How to Close Apps on an iPhone: What You Need to Know
Closing apps on an iPhone sounds simple — and the basic action is. But whether you should close them, how the process works across different iPhone models, and what actually happens in the background is more nuanced than most people realize. Here's a clear breakdown of everything involved.
How to Close Apps on an iPhone
The method depends on which iPhone model you're using.
iPhones with Face ID (iPhone X and later)
These models have no Home button, so the gesture is different:
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle — this opens the App Switcher.
- You'll see a horizontal carousel of open app previews.
- Swipe up on any app card to close it.
You can swipe up on multiple apps in quick succession using multiple fingers.
iPhones with a Home Button (iPhone SE, iPhone 8 and earlier)
- Double-press the Home button to open the App Switcher.
- Swipe left or right to find the app you want to close.
- Swipe up on the app card to dismiss it.
The visual result is the same — the app card disappears from the switcher — but the entry point is different.
What "Closing" an App Actually Does
This is where it gets more interesting. When you close an app on an iPhone, you're removing it from the App Switcher view, but what's happening under the hood depends on how iOS was managing that app before you closed it.
iOS uses a background app state system with several layers:
- Active — the app you're currently using.
- Background — apps that were recently used but are suspended in memory.
- Suspended — apps frozen by iOS that use no CPU but still occupy RAM.
Most apps, once you leave them, are quickly suspended by iOS automatically. A suspended app isn't running — it's not using your battery, your processor, or your data. It's just sitting in memory so it can reopen faster.
When you force-close an app, you're removing it from memory entirely. The next time you open it, iOS has to reload it from scratch, which can actually take longer and use more battery than if you'd left it suspended.
When Force-Closing Apps Makes Sense 🔧
There are legitimate reasons to close an app manually:
- The app is frozen or unresponsive — force-closing and reopening usually resolves this.
- The app is behaving unexpectedly — wrong data displaying, playback stuck, syncing failed.
- An app with background refresh enabled is actively using resources — apps like GPS navigation, music streaming, or fitness tracking do continue running in the background.
- Privacy preference — some users prefer clearing apps from the switcher for peace of mind, even if it has no meaningful performance benefit.
When Force-Closing Apps Doesn't Help (and May Hurt)
A persistent myth holds that closing all your apps regularly improves iPhone performance and battery life. Apple's own guidance and iOS design directly contradict this.
Because most background apps are already suspended:
- Closing them doesn't save battery — they weren't consuming any.
- Reopening them from scratch uses more battery than resuming from suspension.
- It doesn't free up meaningful RAM in a way that improves speed — iOS manages memory dynamically and will clear suspended apps when it needs space.
Habitual force-closing is one of those habits that feels productive but doesn't align with how iOS actually manages resources.
Variables That Change the Picture
How useful force-closing is depends on a few factors specific to your situation:
| Variable | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| iOS version | Background app management has evolved across iOS updates — behavior in iOS 17+ differs from older versions |
| iPhone model | Older devices with less RAM may handle background app suspension differently than newer models |
| App type | Navigation, audio, and fitness apps behave differently from standard apps — they're designed to stay active |
| App-specific bugs | Some apps have memory leaks or bugs that cause abnormal background behavior |
| Battery health | On devices with degraded battery health, any optimization behavior may feel more noticeable |
Background App Refresh: A Related Setting Worth Knowing
If you're concerned about apps running in the background, Background App Refresh is the more targeted control. Found under Settings → General → Background App Refresh, this setting controls which apps can fetch new content while not in use.
Turning this off for specific apps — rather than force-closing them — is a more precise approach to managing battery and data use. You can disable it globally or on a per-app basis.
The App Switcher vs. "Running Apps" 📱
One clarification worth making: the App Switcher doesn't show you apps that are actively running. It shows your recent app history — apps you've opened, in the order you used them. Some of those apps may be suspended, some may have been cleared from memory already by iOS, and only a small number (if any) are genuinely active in the background.
The visual of a stack of open app cards implies more active processing than is actually happening.
What This Means for Your Setup
How often you should close apps — and whether doing so makes any meaningful difference — comes down to the specific apps you use, your iPhone model, your iOS version, and what you're actually trying to fix or improve. A user running navigation and music apps simultaneously is in a different situation than someone who just wants their home screen to look tidy. The mechanics are the same; the practical value of using them varies considerably depending on what's actually happening on your device.