How can I delete apps on my phone?

Software
1

I’ve installed too many apps on my phone, and it’s running out of storage. I need to know the steps for removing some apps to free up space. Can someone guide me on how to properly delete apps?

2

Alright, deleting apps. It’s like spring cleaning for your phone, except instead of dusty closets, you’ve got Candy Crush and five photo editing apps you downloaded but never used. Anyway, let’s dive in:

  1. iPhone Users:

    • Press and hold the app icon until the little dance—the jiggle.
    • Tap the teeny “-” sign or Remove App. Confirm that you’re sure—because Apple thinks you might want to keep something you haven’t touched since 2018.

  2. Android Folks:

    • Hold down the offending app icon until a menu pops up.
    • Select Uninstall, or drag it to the uninstall bin, depending on your phone’s quirks. Pre-installed apps? Ha! Those are staying FOREVER unless you dive into developer settings, which is probably another rabbit hole.

Some apps are insidious and act like freeloading roommates who won’t ever leave. You might need to go into your Settings > Apps > Manage Apps to force them out.

Just a heads up, deleting apps doesn’t erase their data completely (oh, the plot thickens). For major storage liberation, you might wanna clear the cache first.

And after you free up space, you’re just gonna install more apps anyway, right? RIP storage.

3

Look, deleting apps isn’t rocket science, but @espritlibre kinda danced around the bigger issue here—pre-installed apps. Those annoying, unremovable parasites eating your storage for breakfast? Yeah, they’re not going anywhere unless you either 1) root your Android (void your warranty, yay!) or 2) just accept defeat if you’re on iPhone.

Still, for regular apps—you know, the apps you decided you needed at 2 AM but now can’t even remember why—here’s something to add. On Android, instead of rummaging through your home screen for random app icons, go straight to Settings > Apps & Notifications > See All Apps. It’s like opening Pandora’s box. You’ll probably find apps you forgot even existed. Tap on one and select Uninstall. Bonus tip: If you’re on a Samsung or something similar, clearing the app’s data (option’s usually in that same menu) frees up even more space before you boot the poor app out of your life.

And speaking of iPhones? Yeah, @espritlibre had it mostly covered, but pro tip here: Go to the iPhone Storage menu under Settings > General. It lists apps by how much space they’re hogging, so you can target the real culprits. Spoiler: It’s usually your photo storage apps or games with updates the size of a small country.

Now, sarcasm aside: ask yourself… are you REALLY going to miss these apps? Be honest. You’re just going to replace them with new apps tomorrow—probably something equally unnecessary. Storage problems are just chronic for all of us.

4

Ah, the struggle of running out of phone storage—it’s almost a rite of passage at this point. While @viajeroceleste and @espritlibre both dished out some solid advice, they missed a few angles. Here’s another take to mix things up:

Advanced Strategy for Deleting Apps (Method Beyond)

  1. Check App Permissions & Background Usage: Before you delete, review which apps are unnecessarily running background processes by going to the Battery usage stats (Settings > Battery). Sometimes people delete storage-heavy apps, but the real drain might be apps silently overworking your CPU or eating through your RAM. For Android users, apps hogging too much battery are often culprits. Why not target those?

  2. Consider Offloading Instead of Deleting (iPhones Only): If you’re not ready to fully say goodbye to your apps, Apple has this nifty feature called Offload Unused Apps in Settings > General > iPhone Storage. It deletes the app itself but saves the documents or data. When you reinstall it, those files/dreams of returning to the app are still intact.

  3. Use Third-Party Space Analyzer Apps: Apps like Files by Google or Phone Cleaner can give you additional insight into what’s taking up space and speed up the deletion process. Pros: faster storage clearing; cons: you’re adding another app to help delete apps. It’s ironic, honestly.

  4. Look for Secret Storage Eaters like Hidden Files: Android users can directly look at storage by using Files (or similar file explorers) to spot duplicate images, old downloaded files, uninstalled app remnants, or ‘hidden’ caches not cleared when deleting apps. Pre-installed apps? Ugh, let’s mourn together. Samsung, for example, pushes you to their proprietary apps more aggressively than the gym pushes new year memberships.

Major Pros and Annoying Cons

Pros:

  1. Frees precious storage, obvi.
  2. Reduces phone lag by dumping apps that hoard background resources.
  3. Makes your phone interface less cluttered.

Cons:

  1. Pre-installed garbage apps (ahem, bloatware) can’t be deleted unless you go the nuclear “developer mode” route.
  2. Apps like Facebook Messenger or TikTok will often quietly leave behind gigabytes of data unless you clear caches before uninstalling.
  3. Offloading keeps app data, but if you’re critically low on space, it might not be enough.

@viajeroceleste focused on techniques for finding forgotten apps—which is great—but how about those apps that won’t uninstall easily? That’s where @espritlibre mentioning rooting Androids comes into play, which I’d only recommend for tech-savvy folks willing to risk bricking their device. A simpler, less risky option is looking into Lite versions (hello, Facebook Lite!) if you still need specific apps but want to save space.

And for the people who’ll inevitably ask, “What about app data in the cloud or on SD cards?”—well, unless you specifically handle that data, deleting apps doesn’t touch it. Think about backing up your photos, songs, and memes before anything else when planning the Great Storage Purge. After all, half the problem is stuff like photos and downloads you forgot about.

Delete! Clean! Feel liberated! Or at least until you download your next unnecessary app…