How to Delete Apps on an iPad

This article explains three ways to delete an apps on an iPad running iPadOS 14 and up: On the home screen, in the Settings app, and in the App Store app. The basic concepts should work for earlier versions of iPadOS, too, though the exact steps may be a little different.

How to Delete Apps on an iPad from the Home Screen

Deleting iPad apps you no longer use is a quick way to clean up your home screen. The simplest way to delete apps on iPad is right from the home screen. Here's what to do:

1. Tap and hold on the app you want to delete.

2. In the menu that pops out of the app, tap Delete App.

3. In the pop-up window, tap Delete.

   This will delete the app and all of its associated data from your iPad. However, any app data in iCloud will remain. If you reinstall the app later, you may be able to access that data from iCloud.

In step 2, you can also tap Edit Home Screen. The menu disappears and all the apps start to shake. Tap the X on a shaking app to delete it.

How to Delete Apps from an iPad Using Settings

While deleting apps from the iPad home screen is the quickest option, if your goal is to free up storage space, you may want to remove apps using the Settings app. Here's how:

1. Tap Settings.

2. Tap General.

3. Tap iPad Storage.

4. The bottom of the screen lists every app installed on your iPad and how much storage space it uses. If you want to free up storage, this is the best view to use, since you can easily find and delete storage-hogging apps.

   When you find an app you want to delete, tap it.

5. Tap Delete App.

6. In the pop-up, tap Delete App again to delete the app from your iPad.

How to Delete Apps on an iPad Using the App Store App

Looking for another option to delete apps from your iPad? You can do it from the App Store app by following these steps:

1. Tap the App Store app.

2. Tap your icon or photo in the top right corner to open the account pop-up.

3. In the Available Updates section, swipe right to left across the app you want to delete to reveal the Delete button.

4. Tap Delete.

5. In the pop-up, tap Delete to uninstall the app.

How to Delete Pre-Installed Apps on an iPad

The iPad comes with a bunch of pre-installed apps from Apple. These apps range from useful (Photo Booth, Clips) to essential (Safari, Mail). But if you don't want them, you can delete many of these apps. The pre-installed iPad apps that users can delete are:

You can delete these apps from your iPad using any of the earlier steps from this article. If you delete a pre-installed app and want it back, you can re-download it from the App Store.