In some cases, you may not be able to uninstall the Private Internet Access (PIA) app with the in-app uninstaller. If this happens, you can remove the app manually through Terminal.
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- Step 1: Disconnect and Exit the PIA App
- Step 2: Open Terminal
- Step 3: Enter the Terminal Commands
- Step 4: Remove the Application Menu Icon
Step 1: Disconnect and Exit the PIA App
- Disconnect from the VPN. You can do this by right-clicking the PIA icon in the system tray and selecting Disconnect, or by clicking the Power button in the app.
- Quit the PIA app. You can do this by right-clicking the PIA icon in the system tray and selecting Quit, or by selecting the three vertical dots (⋮) in the app and selecting Quit.
Step 2: Open the Terminal
- Open Terminal or Konsole from your applications menu. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + T to open Terminal on many Linux distributions.
Step 3: Enter the Terminal Commands
Important: Enter these commands carefully. Incorrect spacing or symbols may delete the wrong files and cause data loss. We recommend copying (Shift + Ctrl + C) and pasting (Shift + Ctrl + V) each command.
- Run the following commands, pressing Enter after each one:
rm -rf ~/.config/privateinternetaccess
rm -rf ~/.config/PrivateInternetAccess- Next, run this command:
sudo rm -rf /opt/piavpn- If prompted, enter your root or admin password, then press Enter.
Step 4: Remove the Application Menu Icon
- Run this final command to remove the PIA app icon from your applications menu:
sudo rm -f /usr/share/applications/piavpn.desktop- After the command finishes, the PIA app is uninstalled. If you want to reinstall the PIA app, go to the PIA Downloads page and download a fresh copy.
If you have questions or concerns, contact customer support.