How to Uninstall iOS Apps You Cannot Find on Home Screen

iOS devices have become essential to our daily lives, providing various apps for communication, entertainment, productivity, and much more. However, with the ever-increasing number of apps installed on our devices, it becomes challenging to manage them, especially when some apps are not easily found on the home screen. In this article, we will discuss the importance of knowing how to delete hidden apps and explore different methods to uninstall iOS apps that you cannot find on your home screen.

Introduction

We often fill our iPhone or iPad with numerous apps and eventually end up having a cluttered home screen that makes finding a particular app difficult. To overcome this issue, some users may delete certain apps from their devices. While deleting visible apps is a straightforward process, it might get complicated if you try to uninstall hidden apps.

Hidden or ‘inaccessible’ apps can be annoying for various reasons. For example, they might occupy valuable storage space or run in the background, consuming battery. Additionally, privacy concerns could be associated with certain hidden apps on your device.

Before diving into solutions for hiding apps, it is crucial to understand why some apps might be invisible or difficult to locate on your iPhone or iPad’s home screen. The most common reasons include:

1. The app was moved into a folder on the home screen.
2. The home screen page where the app is located has been hidden.
3. The user has opted to hide specific apps through iOS settings.

This article will provide a comprehensive guide on various methods for uninstalling iOS apps that are not easily accessible from the home screen. These methods will work efficiently for iOS 14 or later versions.

Methods to Troubleshoot the Issue

The following methods will help you effectively delete those hard-to-find iOS apps from your device:

Method 1: Delete Hidden Apps on iPhone via Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search has long been useful for quickly finding apps or information on your iOS device. In iOS 14 and later, you can easily use it as an efficient way of locating hidden apps. To uninstall an app using Spotlight Search, follow these steps:

1. Unlock your iPhone or iPad and swipe down from the middle of the home screen to access the Spotlight Search.
2. Type in the name of the app you want to delete in the search box at the top of the screen.
3. As you enter the search query, relevant results, including apps, will appear.
4. Look through the search results for the hidden app you want to delete.
5. Once you find the app, long press on its icon to trigger the ‘Delete App’ option.
6. Tap on ‘Delete App’ and confirm your action by tapping on ‘Delete’ once more.

Your app will now be successfully removed from your iOS device.

Method 2: Delete Hidden Apps on iPhone via Settings App

The Settings app provides another effective way to remove hidden apps from your iPhone or iPad. This method also displays information such as the app size and data usage while allowing you to uninstall them. Follow these steps to delete an app via Settings:

1. Launch the ‘Settings’ app on your iOS device.
2. Navigate to ‘General > iPhone Storage’ (or ‘iPad Storage’).
3. Wait for a few seconds until the storage information loads up, displaying all installed apps in order of memory size.
4. Scroll through this list or use the search bar at the top to locate the hidden app you want to delete.
5. Tap on that specific app, select ‘Delete App,’ and then confirm your action.

By using this method, not only will you delete the app itself but also its related documents and data—thus freeing up valuable space on your device.

Method 3: Delete Apps from App Library (iOS 14 or later)

Starting with iOS 14, Apple introduced the ‘App Library’—a new way to organize apps on your iPhone. The App Library automatically sorts installed apps into various categories, providing a convenient way to locate and manage them. Deleting an app from the App Library is easy; just follow these steps:

1. From your iOS device’s home screen, swipe left until you reach the App Library.
2. Search for the app you want to delete by browsing through the listed categories or using the search field.
3. Tap and hold the app icon to reveal a context menu, then tap on ‘Delete App.’
4. Confirm your action by tapping on ‘Delete’ again.

Your chosen app will now be removed from the App Library and your device.

Method 4: Remove Built-in Apps (Limited Availability)

Usually, you can delete third-party apps by long-pressing their icons and tapping on the small ‘x’ that appears. However, some built-in Apple apps (such as Messages, Camera, and Photos) cannot be removed by default. Despite this limitation, iOS 14 and later versions allow users to uninstall certain built-in apps by following these steps:

1. Press and hold the built-in app icon you wish to remove.
2. If available, select ‘Remove App’ from the available options.
3. Confirm your action if prompted.

Remember that not all built-in apps can be removed using this method.

Method 5: Delete Waiting Apps (Incomplete Installations)

Sometimes, app installations or updates may get stuck in a ‘waiting’ state due to network issues or insufficient device storage. In such cases, deleting these pending apps directly from the home screen becomes impossible. To resolve this problem, consider restarting your iPhone, reconnecting to a Wi-Fi network, or clearing up some space on your device.

Other Tips and Tricks

Check Restriction for Deleting Apps

To ensure that no restrictions are preventing you from deleting apps on your iOS device, follow these steps:

1. Go to ‘Settings > Screen Time.’
2. Find and tap on ‘Content & Privacy Restrictions.’
3. Navigate to ‘iTunes & App Store Purchases’ and check if the ‘Deleting Apps’ option is allowed.
4. If not, tap on it and choose the ‘Allow’ option.

Once you’ve enabled this setting, you should be able to delete apps without any issues.

Conclusion

Knowing how to delete hidden iOS apps effectively is essential for maintaining a clutter-free home screen and optimizing your iPhone or iPad experience.

In addition to uninstalling iOS apps you cannot find on your home screen, another useful step to declutter your device is to remove Google Photos from your iPhone.

The methods discussed above provide comprehensive solutions for dealing with hidden apps on your iOS device. By understanding these techniques, you can uninstall unwanted apps and enjoy a cleaner, more organized iPhone or iPad.

FAQs