Apps are what make the iPhone great, but may times we download an app and only use it once. If that’s the case there’s little reason for you to keep that app on your iPhone taking up space.

If you want to uninstall apps on your iPhone there are actually three ways you can do this (although method #1 listed below is the easiest):

One app at a time (using Jiggle-Mode);
Multiple apps at a time;
Or via the App Store.

Please note: all of the methods listed below will work on iPhone (all models), iPod, and iPad (all models). Basically, if the device you’re using runs on iOS, the following methods for deleting apps will all work.

Let’s take a look at all three ways in more detail:

1) How To Uninstall A Single App On iPhone (Inc. Jiggle-Mode)

If you want to uninstall just a single app on your iPhone, iOS 13 makes it very easy. Here’s what to do:

Choose which app you want to delete and then press and hold the app’s icon on the home screen. After a few moments, a pop-up menu will appear.
From the pop-up menu, you’ll see (at least) three options: Delete App, Share App, and Edit Home Screen. Tap the red Delete App button.
A pop-up window will appear asking you if you really want to delete the app. Click Delete to delete/uninstall the app (tap Cancel if you’ve changed your mind).

What About Jiggle Mode?

When you long-press on an iPhone app, this is what you’ll see happen. All the app icons on your iPhone’s display will a cross next to them while they all start jiggling. Hence the name Jiggle Mode!

You’re probably wondering what “jiggle mode” is, right? It’s pretty simple. Whenever you long-press on an app icon on your iPhone, it will then start to jiggle. There will also be a little “x” icon in the top right corner of the app icon. If you want to delete the app, simply click the “x” icon and the application will be deleted.

2) How To Uninstall Multiple Apps On iPhone

If you want to uninstall multiple apps on your iPhone, iOS makes that very easy, too. Here’s what to do:

Press and hold any app’s icon on the home screen. After a few moments, a pop-up menu will appear.
From the pop-up menu, you’ll see (at least) three options: Delete App, Share App, and Edit Home Screen. Tap the Edit Home Screen button.
Now all the apps on your home screen will begin jiggling. You’ll also notice that the jiggling app icons have an X button in the top-left corner of the icon.
Tap the X button on the app icon that you want to delete/uninstall.
A pop-up window will appear asking you if you really want to delete the app. Click Delete to delete/uninstall the app (tap Cancel if you’ve changed your mind).
Once you’ve deleted one app using this method, the app icons on the home screen will continue jiggling. Repeat steps 3-5 above to continue deleting apps.
When you’ve deleted your final app, simply wait a few seconds for the apps to stop jiggling or press the Touch ID button (iPhone 8 and older) or swipe up from the bottom of the screen (iPhones with Face ID) to stop the apps from jiggling and go back to your normal home screen.

3) How To Uninstall Apps On iPhone Via The App Store

In iOS, you can also delete apps you have installed on your iPhone from within the App Store app. Here’s how to do that:

Open the App Store app.
Tap your Apple ID icon (your picture) in the top-right corner of the App Store app.
In the Account window that slides up, scroll down the screen until you see the “Updated Recently” apps.
From the “Updated Recently” any app you see in this list can be deleted from your phone right from the list. To delete an app using this method, find it in the “Updated Recently” list and swipe left on it so a red Delete button appears.
Tap the red Delete button.
A pop-up window will appear asking you if you really want to delete the app. Click Delete to delete/uninstall the app (tap Cancel if you’ve changed your mind).

The logic behind allowing users to delete apps via the App Store is that users may see an update for an app on their iPhone that they haven’t used in a long time. If so, they have the option of uninstalling that app from their iPhone right there.

Delete iPhone Apps From Settings

If none of the above methods, for whatever reason, are not working, there is one last way to delete applications from your iPhone (and iPad and iPod). All you have to do is follow the following steps:

Go to Settings
General
iPhone Storage

From here, you’ll be able to see ALL of the apps installed on your iPhone, to delete on, simply select the application and then click Delete. This will remove the application from your phone.

How Many Apps Should I Have On My iPhone?

When it comes to apps, less is usually better. The reason for this is simple: apps take up valuable storage on your iPhone, so if you’re not using an application for weeks at a time, you might be better off deleting it altogether. The number of applications you have installed on your iPhone will not affect how your iPhone performs (unless you have them all open at once), so you don’t need to worry about this.

But they do take up room on your iPhone’s storage. Games especially, so if you have loads of games on your iPhone and you’re running out of storage, start by deleting the games you no longer play. Me personally? I try and keep my apps limited to around 10-15. These are my core apps, the ones that I use most days, either for work or pleasure. I don’t have Facebook installed on my phone either; it’s way too creepy these days.

The less access Facebook has to your phone, the better.

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Michael Grothaus

Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.

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How To Uninstall Apps On iPhone: 3 Simple Methods…