The basic way to close an app on iPhone

To close an app on iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the app switcher, then swipe up on the app card you want to close. The app will disappear from the switcher and close completely. This works on all modern iPhones with Face ID (iPhone X and newer).

If you have an iPhone with a home button (iPhone 8 or earlier), double-tap the home button instead to open the app switcher, then swipe up on the app card to close it.

You can close multiple apps at once by swiping up on several cards in quick succession. The app switcher stays open until you tap the home screen or swipe down to dismiss it.

Key Takeaways

  • Swipe up from the bottom of the screen on Face ID iPhones, or double-tap the home button on older models, to see all open apps.
  • Swipe up on any app card to close it; you can close several apps without closing the switcher between each one.
  • Closing apps does not usually improve battery life or performance on modern iPhones, since iOS manages background activity automatically.
  • Apps you close will restart from scratch the next time you open them, so close only apps that are behaving badly or that you want to fully reset.

Why you might want to close an app

Most of the time, you do not need to close apps on iPhone. iOS is designed to manage apps running in the background, and closing them rarely makes your phone faster or saves battery. Apple's system suspends apps you are not using and only lets them run specific tasks like playing music or checking location.

Close an app if it is frozen, crashing, or behaving strangely. Closing and reopening it often fixes the problem. You might also close an app if you want to force it to start fresh the next time you open it, which can clear temporary glitches or reset its state.

Closing apps versus force-quitting them

Closing an app through the app switcher is a normal close. The app shuts down cleanly and saves its state. When you open it again, it may remember where you were, depending on how the app is designed.

Force-quitting is different. To force-quit an app, open the app switcher, press and hold the app card until a menu appears, then tap "Remove App" or swipe up on the card with two fingers. Force-quitting closes the app immediately without letting it save, which can fix apps that are completely frozen or unresponsive. Use force-quit only when a normal close does not work.

Closing background app refresh

If you want to stop an app from running in the background altogether, you can turn off background app refresh for that app. Go to Settings, tap General, then Background App Refresh. Find the app in the list and toggle it off. The app will no longer check for updates or run tasks when you are not using it.

Turning off background app refresh can save battery life if many apps are refreshing constantly. However, the app will not send you notifications or update its data until you open it again. You can turn background refresh off for individual apps or disable it entirely.

What happens when you close an app

When you close an app, it stops running immediately. Any unsaved work in that app is usually lost, though many apps save your progress automatically. The next time you open the app, it starts fresh or returns to where it was before, depending on the app's design.

Closing an app does not delete it from your phone or remove any of your data. It simply stops the app from running. Your photos, messages, files, and other data stored in the app remain on your phone.

Closing apps on older iPhones

On iPhone 8 and earlier models with a home button, the process is slightly different. Double-tap the home button to open the app switcher, which shows app cards in a stack. Swipe left or right to find the app you want to close, then swipe up on its card to close it.

The home button method works the same way as the swipe-up method on newer phones — you are simply opening the switcher differently. Everything else, including force-quitting and background app refresh settings, works the same way across all iPhone models.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does closing apps save battery on iPhone?

Not significantly. iOS suspends apps you are not using, so they consume very little power. Closing apps manually does not improve battery life in most cases. If you want to save battery, turn off background app refresh, reduce screen brightness, or enable Low Power Mode instead.

Will closing an app delete my data?

No. Closing an app stops it from running but does not delete any data stored in that app. Your photos, messages, files, and account information remain on your phone. The app will still have access to all your data the next time you open it.

What should I do if an app keeps crashing?

Close the app and reopen it. If it crashes again, try force-quitting it by holding the app card and swiping up with two fingers, then reopen it. If the problem continues, restart your iPhone, update the app through the App Store, or delete and reinstall the app.

Can I close multiple apps at once?

Yes. Open the app switcher and swipe up on several app cards in quick succession. You do not need to close the switcher between each swipe. This is faster than closing apps one at a time.

What is the difference between closing and swiping away?

They are the same thing. Swiping up on an app card in the app switcher closes the app. The terms are used interchangeably. Both refer to the same action of removing the app from the switcher and stopping it from running.