REMOVAL GUIDE · AVAST

How to uninstall Avast completely on Windows

Uninstall Avast from the Apps list in Windows and restart, as Avast documents for Avast One, Free Antivirus and Premium Security. If that does not work, or you see the message that setup is already running, Avast's own Avast Uninstall Tool (avastclear.exe) removes the product while Windows runs in Safe Mode. Avast Secure Browser has its own entry and its own uninstall article. A paid subscription is separate too: Avast states that uninstalling does not cancel it. Once Avast is gone, check that Microsoft Defender Antivirus or another antivirus is protecting the PC.

Updated 8 November 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Check	What it means	Reversible?
The Avast product is gone from the Apps list after a restart	The standard uninstall finished	Yes: install it again from Avast
The Avast Uninstall Tool finished in Safe Mode and the PC restarted	Avast's fallback removed what the standard route could not	Yes: choose Reinstall on the Remove & Reinstall tile, or install it again
No Avast Secure Browser entry in the Apps list	The browser is gone too, if you wanted it gone	Leave Also delete your browsing data unticked to keep bookmarks and history
Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, Manage providers shows an antivirus that is on	Something still protects the PC after Avast is removed	Read-only check
The subscription shows Expiring in your Avast Account	The renewal is cancelled; uninstalling does not do that	Managed in your Avast Account, or in the store you bought it from

The official way: the Apps list, then the Uninstall Tool if needed

Avast documents two routes for each product. Try the standard one first; the Avast Uninstall Tool is for when it fails or setup says it is already running. There is no Avast package in winget's community repository (checked 8 November 2026).

Open the Apps list
Right-click the Windows Start icon and select Apps and Features, as Avast's Windows 11 steps say. Find your Avast product, click the three dots next to it and select Uninstall twice. Click Yes when User Account Control asks.
Avast Free Antivirus or Premium Security: confirm in Avast's setup window
Click Uninstall in the setup window, then complete the survey or select Skip and uninstall. Select Yes to confirm, wait, and click Restart computer.
Avast One: choose which apps go with it
In the current version, click Uninstall, then Skip and uninstall. Tick the apps you want to uninstall or proceed to uninstall everything, click Continue with selected option, then Uninstall. Wait, and click Restart computer. The legacy version of Avast One follows the same confirmation as Free Antivirus.
If it fails: the Avast Uninstall Tool
Download the tool from Avast's support article, right-click avastclear.exe and select Run as administrator. On the Reboot to safe mode tile click Reboot, then Restart computer. When the tool opens in Safe Mode, click Remove on the Remove only tile, or Reinstall on the Remove & Reinstall tile, then Uninstall. Wait, and click Restart computer.
Remove Avast Secure Browser, only if you want it gone
Select Uninstall next to Avast Secure Browser in the Apps list. Tick Also delete your browsing data only if you want your bookmarks and history gone as well, then click Uninstall. If that fails, Avast has a separate article for removing the browser with its Uninstall Tool.

What can stay behind, and what to check

Avast's uninstall articles do not list leftover folders, services or scheduled tasks, so this guide does not name any. These read-only PowerShell commands show whether any program, service or scheduled task with Avast in its name is still registered, and whether Microsoft Defender Antivirus is running: Microsoft documents that AMRunningMode shows Normal, Passive or EDR Block Mode when it is enabled. A name match is a lead, not proof.

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' |
  Where-Object DisplayName -match 'Avast' | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion
Get-Service -DisplayName '*Avast*' | Format-Table Name, DisplayName, Status
Get-ScheduledTask |
  Where-Object { $_.TaskName -match 'Avast' -or $_.TaskPath -match 'Avast' } |
  Format-Table TaskPath, TaskName, State
Get-MpComputerStatus | Select-Object AMRunningMode

Usually safe to act on

The Avast product still in the Apps list after the uninstall and a restart: run the Avast Uninstall Tool rather than deleting files by hand.
A service or scheduled task with Avast in its name after the tool and a restart, when you kept no other Avast app: note its name and ask Avast support before changing it.
No antivirus shown as on under Manage providers: turn Microsoft Defender Antivirus on in Windows Security, or install the antivirus you chose instead.

Your data and settings: keep

Microsoft Defender Antivirus, its WinDefend service and MsMpEng.exe: they are what protects the PC once Avast is gone.
Avast Secure Browser or other Avast apps you still use: they have entries of their own.
Your Avast Account and subscription: uninstalling does not touch them. Cancel the renewal in the account; a purchase made through Google Play or the App Store is cancelled there.

What a restore point does and does not cover

Microsoft describes restore points as snapshots of system files, installed applications, the Windows registry and system settings, taken without affecting personal data. That also means a restore point is not a backup of your files. System Protection is not enabled by default, so on a PC where nobody switched it on, a request for a restore point fails; you turn it on under Create a restore point, Configure. And when an app asks for a restore point while one made in the previous 24 hours already exists, Windows skips the new one and still reports success. For Avast, a restore point is no substitute for the Avast Uninstall Tool when the standard uninstall fails: Avast's documented fallback is the tool, in Safe Mode, followed by a restart.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller helps

It lists each Avast app that Windows registers as its own entry and says how many other programs from the same publisher are installed, which is how a browser or a second Avast app shows up. Before anything runs, the brief shows the exact command each entry registered and whether it needs administrator rights, and the Removal Ledger records the method and the result. Its leftover scan matches folders, shortcuts and registry keys only when they are named exactly after the program, and pre-selects only items inside the install folder Windows recorded; anything matched by name alone is shown but never pre-selected. It does not list services or scheduled tasks, and it does not replace the Avast Uninstall Tool when the registered uninstaller fails. Cleaning leftover files and folders is free; cleaning registry keys and startup entries is Pro. Before an elevated removal it asks Windows for a restore point and records the outcome in the Removal Ledger. Because of the 24-hour rule above, Windows sometimes keeps an earlier point instead of making a new one. From version 0.13.8 the receipt says created only when it has verified a new point, and otherwise says that Windows reused the one from a given date; earlier versions could report created in that case.

Keep reading

uninstalling Norton 360 completely — Another antivirus with its own removal tool, and a subscription that keeps running.
uninstalling Kaspersky, and when to use kavremover — A removal tool that also deletes licence information and settings.
removing McAfee and WebAdvisor — Another antivirus with its own removal tool, and an add-on app that can stay installed after it.
MsMpEng.exe, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus engine — The process that should be running again once Avast is gone.
how to completely uninstall any Windows program — The general order, and what to do when an uninstaller fails.
what PC Tweaker Uninstaller shows before a removal runs — The rating, the command and the permissions, before anything changes.

Common questions

Does uninstalling Avast cancel my subscription?

No. Avast states that uninstalling Avast One, Avast Premium Security or Avast Secure Browser PRO does not automatically cancel a paid subscription. Sign in to your Avast Account, open Manage subscriptions, then Manage subscription, and click Unsubscribe or Cancel renewal. The status changes to Expiring and you keep the subscription until the date shown. A subscription bought through Google Play or the App Store is cancelled in that store.

Is it safe to uninstall Avast?

Yes, as long as something still protects the PC: Avast warns that after the uninstall the PC is no longer protected by its product. On Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft Defender Antivirus turns itself off while another antivirus is active, and Microsoft documents that it can turn back on automatically once that product is uninstalled or expires. After the restart, open Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, and under Who's protecting me? select Manage providers to check that an antivirus is on.

Why won't Avast uninstall?

When the uninstall from the Apps list does not work, or you see the message that setup is already running, Avast's answer is the Avast Uninstall Tool. Right-click avastclear.exe and select Run as administrator, click Reboot on the Reboot to safe mode tile, then in Safe Mode click Remove on the Remove only tile and Uninstall. Avast says the tool deletes all of the product's files while Windows runs in Safe Mode.

How do I remove Avast Secure Browser?

From the Apps list, like any program: click the three dots next to Avast Secure Browser, select Uninstall and click Yes if Windows asks. Tick Also delete your browsing data only if you want your bookmarks and history gone too. If that fails, Avast documents a separate route for the browser with its Uninstall Tool.

Try PC Tweaker Uninstaller

Single uninstalls are free, for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What it shows before a removal Download PC Tweaker Uninstaller