Too much Adobe clutter, which apps can be deleted?

[MissCatherine]

I've been a Creative Cloud subcriber for a few years (photography plan). I use only 3 apps (PS, Lightroom & Camera Raw). All latest versions. Yet in my system apps, I have a total of 25 Adobe related apps installed, 8 of them which are 32 bits (see screenshots below). I'm guessing a bunch of these could be deleted. don't like unecessary apps cluttering my hard drive. How can I find out which apps I can safely delete?

I have a Mac, currently still with Mojave, will soon be updating to Catalina.

Thanks in advance for your help! 

[Nancy OShea]

I would not rush to upgrade for at least a month and perhaps longer.   See links below.

Known Issues with CC Apps on Catalina

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-and-macos-catalina.html

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/8/20905391/apple-macos-catalina-adobe-photoshop-lightroom

https://helpx.adobe.com/enterprise/kb/known-issues-macos-1015-catalina.html

[MissCatherine]

I agree. But even so, I'm sure some of these 25 apps aren't necessary and I wish I knew which ones I could get rid of.

[Nancy OShea]

AFAIK, Creative Cloud is the sum of it's various parts.  When you delete processes, you risk breaking the whole thing.  If you primary hard drive is too cluttered, a safer approach would be to move data and work files to external drives and uninstall all non-essential applications.  

[MissCatherine]

Thank you for your reply, but this explanation just doesn't make sense. I still have enough space on my hard drive to work (precisely because I make the effort to keep things tidy by organizing and deleting non-essential files when I can). It's as if Adobe doesn't bother doing so, scattering numerous apps all over the place, leaving useless files behind between updates. The solution shouldn't be to keep increasing available space for obsolete data, the solution should be to eliminate what is not needed.

[Nancy OShea]

I don't make the software.  I'm a product user like you. 

Use the Adobe CC Cleaner tool.

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

[MissCatherine]

Thanks for the link, I'll take a closer look when I have more time. At first glance, the process seems fairly time consuming. Once again - and I understand you're just trying to help - I'm still disappointed Adobe doesn't take better care, as other program developers do, of keeping their installs clean.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

MissCatherine, as Nancy_Oshea has mentioned, multiple components are installed as part of Adobe applications.  If you wish to clean the computer, to prepare for macOS 10.15, then I would recommend doing the following:

1. Uninstall all currently installed Adobe applications - https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/uninstall-remove-app.html
2. Run any remaining uninstallers from Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers
3. Download and run the CC Cleaner tool - https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html
4. Reinstall the most recent release of Adobe applications - https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/download-install-app.html

If you are less concerned about leftover components, then you could use step one and 2 to remove the Adobe applications that you no longer use.  If you do not complete steps 1 - 3 in their entirety, then you will see many of the AAM components remaining on the computer.

Also, if you genuinely want to be prepared for macOS 10.15, then I would recommend you begin using Lightroom CC and do not reinstall Lightroom Classic CC.  I would expect a Lightroom Classic CC installation to reinstall many of the 32-bit components you just spent step 1 - 3 removing.