Settings says it must quit and reopen to use the pane.

macOS refuses two cases with a clear message: a pane that would replace one that ships with macOS ("installed with macOS and can't be replaced"), and a pane that needs a newer version of macOS than yours. A third failure can appear on Apple silicon Macs: System Settings has a message saying you can't open the pane on this computer and to contact its developer for a newer version, which is what an old pane built only for Intel is likely to trigger.

Where a pane shows up

Third-party panes appear in the System Settings sidebar, toward the bottom, in recent versions of macOS. This could not be tested on the Mac used for this guide, because no third-party pane is installed there. If you cannot see yours, search for its name at the top of the window or check that the .prefPane is really in one of the two folders above.

Removing a third-party pane

The supported route is built into System Settings. Control-click (or right-click) the pane in the sidebar and choose Remove “name” settings pane. That menu item is in Sequoia's System Settings resources, along with an error message if the removal fails; on other releases, look for the same wording.

The manual route also works:

1. Quit System Settings.
2. In Finder, open the folder that holds the pane and drag the .prefPane to the Trash. In /Library/PreferencePanes you will be asked for an administrator password.
3. Reopen System Settings and check that the pane has gone.

Do not touch anything in /System/Library/PreferencePanes. It is part of macOS, and deleting from it is not possible on a normal Mac.

What removing a pane does not remove

A pane is only the settings screen. Many products that install one also install background helpers that keep running after the screen is gone: launch agents, launch daemons, a privileged helper, a login item or a system extension. They are typically in these folders:

~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools

All four exist on the Mac used for this guide. Look for names that carry the vendor's name, and use the vendor's own uninstaller first, because it knows what it installed. If a pane's product is installed as an app, quitting and removing the app through its own uninstall option is cleaner than deleting its files one by one. Login items and background items have their own list in System Settings (General > Login Items & Extensions on Sequoia, with an Allow in the Background section), so check it as well after the pane is gone.

A pane that will not open or keeps failing

If System Settings says it "Could not load" a settings pane, or the pane opens blank, the likely cause is that the developer never updated it for your macOS or for Apple silicon. Check the vendor's site for a newer version. If the product is abandoned, remove the pane as above, and look for the same setting in the vendor's menu-bar app or in a modern replacement.

If a pane you removed seems to remain in the sidebar, quit and reopen System Settings, then log out and in once.

Why searches miss them

/Library/PreferencePanes and ~/Library/PreferencePanes sit inside Library folders that Finder searches leave out, and a pane is a bundle that Finder shows as one item, so the files inside are never listed.

Finding them again

Typing .prefPane into Everywhere lists every pane on the Mac with its folder, so you can see at once whether a pane lives under your account, under /Library or inside macOS. Pressing ⌘↵ reveals the one you pick in Finder, ready to drag to the Trash if you decide to remove it. It matches file names only, not what a pane does, and the two Library folders are covered without Full Disk Access.

Common questions

Where are preference panes installed on a Mac?

Third-party panes are in ~/Library/PreferencePanes for your account or /Library/PreferencePanes for all users. Apple's own are in /System/Library/PreferencePanes, which you cannot change.

How do I remove a third-party pane from System Settings?

Control-click the pane in the System Settings sidebar and choose Remove “name” settings pane, or quit System Settings and drag the .prefPane from its folder to the Trash.

Why is my old preference pane not showing in System Settings?

It may not be in ~/Library/PreferencePanes or /Library/PreferencePanes, or it may be an Intel-only or outdated pane that macOS cannot load. Check the vendor for an updated version.

Does deleting a preference pane uninstall the software?

No. The pane is only the settings screen. Helpers such as launch agents, daemons and login items can stay behind, so use the vendor's uninstaller or remove those separately.