How to delete an application on iOS? Many people think that this question can only be asked by those who have never held an iPhone in their hands. And since there are very few of them left, instructions describing how to remove software should not be in demand. However, this is a deep misconception. The fact is that from year to year Apple makes changes to the method of removing applications from its operating system, and each subsequent method differs from the previous one, at least in the interface, but, as a rule, technically. Let's figure out what's what.
iOS 14 has at least 5 ways to delete apps
How to create a “folder” on iOS where all applications are located in a list
Despite the fact that it doesn’t take much intelligence to remove applications, practice shows that beginners (and not beginners, too, to be honest) may have some problems. They are afraid that there are several ways to remove an unnecessary program from the smartphone’s memory, especially if they stumble upon them by accident. But, if you know what each of these 5 - yes, exactly 5 - methods is intended for, you will not be afraid if you stumble upon them during operation.
How to delete any applications on iPhone
You should consider how to remove third-party programs that are installed on various iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models. To remove the utility you need to follow these instructions:
- Click on the program shortcut and hold your finger for a few seconds;
- Next, click on the “Uninstall a program” item;
- Confirm deletion.
It is worth remembering that deleting the program does not automatically cancel subscriptions if they were previously issued. Although in some cases, when uninstalling programs, the “Cancel subscriptions” option may appear.
Will anything go wrong if I remove pre-installed apps?
If you delete pre-installed apps the standard way in iOS 10 and later, you'll be fine. This is a feature that Apple fully endorses and discusses in the iOS 10 keynote. (On the other hand, the iOS 9 workaround above is not officially recommended, but since apps reappear the next time you restart, there shouldn't be any long-term issues.)
However, try to keep in mind that deleting one app may have unintended consequences elsewhere. Many applications are connected to other applications in various ways.
Apple points to several such problems. Some apps like Music and Podcasts, if removed from your iPhone or iPad, will also be removed from CarPlay - this may seem obvious, but it's worth thinking about. Likewise, apps will disappear from your Apple Watch if you delete them from your paired iPhone. (If you delete the Watch app itself—and you can—you'll be prompted to first disconnect your iPhone from your Apple Watch.)
Some apps push information to the Notification Center/Today view, and this suggestion will be disabled if you uninstall the app: Stock and Weather are the most obvious examples. (Their data can also be pulled into Apple Watch complications on the watch face you choose.) And others, like the calculator, appear in Control Center; it will disappear.
Most of these problems can be fixed if they are too annoying by simply restarting or restoring the application. The exception is lost user data - it is not returned.
One potential problem you may not have to worry about is that if you delete Contacts, the contacts information is not deleted with it. It is still stored and can be accessed in the Phone app (which cannot be deleted).
How to delete a game on iPhone
Removing programs on an iPhone is a simple process, but sometimes certain difficulties may arise. Let's look at three ways to remove applications. In addition, we will consider what to do if applications are not deleted for some reason.
From desktop
Users use this method most often as it is the simplest and fastest. Removal is carried out in a few seconds.
- Click on the shortcut of any game located on the screen, then hold it for several seconds until the shortcut becomes movable.
- Click on the small cross in the upper left corner of the icon of the application that needs to be removed.
- A window opens where you can confirm your intentions.
If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is running version 10 or higher, you can remove most applications from the Home screen. In the future, you will be able to download all deleted programs through the App Store.
This is the most primitive method that most iPhone owners use.
Via "Settings"
This method of removing applications and games is more informative. Before deleting any program, you can see how much memory it takes up on your smartphone.
- Go to the smartphone settings. Go to “General” → “Storage and iCloud Usage”.
- In the Storage section, click on Manage.
- Select the application you want to remove. Next to the name you can see how much memory this program takes up. This will allow you to organize your storage more correctly.
- Click on the Uninstall program item and confirm the deletion in the window that opens.
If the desired program is not in the list that opens, but you definitely remember that it was previously installed, then you need to act a little differently. Go to “Settings” → “General” → “Storage and iCloud Usage”, scroll through the list just below and click on “Show all programs”.
Via iTunes
You can also remove any applications from Apple devices using the iTunes service. This method is especially convenient for those users who often synchronize their device with a computer.
- Using a special cord, connect the Apple device to the computer.
- Go to the mobile device management tab.
- Here, select the Programs section, and then click on the home screen page where the application you want to remove is located.
- Hover the mouse cursor over the desired application and click on the cross that appears in the upper left corner. With this method of deletion, you do not need to additionally confirm your actions.
To complete the program removal process, click the Finish button. After synchronization, all previously deleted programs will disappear on the mobile device.
Through iTunes, you can install and uninstall various programs. For a quick search, it is recommended to use the search bar.
Remove pre-installed apps in iOS 9 or earlier
This is a trick that previously worked in iOS 9, so only try it if you haven't updated your device to iOS 10 or later.
- Touch and hold the icon of the app you want to hide until it starts to shake.
- Move the unwanted app to the folder (if the folder isn't already set up, you can drag it to another app that you also want to remove, and this will automatically create a new folder).
- Drag all the apps you don't need on your iPhone into this folder.
- Find the folder containing all your unwanted applications.
- Click on a folder to see its contents.
- Now press and hold the icon of one of the apps you want to get rid of. Once it starts moving, drag it to the edge of the screen until it moves to the next page of the folder.
- Release your finger so that the icon settles on this page.
- Now repeat this step by dragging this icon from the second page of this folder to the edge of the folder.
- When you drag the icon to the third page, click the Home button and instead of going to the third page, the icon should fly out to the left.
How to completely delete a game and its data
You can remove the game and all its components through the settings, using the method described above. If necessary, you can completely clear your iPhone of all installed applications and return to factory settings. To completely remove it you need:
- Go to the settings of your mobile device, find and open in the Basic list;
- A page opens, at the very bottom of which there is a Reset item, click on it;
- To completely clear your iPhone of all information, you need to select the “Erase content and settings” option, then confirm your actions by clicking on the “Erase after uploading” item or the “Erase” button.
There is a special iTools program that allows you to quickly remove all applications from your mobile device. To do this, install the program, then tap on the checkbox that is above the list of all programs and then click on the Delete button.
Erasing files from iCloud
We have already talked about the fact that application files remain in iCloud after they are deleted from the device. If you're sure you'll never need them again, delete them:
- Open Settings – iCloud – Storage.
- Click Manage.
- In the “Documents and data” field, look at how much space the files of the remote application take up.
- Select the removed program or game and click Change.
- Tap "Delete All".
Data from iCloud is permanently erased, so if you restore a deleted application from your shopping list, it will be clean - game progress and other achievements cannot be returned.
How to recover a deleted application
An accidentally deleted program can always be reinstalled from the App Store. But in this case, all data is often lost, although this does not apply to those programs that have their own backup tools or information is stored on special servers. There are two ways to restore deleted applications, in which all information remains in place.
Option 1: iCloud
This method can only be used if the user did not update the backup copy after uninstalling the program. Such a copy can be created both on the smartphone itself and on a computer through the iTunes program.
If backups are created automatically on the iPhone, then after uninstalling the program it is important not to miss the moment of the next update.
- Open the iPhone settings and select your Apple ID account at the top of the window.
- In the window that opens, select “iCloud”.
- Scroll the page to the very bottom and then select the “Backup” item. You need to look at when it was created; if this happened before the program was uninstalled, then you can start restoring it.
- Return to the settings and select “Basic” in the main window.
- At the bottom of the window, find the Reset item, then select the “Erase content and settings” column.
- The system will prompt you to update the backup. There is no need to do this now, so just click on the “Erase” button. Next you will need to enter a password.
A welcome window appears on the screen, go to the iPhone settings and perform a restore. After this, a shortcut to the previously deleted application should appear on the desktop.
Option 2: iTunes
If you use a computer to store all backups, you can restore the application through iTunes.
- Connect the iPhone to the computer using a special USB cable and launch iTunes. If, after starting the program, automatic updating of the backup copy begins, you need to stop this process by clicking on the tab with a cross.
- Open the smartphone menu by clicking on the shortcut with the gear icon.
- On the left side, open the Review tab, and on the right side, tap on the “Restore iPhone” item. They confirm their actions and wait for the end of the running process.
That’s it, after this you can see the icon of the restored application on the screen and fully use it.
Possible problems with deletion
Removing games and other applications from iPhone does not always go smoothly. In some cases, users encounter certain problems. Let's look at the most common of them and solutions.
| Problem | Solution |
| There is no cross on the label or a delete button. | Most likely, restrictions are set on the smartphone and deletion is impossible. It’s easy to remove restrictions; to do this, go to Settings – Universal access – Restrictions – Uninstall programs. |
| Not all applications can be deleted. | There may be two options here. Standard applications from Apple, they cannot be deleted - weather, calculator, game center. It is impossible to remove programs downloaded using jailbreak in the usual way. A number of such programs can only be removed through Cydia – Manage – Packages. |
If any problems arise during the process of deleting a game from your iPhone and you cannot solve them yourself, it is recommended that you contact the Support Center. It is quite possible that the operating system may fail on an Apple device and professional help is needed.
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Tatiana
I follow news on the mobile services market. Always up to date with the latest events
