Why you might want to close apps on your iPhone
Closing apps on iPhone stops them from running in the background and using your device's battery, memory, and data connection. Most of the time, iOS handles this automatically — apps pause when you switch away from them. But if an app is draining your battery noticeably, freezing, or behaving oddly, force-closing it often fixes the problem without needing to restart your phone.
You do not need to close apps regularly to keep your iPhone running well. iOS is designed to manage background activity on its own. Close an app only when you notice it is misbehaving or using resources heavily.
Key Takeaways
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or swipe down from the top right on newer iPhones) to open the app switcher, then swipe up on any app card to close it.
- Force-closing an app (holding the app card until options appear, then tapping "Remove") stops it completely and can fix freezing or battery drain.
- You do not need to close apps daily — iOS pauses background activity automatically when you switch away.
- If an app keeps misbehaving after closing, restart your iPhone or uninstall and reinstall the app.
How to close an app using the app switcher
The app switcher shows all the apps you have recently opened. On iPhone X and newer models, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen (where the battery icon is). On iPhone 8 and earlier, swipe up from the very bottom of the screen. Hold the swipe for a moment until the app cards appear.
Once the app switcher is open, you will see cards representing each open app. Find the app you want to close, then swipe up on its card. The card will disappear, and the app will close. You can close multiple apps by swiping up on each one in turn.
Force-closing an app that is frozen or unresponsive
If an app is frozen and will not respond to taps, force-closing it works differently than a normal close. Open the app switcher the same way (swipe down from the top right on newer iPhones, or swipe up from the bottom on older ones). Find the frozen app's card and hold your finger on it for about a second until a menu appears at the bottom of the screen.
Tap the red "Remove" button (or the minus icon, depending on your iOS version). This force-closes the app immediately. The app will stop running completely, and you can then tap its icon on your home screen to open it fresh if you need it again.
When to close apps versus when to restart your iPhone
Close a single app when you notice that specific app is draining battery, using a lot of data, or freezing. Restart your iPhone when multiple apps are slow, your phone feels sluggish overall, or closing individual apps does not help. A restart clears your phone's memory and stops all background processes at once.
To restart your iPhone, hold the power button and either volume button together until the "slide to power off" screen appears. Swipe the power icon to the right, wait 30 seconds, then hold the power button again until the Apple logo appears. This takes about a minute total and often solves problems that closing apps alone cannot fix.
How to tell if an app is using too much battery
Go to Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health & Charging. Scroll down to see which apps have used the most battery in the last 24 hours or the last 10 days. If one app is using significantly more battery than others — for example, 40% when most apps use 5% or less — that app may be the problem.
Close that app and monitor your battery over the next few hours. If battery drain improves, the app was the culprit. If battery drain continues at the same rate, the problem is likely something else, such as a weak cellular signal or a background process unrelated to that specific app. In that case, a full restart is usually more helpful than closing individual apps.
Reinstalling an app that keeps misbehaving after closing
If closing an app does not fix repeated freezing or crashes, uninstalling and reinstalling it often does. Press and hold the app icon on your home screen until a menu appears, then tap "Remove App" and confirm. Go to the App Store, search for the app by name, and tap the cloud icon (or the plus sign) to reinstall it.
Reinstalling clears out any corrupted files the app may have accumulated. The app will download fresh from Apple's servers and usually run smoothly afterward. Your data within the app (such as saved games or login information) may or may not be preserved depending on whether the app syncs to iCloud — check the app's settings before uninstalling if you want to be sure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does closing apps make my iPhone faster?
Closing a single misbehaving app can help if that app is freezing or using a lot of memory. Closing apps in general does not make your iPhone faster — iOS manages background apps automatically, and closing them all the time may actually use more battery because your phone has to reload them from scratch each time you open them.
Will closing an app delete my data or messages?
No. Closing an app stops it from running but does not delete any data stored in the app. Messages, photos, saved games, and other content stay on your phone. The next time you open the app, everything will be there.
What is the difference between closing an app and force-closing it?
Closing an app (swiping up on its card) tells it to shut down normally. Force-closing (holding the card until a menu appears, then tapping Remove) stops it immediately without letting it finish what it was doing. Use force-close only when an app is frozen or not responding.
Can I close multiple apps at once?
You can close them one at a time by swiping up on each card in the app switcher, but there is no button to close all apps at once. If you want to stop all background activity, restarting your iPhone is faster than closing apps individually.