Tutorials

How to delete apps on iPhone or iPad

Learn how to uninstall apps from the iOS home screen using these simple steps

We often end up with apps on our iPhones that we no longer use or need. These apps end up taking a lot of space on our phones, especially when we’re dealing with games that usually take up several hundred MBs or even multiple GBs at times. Not only do we reclaim some much-needed storage space by deleting apps from our iOS devices, but we also make our home screens much cleaner and easier to organize by getting rid of the apps and games we don’t use. Here’s how you can delete apps on iPhone or iPad and earn back precious storage space on iOS devices.

How to delete apps on iPhone and iPad

Deleting apps on iPhone and iPad is a really simple process. In order to remove apps or games from your iOS device, all you need is one finger — any finger — and some patience. Here’s how to uninstall apps or games on your iPhone or iPad in just a few seconds.

  1. Navigate to the home screen that displays the icon for the app or game you want to delete.
  2. Tap and hold down on the icon, i.e., use your finger to press and hold the app icon instead of quickly tapping normally.
  3. You will see the available actions with the app, ignore it, and keep holding the icon until the app icons on all your home screens start wiggling or shaking. 
  4. Tap the little ‘-’ on the top left of the icon that you want to delete or remove.
  1. Do this for all the apps and games you want to remove from your iPhone.
  2. When you’re done, depending on which generation of iPhone you have, either press the home button or press the ‘Done’ button at the top right of the screen.

Alternatively, you can swipe to the left till the last Home Screen - App Library. Then tap and hold an app you want to delete and tap Delete App when the additional screen for the app appears.

How to remove apps from iPhone and iPad that take up storage space

Another reason why you’d need to delete apps or games from your iOS device is to clear up storage space on the device. By removing unwanted games that are large in size, usually in hundreds of megabytes, you can reclaim storage space on your iPhone or iPad. This is especially important when you have a device with low storage and want to delete apps to recover storage space.

Here’s how to find apps that take up much storage space on your iPhone or iPad.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPad or iPhone.
  2. Scroll down to the General > iPhone Storage option and wait for a few seconds.
  1. Your iPhone or iPad will automatically list all the apps and games and display how much storage space is used by each app.
  1. Slowly scroll through this list and tap on any of the apps and games that take up very high storage space.
  2. On this screen, tap the ‘Delete App’ option at the bottom to completely remove the app and all related data from your iPhone or iPad. Optionally, you can tap ‘Offload App’ to delete the app but retain your Documents & Data.
  1. Do this for all the apps and games you want to remove from your iOS device.