How to remove Screencastify (Windows and Mac)

What is Screencastify

Screencastify is a legitimate extension with over 10 million downloads in the Google Chrome store. It is a truly great tool embracing the feature of screen recording without using desktop applications. You can record, edit, and share a video right in a browser, which makes Screencastify the most convenient recording tool to use. Unfortunately, some users complained that Screencastify conflicts with the Lockdown Browser, which is a browser developed by Respondus and meant to grant a cheating-free ground for running exams within education. The problem is that people cannot access the Lockdown browser when Screencastify is on. This constrains users to either disable or delete the extension from their browsers. Whilst this can be frustrating, the problem will persist until developers resolve incompatibility themselves. For now, removing/disabling Screencastify remains the only feasible solution. If you do not know how to do so, we will help you make it work in the article below.

How Screencastify gets on your computer

Besides being in the Chrome Store, Screencastify can be promoted and included in third-party repacks. This means that some users may install it unwillingly when running the setup of another program. As a result, they do not understand why some of the things stopped working like LockDown Browser. Moreover, some programs delivered as optional offers can seed special values that restrict users from performing manual removal. The easiest way to prevent the installation of unintended software is to deselect additional offers inside of “Advanced” or “Custom” sections. Although Screencastify is not a virus, it can be abused by cybercriminals as a cover to install unwanted software without your consent. Be careful and download software only from trusted and well-known resources to avert such consequences. Read our guide below to learn more about online protection and the removal of Screencastify.

1. Download Screencastify Removal Tool
2. Remove/Uninstall Screencastify from Control Panel and Applications
3. Remove Screencastify extensions from browsers
4. Reset browser search and homepage settings
5. Block Screencastify search redirects
6. How to protect from threats like Screencastify

Remove Screencastify manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full Screencastify removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of the Screencastify installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Remove Screencastify from Control Panel or Applications

To start removing Screencastify you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – “Screencastify”. It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Mac.

Remove Screencastify from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. Screencastify might have an Uninstaller.
3. Otherwise, drag Screencastify from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Remove Screencastify from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove Screencastify from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program and click Uninstall.

Remove Screencastify from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program, click Uninstall.

Remove Screencastify from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall Screencastify from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Cannot uninstall Screencastify

In some cases, Screencastify won’t uninstall and gives you a message that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Screencastify. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing the Screencastify folder and files. This happens because the process or service does not allow you to do it. In this case, I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall Screencastify in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove Screencastify or other recently installed suspicious program

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

and for Mac:

If you can’t uninstall Screencastify using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of Screencastify. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag Screencastify from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with Screencastify.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling Screencastify from Control Panel often does not bring the desired effect. It sometimes has browser extension and it may still be active in Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove Screencastify related extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find Screencastify extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find Screencastify extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove them.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose Screencastify extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.
5. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

Note: There is no feature to remove browser extensions from browser in latest version of Internet Explorer. To remove Screencastify from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable Screencastify, please, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu Manage Add-ons.
4. Select Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Click Disable or Screencastify extension.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, Screencastify does not install in Opera browser however you can always double check. Do the following:

1. Start Opera browser.
2. Go to Tools > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
3. Find Screencastify extension.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

How to block ads and pop-ups from Screencastify

Screencastify push notifications, in most cases, are caused by a program installed on your PC or add-on installed in browsers. However, sometimes it can appear on a clean computer when visiting a malicious website, using an advertising script. Also, apps that generate “Screencastify” ads and banners are themselves installed from pop-ups. To protect your PC and browsers from phishing websites, pop-up ads, banners, malicious scripts it is recommended to use AdGuard. Download free trial here:

Download AdGuard for Windows

Download AdGuard for Mac

Final tips

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs, like Screencastify, may become a real headache as they are hard to remove and break your privacy. To keep safe from such threats we recommend you always use antivirus and one of the anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and anti-malware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats, like Screencastify.