How to delete built-in/preinstalled iPhone apps?

I recently noticed a lot of apps that I don’t use on my iPhone. That got me wondering: Can I delete the built-in apps that come preinstalled on my iPhone? So I did some research and here’s what I found out: This post will explain what are iPhone built-in apps, which built-in apps you can delete, what happens if you delete your built-in apps, how to delete them, and how to restore them.

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What are built-in/ pre-installed iPhone apps?

Apple’s built-in apps are a collection of pre-installed applications that come with iOS devices. A few of them also serve as default apps for basic iPhone functions such as calling, sending messages, and navigating the device. Those default apps are essential to the smooth functioning of iOS and cannot be deleted.

What apps come with the iPhone?

As of 2022 & iOS 16, all brand new iPhones come pre-installed with 35 Built-in Apps and 7 Free Apps from Apple. That’s a total of 42 apps on the first boot.

List of built-in & preinstalled apps on iOS 16

Camera, Photos, Health, Messages, Phone, FaceTime, Mail, Music, Wallet, Safari, Maps, Siri, Calendar, iTunes Store, App Store, Notes, News, Contacts, Books, Home, Weather, Reminders, Clock, TV, Stocks, Calculator, Voice Memos, Compass, Podcasts, Watch, Tips, Find My, Settings, Files, Measure, Magnifier, Shortcuts, Translate, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand, Clips, and Apple Store.

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Can you delete pre-installed apps on your iPhone?

Yes, as of iOS 10 and above, you can delete (most but not all) of the applications preloaded with your brand-new iPhone. Below is a list of the pre-installed/built-in apps that can be deleted.

List of pre-installed & built-in apps that you can delete from an iPhone

Activity, Apple Books, Apple Store, Calculator, Calendar, Compass, Clips, Contacts, FaceTime, Files, Find My, Fitness, GarageBand, Home, Health, iTunes Store, iMovie, Keynote, Mail, Maps, Measure, Music, Magnifier, News (where available), Notes, Numbers, Podcasts, Pages, Reminders, Stocks, Tips, TV (where available), Translate, Videos, Voice Memos, Watch, App, Weather.

Is deleting an iPhone app the same as uninstalling it?

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There are two main terms used on iOS which have different meanings: Delete App, and Remove App. The Delete App option is only available for apps that you can completely erase from your iPhone and gain more storage space. In other words, you have uninstalled the app from your iPhone. This option is not available for the built-in apps that cannot be deleted.

The remove app option is available for all iOS apps (whether they can be deleted or not). To be more specific, it is named Remove App From Home Screen. When you select this option, the app icon will disappear from your home screen. However, you will not lose its data because it will not be erased from your iPhone storage. Therefore, removing an app from your iPhone home screen doesn’t uninstall it.

How to delete apps that come with the iPhone?

Deleting a single app built-in app

• Tap and hold the app icon for one second.
• You will feel a haptic feedback vibration and see a pop-up menu with multiple options depending on the app.
• The Remove App option is highlighted in red.
• Tap on Remove App. 
• Three more settings will appear: Delete App (in red), Remove From Home Screen (in blue), and Cancel (in blue).
• Click Delete App.
• Another menu will appear and present two options: Delete (in red), & Cancel (in blue).
• This last menu often explains in detail what data you may lose by deleting the app, and if a part of that will be stored on your phone memory or iCloud.
• Tap Delete, to completely remove the app from your iPhone.
• If you have a paired apple watch, deleting a built-in app will also delete it from your Apple watch.

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Deleting multiple pre-installed apps

• To delete multiple pre-installed apps, tap and hold an empty space on the home screen for 1 second.
• You will feel a haptic feedback vibration and all the app icons will start to wiggle.
• The top left corner of each wiggling app will also have a minus sign.
• Tap on the minus sign that appears on the icon of the app you want to delete.
• A new menu will appear with three options: Delete App (in red), Remove From Home Screen (in blue), and Cancel (in blue).
• Tap on Delete App.
• A final menu will appear with two more options: Delete (in red), & Cancel (in blue).
• This last menu often explains in detail what data you may lose by deleting the app, and if a part of that will be stored on your phone memory or iCloud.
• Tap Delete, to completely remove the app from your iPhone.
• The app icons will keep on wiggling so you can continue to delete other apps.
• Tap an empty space on the home screen to stop the apps from wiggling once all unwanted apps have been deleted.
• If you have a paired apple watch, deleting a built-in app will also delete it from your Apple watch.

What happens when you delete built-in apps from your iPhone?

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When you delete the Stocks and Weather apps

Several things can happen when you delete built-in apps from your iPhone. For example, if you delete the Stocks and Weather apps from your phone, you won’t see their widgets, on your iPhone’s lock screen.

In addition, if your iPhone was paired with an Apple watch, the stocks and weather apps will be deleted along with all their widgets/complications. 

When you delete the Podcast app

If you delete the Podcasts app from your iPhone, then podcasts won’t be available with CarPlay as well. 

When you delete the Health app

Things are a little more different with the Health app. If you delete the Health app, your health data will still remain on your iPhone. Therefore any apps that you have shared your health data with will continue to have access.

With the health app deleted, you can still manage your health data in the Settings menu. However, features such as Medication, Reminders, Sleep, Cycle Tracking, and Health Sharing will be disabled.

When you delete the Reminder app

If you delete the Reminder app, your lists or reminder data will not be deleted. 

When you delete the FaceTime app

Likewise, if you delete your FaceTime app, you will still be able to make and receive FaceTime Calls.

When you delete the Find My app

When you delete the Find My app, you can still share your location or find your missing devices with the Find My feature. But you won’t be able to view locations in the Find My app on your iPhone. 

You cannot disable or turn off Find My tracking on your device by removing the Find My app. Using the Find My iPhone app on another device, you can still track your iPhone if it gets lost.

When you delete the GarageBand app

If you delete the GarageBand app, it will also delete its data, but any documents or data stored in iCloud will not be deleted.

When you delete the Music app

Deleting the music app on your iPhone will also delete any purchases from the music store on your iPhone.

When you delete the contacts app

After deleting the Contacts app, your contact information remains available through Phone, Messages, Mail, FaceTime, and other apps. However, you won’t be able to remove a contact from your contacts list, without restoring the contacts app.

As revealed above, the consequences of deleting different apps can vary. Apps deleted on your iPhone are also deleted on your Apple watch and any other paired accessories that use those apps.

When you delete the iTunes or iTunes U app

Deleting the iTunes apps will also delete their data, but any documents or data stored in iCloud will not be deleted.

When you delete the Clock app

Deleting the clock app will also delete its data.

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How to restore a built-in app that you uninstalled

If you deleted a built-in app on your iPhone, you can restore it through the App Store.

• Start by opening the App Store application.
• Tap the search icon at the bottom right.
• In the search bar, type the exact name of the app that you deleted.
• Then tap the cloud-shaped restore icon on the far right.
• Wait for the app to download and restore.
• After downloading, you can finally open it from your Home Screen.
• If you have a paired apple watch, restoring a deleted built-in app will also restore it to your Apple watch.

Which apps cannot be deleted from your iPhone?

As you may have noticed, on iOS 16, not all iOS apps can be deleted from your iPhone. That’s because certain apps are deeply integrated and critical to the smooth functioning of iOS. Below is the list of iOS apps that cannot be deleted.

List of preinstalled/built-in apps that cannot be deleted

Camera, Photos, Phone, Messages, Wallet, Safari, App Store.

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How to get rid of built-in apps that cannot be deleted

As listed above, you cannot delete apps like the Camera, Photos, Phone, Messages, Wallet, Safari, or App Store on iPhone. But if you really hate seeing any of these apps and you want them to disappear from your home screen then there’s one method that might help.

Since iOS 14, Apple introduced the option to hide any app from your home screen. The process is similar to deleting an iPhone app, but you just have to choose the Remove From Home Screen option.

How to hide built-in apps that you cannot delete

Hiding a single app at a time

• To hide a sing app at once, tap and hold the app icon for one second.
• You will feel a haptic feedback vibration and see a pop-up menu with multiple options depending on the app.
• The Remove App option is highlighted in red.
• Tap on Remove App. 
• Two more settings will appear: Remove From Home Screen (in blue), and Cancel (in blue).
• Tap on Remove From Home Screen. 
• iOS will remove the app from your home screen and keep it in your App Library.

Hiding multiple apps at once

• To hide multiple apps, tap and hold an empty space on the home screen for 1 second.
• You will feel a haptic feedback vibration and all the app icons will start to wiggle.
• The top left corner of each wiggling app will also have a minus sign.
• Tap on the minus sign that appears on the icon of the app you want to delete.
• A new menu will appear with two options: Remove From Home Screen (in blue), and Cancel (in blue).
• Tap on Remove From Home Screen. 
• iOS will remove the app from your home screen and keep it in your App Library.

How to restore a built-in app that you hid

• To restore a hidden built-in app, start by visiting the app library.
• Then browse through or search for the app in the app in the app library.
• Once found, tap and hold the app icon for one second.
• You will feel a haptic feedback vibration and see a pop-up menu with multiple options depending on the app.
• Finally, tap Add to Home Screen.

How to hide pre-installed/built-in iPhone apps in folders

You can also hide iPhone apps that you cannot delete by tucking them away in a folder. The process is simple and takes just a few steps as described below.

• Touch and hold an empty space on the  Home Screen until the apps start to wiggle.
• Then drag an app onto another app and release it to create a folder.
• You can drag more apps into the folder, and create multiple pages of apps in the folder.
• Tap and hold your newly created folder to rename it then tap done and double tap the home screen.

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Citations

Pre-installed iOS apps. (2022, September 12). In Wikipedia.
Delete built-in Apple apps on your iOS 12, iOS 13, or iPadOS device or Apple Watch.
Can you delete the apps that come with the iPhone?
Remove apps from iPhone.
Remove built-in Apple apps from the Home screen on your iOS 10 device or Apple Watch.
Organize your apps in folders on iPhone