How to Delete Apps on an iPhone

Uninstalling Apps Is Easy Once You Know How

By Cullen Thomas Updated 02/03/2021

If you're wondering how to uninstall apps on your iPhone don't worry, you're not alone. Apple hid the feature to remove apps from your iPhone behind a not obvious pop-up menu. Don't worry though, once you figure it out, it's easy to delete apps on iPad or iPhone.

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How to Uninstall Apps on Your iPhone:

Tap and hold an app icon until the quick actions menu appears. You can do this with app icons on your Home screen, or in your App Library. Either works!
If you only want to remove that one app, then tap Remove App.
Confirm in the pop up by tapping Delete App (the other option, Remove from Home Screen, will banish the app to your App Library).
If you want to delete a bunch of apps, tap Edit Home Screen. The app icons will wiggle, and a minus icon will appear at the upper-left corner of each icon.
Tap the minus icon, then confirm in the popup by tapping Delete. If you are not successful with this step, a setting may be to blame! Try fixing the setting and then coming back to this step.
The app you just deleted will disappear from your screen; tap Done at the upper right corner of your screen if you're finished deleting apps.

That's it! If you change your mind and would like to retrieve any apps you deleted, you can always go back to the App Store and download them again. If you're having trouble deleting apps when following these steps, a setting may be to blame.

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Author Details

Cullen Thomas

Cullen Thomas is a Writer and Producer at iPhone Life, creating tips and guides to help users unlock the full potential of their iOS and iPhone. In addition to writing countless tip-of-the-day articles and many detailed guides, Cullen has spent nine years as an instructor in media and communications at Maharishi University, lecturing on technical and artistic subjects ranging from camera and audio hardware to story-plotting to how to manage a film crew. Cullen answers questions daily about iPhones and iOS as part of the Ask an Editor insider service, and designs curriculum for iPhone Life’s online classes. As a frequent contributor to iPhone Life magazine and occasional guest on the iPhone Life podcast, Cullen likes to talk about security and privacy news, tech, gadgets, and apps, even if nobody asked.

Cullen holds a master’s degree in Cinematic Arts from the David Lynch School of Cinematic Arts. Cullen also holds two Bachelor’s degrees from Maharishi University, one in literature with an emphasis in writing and the other in Communications and Media. Cullen’s short fiction has been featured in anthologies from Amphibian Press and TANSTAAFL, and Cullen co-owns a game design company, Thoughtspike games, which builds thought-provoking puzzle games. Cullen is a sci-fi author, a coffee connoisseur, and an iPhone expert.