The fastest way to delete an app

To remove an app from your iPad, press and hold the app icon on your home screen until a menu appears, then tap Remove App and confirm by tapping Remove again. The app disappears from your home screen immediately. This takes about five seconds and works on any iPad running iOS 13 or later.

If you do not see a menu when you press and hold, make sure you are pressing the app icon itself, not the space around it. Press firmly for at least one second. The icon should start to jiggle slightly before the menu shows up.

You can also remove an app by swiping left across its name in the App Library (the grid of colored squares at the far right of your home screens), then tapping the trash icon that appears.

Key Takeaways

  • Press and hold an app icon on your home screen until a menu appears, then tap Remove App to delete it in seconds.
  • Removing an app from the home screen does not erase it from your iPad — you can reinstall it later from the App Store at no cost.
  • If you want to permanently erase an app and free up storage space, you must choose "Remove App" and then "Delete App" from the menu.
  • Apps you purchased with your Apple ID can be reinstalled without paying again, even after you delete them completely.

The difference between removing and deleting

When you tap Remove App, you have two choices: Remove from Home Screen or Delete App. These do different things, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake.

Remove from Home Screen takes the app off your home screen and dock, but the app stays on your iPad in the App Library. You can tap it there anytime to open it, and it still takes up storage space. Choose this if you want the app out of sight but do not want to lose it.

Delete App removes the app completely from your iPad and frees up the storage space it was using. The app no longer appears anywhere on your device. Choose this if you want to reclaim storage or no longer need the app. You can reinstall it later from the App Store if you change your mind.

How to delete an app permanently and free up storage

Press and hold the app icon, tap Remove App, then tap Delete App. A confirmation screen appears asking if you are sure. Tap Delete to confirm. The app is now gone from your iPad and the storage it used is freed up.

If you have a lot of apps taking up space, you can check how much storage each one uses before you delete it. Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage. The list shows every app and how many gigabytes it occupies. Apps that store a lot of photos, videos, or documents (like social media apps or photo editors) usually take the most space.

Deleting an app does not delete the files or photos you created in that app unless you specifically saved them inside the app. For example, deleting a note-taking app removes the app but not the notes if you saved them to iCloud or another cloud service. However, if you saved notes only inside the app itself, they will be lost when you delete it.

Reinstalling an app you deleted

Open the App Store and search for the app by name. Tap the cloud icon with a downward arrow (or the price if it is a paid app). The app downloads and installs automatically. If you bought the app before, you will not be charged again — your Apple ID remembers your purchase.

You can also reinstall an app by going to Settings > General > iPad Storage, finding the app in the list, tapping it, and tapping Reinstall. This is faster if you remember the app name but do not want to open the App Store.

Removing multiple apps at once

If you want to delete several apps quickly, press and hold any app icon until the menu appears, then tap Edit Home Screen. All the app icons start to jiggle and show a minus sign in the top-left corner. Tap the minus sign on each app you want to remove, then tap Remove to confirm. When you are done, tap anywhere outside the icons to stop the jiggling.

This method removes apps from your home screen but does not delete them completely. To delete them permanently, you still need to choose Delete App from the menu instead of Remove from Home Screen.

What to do if an app will not delete

Some apps that came with your iPad (like Mail, Calendar, or Safari) cannot be deleted completely, but you can remove them from your home screen. If you press and hold one of these apps and see only Remove from Home Screen with no delete option, that is why.

If a regular app will not delete and you see an error message, restart your iPad. Press and hold the top button and either volume button until the power-off slider appears, then slide it to turn off your iPad. Wait 10 seconds, then press and hold the top button again until the Apple logo appears. Try deleting the app again after your iPad restarts.

If the app still will not delete after a restart, the problem may be that another app or service is using it. Check Settings > General > iPad Storage to see if the app is listed. If it is there but you cannot delete it, try signing out of your Apple ID in Settings > [Your Name] > Sign Out, then sign back in. This sometimes clears locks that prevent deletion.

Freeing up storage space beyond deleting apps

Deleting apps is one way to free up space, but photos and videos usually take up far more room. Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage and look at the top of the screen — it shows your total storage and how much is used. Tap any category to see what is taking up the most space.

If photos are your biggest storage user, open the Photos app, go to Albums > Recently Deleted, and tap Select in the top right. Tap Delete All to permanently remove photos you have already deleted. Deleted photos stay in this folder for 30 days before disappearing, so they still count toward your storage until then.

You can also turn on iCloud Photos in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos. This moves your photos to Apple's cloud storage and removes them from your iPad, freeing up local space while keeping them safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my app back after I delete it?

Yes. Open the App Store, search for the app, and tap the cloud icon to reinstall it. If you bought the app before, you will not be charged again. Your purchase history is tied to your Apple ID, so the App Store remembers what you have bought.

Will deleting an app delete my data?

It depends where your data is saved. If you saved files to iCloud, Google Drive, or another cloud service, they stay there and you can access them after you reinstall the app. If you saved data only inside the app itself, it will be lost when you delete the app. Check the app's settings before you delete it to see where your data is stored.

How much storage space will I free up by deleting an app?

Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage and find the app in the list. The number next to it shows how many megabytes or gigabytes it uses. Most apps use between 50 megabytes and 500 megabytes, though some photo or video apps can use several gigabytes.

What if I only want to hide an app instead of deleting it?

Press and hold the app icon and tap Remove App > Remove from Home Screen. The app disappears from your home screen and dock but stays in the App Library. You can still open it by swiping to the App Library or searching for it with Spotlight (swipe down from the top of your screen).

Can I delete built-in iPad apps like Mail or Settings?

No. Apps that came with your iPad cannot be deleted completely. You can remove them from your home screen so they do not show up, but they will stay on your iPad. If you remove a built-in app and want it back on your home screen, press and hold an empty space on your home screen, tap the plus button, find the app, and tap the plus icon next to it.