How to delete apps from your iPhone

The App Store allows you to add just about any app you can imagine on your iOS device. Unfortunately, your storage space isn’t unlimited and sometimes you have to get rid of an app or two. It could be a game you no longer play, or maybe you’re changing your smart home setup. Whatever the reason, here’s how to delete iPhone apps in just a few simple steps.

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Although the process itself is very simple, the steps are slightly different for iOS 14 compared to iOS 13 and earlier. We’ll walk you through both methods. Let’s get to it.

How to delete iPhone apps:

• iOS 13 and older
• iOS 14
• Delete apps from the App Library

iOS 13 and older devices

If you have an older device, or you haven’t made the move to iOS 14 yet, your steps are incredibly simple. All you have to do is scroll to the page on your home screen that contains the app you want to delete. Then touch and hold on the app icon until it jiggles. You should now see a small “x” pop up in the top left corner of apps you can delete. Press on the “x” and then tap on the red Delete button.

Here’s a quick step-by-step run-through:

1. Scroll to the part of your home screen with the app in question.
2. Long-press on the app until it wiggles.
3. Tap the small “x” in the top corner of the app.
4. Press the red Delete button.

That’s all there is to it. You’ve deleted an app from your iPhone. Just remember, this will only do the trick for older iOS devices, so keep reading if you’re running on iOS 14.

iOS 14 devices

Many iPhone users are already running on iOS 14, which introduces a slightly more involved process for deleting apps. It’s not necessarily difficult, but there’s just an extra hoop or two to jump through.

When you long-press on an app, you’ll see a list of options pop up. These options vary by app, but the important option here is Remove App. While it sounds like it should delete the app, it just moves the app to your App Library instead.

Here’s a quick list of steps:

1. Long-press on the app you want to remove.
2. Wait for the menu of quick options to appear.
3. Tap the Remove App button.
4. Now you can find your app in the App Library, though it’s no longer on your home screen.

If you want to delete said app for good, there are a couple more steps you’ll have to take. However, if you just wanted to clean up your home screen a bit, then you should be all set now.

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Delete apps from the App Library

Once you’ve removed an app from your home screen, you can head to your App Library to banish it into the shadow realm. Swipe all the way to the left until your library pops up. Then, you can use the search bar to find the app in question. Once it appears, press and hold on the app to open a shorter list of options. Tap the Delete App button and then confirm your decision. Now the app should be gone for good, though you can always download it again later.

Here are the steps one more time:

1. Scroll all the way to the left and open your App Library.
2. Use the search bar to find apps you want to delete.
3. Long-press on the apps to open a list of options.
4. Press the Delete App button and confirm your decision.

There you go. Now you can delete iPhone apps on any version of iOS. It shouldn’t take you more than a few seconds either way, and you can always use that newfound space for even more exciting apps.

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