Why show apps on your phone if you don’t use them, especially if you’re running out of storage space on your phone? In that case, you may have wondered: Can I delete the built-in apps that come with my iPhone?
Deleting Pre-Installed Apps Depends on Your Operating System
Whether you can delete the pre-installed apps on your iPhone depends on what version of iOS you’re running. If you’ve got iOS 10 or higher on your device, you can delete most pre-installed apps. iOS 16 doesn’t expand the number of removable Apple apps so much as give you ways to hide them from your home screen. Users with iOS 9 or earlier cannot delete the default apps that Apple pre-loads on the iPhone. While this is frustrating for iOS 9 users who want total control over their devices, Apple does it to ensure that all users have the same baseline experience with a simple OS upgrade.
How to Delete Pre-Installed Apps in iOS 10 and Up
To delete built-in apps that come with iOS 10 and up:
Tap and hold the app you want to delete until it starts shaking, then tap the X on the app, and tap Remove. In iOS 14 and up, you can also tap Remove App from the pop-up menu and then Delete App.
Not all default iPhone apps can be deleted. The ones you can get rid of are: Apps for the App Store, Camera, Messages, Phone, Photos, Safari, Settings, and Wallet are locked-in and can’t be deleted—though you can hide them.
How to Hide Pre-installed Apps in iOS 14 and Newer
With the release of iOS 14, Apple introduced the option to hide unwanted apps from your Home screen. The process is similar to deleting an app, but with a different menu selection. In iOS 14 or later, tap and hold an empty spot on the home screen until the app icons start to wiggle. Next, tap the minus sign (-) in the upper-left corner of the app icon, then select Remove from Home Screen. The app icon will disappear and won’t be back to bother you unless you decide you want it to. To return hidden apps from your App Library, go to the App store and search for the hidden app, then tap and hold the app’s icon and select Add to Home Screen.
How to Hide iPhone Apps Using Restrictions in iOS 9 or Older
OK, so if iOS 9 users can’t delete the default apps, what can they do? The first option is to turn them off using the iOS’s built-in Restrictions feature. This feature lets you control what apps and services are available on your phone. It’s most often used with kids or company-issued phones, but even if that’s not your situation, this is your best bet. Using Restrictions doesn’t remove the apps from your phone; it just hides them. So, the apps still take up storage space, but at least you don’t have to see them. To use this option, turn on Restrictions. With that done, you can hide the following apps:
How to Hide iPhone Apps in Folders
If you’d rather not enable Restrictions or tuck apps away in your App Library, you can also just hide them in folders. To do that: This approach doesn’t help if you want to delete the stock apps to save storage space, but it’s pretty effective if you just want to declutter.
