A Comprehensive Guide on How to Stop AnyDesk Access and Secure Your Privacy

AnyDesk is one of the popular tools for work collaboration or remote assistance. Businesses or individuals use it to gain remote access, control and help customers or friends and family to fix software glitches.

Although it is very useful, you will always want to stop AnyDesk access after the task is over to protect your privacy and prevent unauthorized access.

In this article, we provide some of the ways that end users can stop AnyDesk from accessing their devices. You will also learn how to identify possible other interference with your AnyDesk connection or device.

Part 1: How to Stop AnyDesk Access

There are many ways you can stop AnyDesk access, the easiest being to directly disconnect access on AnyDesk or close the app. If you're still concerned about your privacy and security, you can also uninstall the AnyDesk app altogether to stop using it. Below, we have provided detailed instructions:

How to Disconnect AnyDesk Access

When you have completed your remote assistance task, be sure to disconnect AnyDesk. Below, we'll learn how to disconnect from AnyDesk:

Steps to Disconnect AnyDesk Access on Desktop

If someone is using AnyDesk to remote control your computer, you can see a Disconnect button on the dashboard. Click on the red button on the window of the device will stop the remote device from accessing your computer via AnyDesk.

Steps to Disconnect AnyDesk Access on Mobile

Suppose someone is remotely controlling your mobile device using AnyDesk, you can tap the Cross icon to prevent the remote device from accessing your mobile through AnyDesk.

How to Close the Running AnyDesk Application

While you can disconnect from AnyDesk to stop access, you may be concerned that someone else may be connecting to your computer remotely without your awareness. Always make sure you close the running AnyDesk application after disconnecting.

Close the Running AnyDesk Application on Windows

Via Task Manager:

Step 1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc or by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager."

Step 2. In the Task Manager, go to the "Startup" tab.

Step 3. Locate "AnyDesk" in the list of startup programs.

Step 4. Right-click on "AnyDesk" and select "Disable" or "Disable startup."

Via Windows Services:

If the steps don't stop AnyDesk starting, you'll need to continue these steps.

Step 1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.

Step 2. In the "Run" dialog box, type services.msc and press Enter.

Step 3. Look for the AnyDesk Service in the list.

Step 4. Right-click on the AnyDesk Service and choose Properties.

Step 5. Click on the Stop button to halt the service.

Step 6. Change the startup type from Automatic to Manual.

You also have the option to create a small .bat script using the 'net start AnyDesk' command, which will initiate the service. However, please note that Administrator permissions are required.

Close the Running AnyDesk Application on Mac

The easiest way to close a running AnyDesk app on your Mac is to remove the app from the list of all apps loaded at login. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Go to System Preferences > Login Items (you can search for keywords in the search bar)

Step 2. Login items are applications that open automatically when you start or log in to your Mac. You'll see a list of all the apps that load when you log in in its settings.

Step 3. Find AnyDesk in the list and click the "minus" button to remove it from the list.

This method will only stop AnyDesk from launching automatically when your Mac logs in, but that doesn't mean you can't use it on this computer. If you want to completely disable the application, the best way is to uninstall it.

How to Remove Unattended Access from AnyDesk

Notably, unattended access on AnyDesk bypasses the user’s need to permit their device to be accessed. It sets a password that can be used to automatically gain access to the device subsequently.

If you have enabled unattended access, others can connect to your device without your permission.

Therefore, if you want to stop AnyDesk access, make sure to check the permissions for unattended access and remove unattended access from AnyDesk promptly.

Step 1. Open the AnyDesk app and navigate to the Settings and click on it. Go to Security from the left panel.

Step 2. Under Unattended Access, click on the "Clear all tokens" button to remove all permission.

Step 3. Uncheck the "Enable unattended access" option to disable the service.

How to Uninstall AnyDesk App Completely

The most effective way to stop AnyDesk access is to uninstall AnyDesk from your device. If you are worried about AnyDesk scam and don't want to continue using it, you can directly uninstall it. Below are the detailed steps to uninstall AnyDesk in each device:

Uninstall AnyDesk on Windows

The thorouhgt way to stop AnyDesk access is to uninstall the software from your laptop.

Step 1. Go to Windows Settings > Apps and you will see a list of options for Apps & features.

Step 2. Check through the list of apps and click on AnyDesk.

Step 3. Select the Uninstall option or follow the prompt on your screen to uninstall it. You can also use AnyDesk uninstaller.exe in the generated folder or use a third-party uninstaller.

Uninstall AnyDesk on Mac

Uninstalling AnyDesk on Mac may confuse some users as the officially provided uninstallation method does not work. Below are the steps provided officially:

Step 1. Go to Menu > About AnyDesk

Step 2. Hold the option/ALT key

Step 3. Click "Uninstall" on the top right corner of the window

Step 4. Delete the ~/.anydesk/ and /etc/anydesk/ folders for standard AnyDesk clients

Step 5. Delete the ~/.anydesk-ad_<prefix>/ and /etc/anydesk-ad_<prefix>/ folders for custom AnyDesk clients

Below are the steps for completely removing AnyDesk on Mac provided by a user on the official Apple forum you can refer to:

Step 1. Click anywhere on the desktop so Finder is the name of the foreground app at the top left. Press Command+Shift+. (Command+Shift+period) to show all hidden items.

Step 2. In the Finder, press Command+Shift+H to open your user account home folder. You'll see a lot of extra stuff that's normally hidden.

Step 3. Go to /Users/your_user_name/.anydesk and move the .anydesk file to the trash.

Step 4. Go to /Users/your_user_name/Movies/anydesk and move the anydesk file to the trash.

Step 5. Go to /Users/your_user_name/Library/Preferences/com.philandro.anydesk.plist and move the com.philandro.anydesk.plist file to the trash.

Step 6. Double click the icon on the desktop for your Mac so you can see the normal folders (Applications, Library, Users) and a bunch of normally hidden stuff. Go to /private/var/folders/dr/xpx6ms_14plbf4_dgtnsmx9w0000gn/C/com.philandro.anydesk and move the com.philandro.anydesk file to the trash.

Step 7. Press Command+Shift+. again to hide all hidden items.

Now you have moved all the files related to AnyDesk application to the trash. Once the trash is cleaned, AnyDesk is completely removed.

Uninstall AnyDesk on Android

Uninstalling AnyDesk on Android is easy, please refer to the following steps:

Step 1. Open the Settings app.

Step 2. Click on the Apps option or Apps & notifications.

Step 3. Click on the SEE ALL option to see all the apps on the device.

Step 4. Navigate to AnyDesk and select it.

Step 5. Click on the UNINSTALL icon to remove the app.

Uninstall AnyDesk on iPhone

You can remove AnyDesk from your home screen on your iPhone. Identify the app icon, tap and hold it till the options come up, then click on the "-" sign or the Uninstall option.

You can also delete the app from the iPhone Storage:

Step 1. Open the Settings app.

Step 2. Select the General settings option.

Step 3. Pick the iPhone Storage from the available options.

Step 4. Select AnyDesk from the list of installed apps.

Step 5. Click on Delete App to complete the process.

Choose Trusted AnyDesk Alternative

If you are worried about AnyDesk scam and want to stop AnyDesk access, you can try to choose a more secure and trustworthy remote access software - AirDroid Remote Support.

AirDroid Remote Support allows remote access to Windows, Android and iOS devices. You can set it to automatically change the current device's 9-digit connection code at the end of each remote assistance service. In addition, end-to-end encryption and security policies add security to your remote access.

Part 2: Other Useful Tips to Secure Your Privacy on AnyDesk

Without thorough privacy and security, anyone can have access to your device. Hence, this section considers extra layers of security that you can enable for your device.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

AnyDesk allows users to include an extra layer of security through the 2FA verification code. It is also important that the time on both devices synchronize for the feature to work well.

Disconnect your device from the Internet When Off

When your device is still connected to the internet, it is accessible through the connection network. Hence, by being disconnected, you make it difficult for your device to be detected.

Update AnyDesk Password When Using a New Device

Changing your password from time to time can be very effective. That way, whoever has taken a peep at your password would not be able to use the old one to access your account.

Extra: How Do I See Who Connected to My AnyDesk Connection

If you notice an anomaly in your connection, chances are someone else has access to the connection. To fish out who has connected to your AnyDesk connection, follow these steps.

Step 1. Open your AnyDesk app.

Step 2. Click on the "Recent Sessions."

Step 3. You can check through the list for all the previously connected devices to the connection.

FAQs about Stopping AnyDesk Access

Here are some of the most popular questions asked about how to stop AnyDesk access.

Conclusion

AnyDesk has over 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store with a rating of 3.8/5 from over 116,000 reviews. Therefore, it is safe to say that the tool is quite popular and useful for end users. However, there have been several complaints about the app. Given these complaints, users are opting out of using the app.

Hence, this article discusses how to stop AnyDesk access. It also sheds light on how to manage your connection. Furthermore, you can use alternative collaboration tools such as AirDroid Remote support to connect your multiple devices without any issues.