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iPhone or iPad: Can’t Delete Apps, ‘X’ Doesn’t Appear

iPhone or iPad: Can’t Delete Apps, ‘X’ Doesn’t Appear

Posted on by 26 Comments

A common problem that occurs for users of the Apple iPhone or iPad is the inability to delete apps. When you tap and hold the screen, an ‘X’ doesn’t appear in the upper-left corner of the icon as expected. Here is a list of possible resolutions to this common problem.

Resolution 1 – Tap Lightly

If you are using an iPhone that detects the pressure of your tap, be sure that you lightly touch and hold the app icon for about 2 to 3 seconds, then the “X” should appear. When you’re done, press the “Home” button to return to the normal Home screen. This seems to be the most common issue.

Resolution 2 – Restart

I personally experienced this problem with the “Yelp” app. I had two icons on my home screen for Yelp. I deleted on of them, but the other remained. I could not get the “X” to appear on the second icon. A simple restart solved this for me.

  1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until an option to “slide to power off” appears.
  2. Slide the power icon to the right, then wait for your device to power down.
  3. After about 15 seconds, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button to turn the device back on.

I hope the icon is now gone as happened for me.

Resolution 3 – Restrictions

Another common reason there is no “X” is a restriction setting. Perhaps this setting was accidentally set and forgotten about.

  1. Open “Settings“.
  2. Select “General“.
  3. In iOS12 and higher choose “Screen Time” > “Content Privacy & Restrictions” > “Content Privacy” > “iTunes & App Store Purchases“. In iOS 11 and lower, choose “General” > “Restrictions“.
  4. Enter the password set for restrictions.
  5. Set the “Deleting Apps” setting to “On/Allow” so that it is allowed.

Once you ensure this setting is on, you should be able to remove apps without a problem.

Resolution 4 – Profile

A profile may be on your device that is enabling certain restrictions on your device. This could be a profile provided by your employer or school. You can usually remove profiles under “Settings” > “General” > “Profiles“.

If you are unable to remove the profile and your device was provided by an employer or school, contact the IT department for assistance.

Resolution 5 – Not All Apps are Removable

Another reason the X may not appear is that it is an app that is built into Apple iOS. Apps such as Notes, Newsstand and Calendar cannot be removed. Other apps may be removed from “Settings” > “General” > “Storage and iCloud usage” under “Storage” select “Manage” > “Select App” > “Delete App“.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Didn’t realize the changes made to delete apps in resolution 3 in subset 3: thanks. I was looking for restrictions as I have done in the past . Mis spent 2 hours trying to figure it out. I am saving your site . Thanks

  2. I had a school website that I turned into an app. I am now going to a different school for high school and don’t know how to delete the website/app

  3. I downloaded the Hi voicemail app bevause i didnt know how to set up my voicemail on my iphone 10. Now im trying to set up my voicemail, i deleted the Hi voicemail app but when people call me they still hear the Hi voicemail app greeting. How is this possible if the app was deleted. ,?? Please help me

  4. Fix it! Solution #3 Restrictions caused my problem. I had a Work email account on my Personal iPhone that I removed but left a screen icon i couldn’t remove. The Work email software apparently installed restrictions that needed to be removed after I deleted the Work email account (that I didn’t need anymore).

  5. I’m trying to delete the health app on an iPhone 5. I don’t use it; there is NO data in it, yet it’s using 451 KB of the storage on my phone! It won’t delete and trying to delete data doesn’t work because it says NO Data for each of its parts. Help!

  6. It almost helped. There’s a mistake though, in solution 3. Delete step 2 for Solution 3. “Screen Time” is under “Settings”, not “General”. Joan R

  9. Thanks for helping me with an app I could not delete. It is now GONE!! Happy Nee Year 2019!!

  10. Notooteckie’s solution pointed me in the right direction on 12.1.2, except don’t turn off the top button, click on iTunes and app store purchases, select deleting apps: allow. And like magic, can delete apps again

  11. No. Brand new iphone8. Used iCloud to transfer data, and did the ios12 update. No camera and can’t delete apps. The second iphone8 I just added to my account does not have either of these problems! Help!

  12. Delete apps After IOS 12.1 update: Settings > Screen Time> Content & Privacy Restrictions – enter passcode and turn Off the button at the top of the screen. Then you’ll get the ‘X’ and can delete apps again!!

  15. Thank you very much, the article was quite helpful and I got to resolve my problem using resolution 3.

  16. My restrictions are set to allow delete, but still can’t. And I have no profile set. I did recently update from iPhone 6 to XR. My 6 did have restrictions. Not sure how to fix this.

  17. Thanks! Resolution 3 for iOS 12 works. I couldn’t find the “deleting app” setting after the update

  18. My restrictions aren’t in my settings anymore after my update. There is no delete or remove button in my storage either. I’m at a complete loss here.

  22. Thanks. my problem is that I forgot my restrictions passcode and it seems like i have tried EVETHING

  23. I can’t find the “restrictions” option under General after the new update. I had the restrictions turned so my toddler can’t delete my apps, but not I can’t delete any apps because the Restrictions option is no longer under General…what should I do???

  25. Resolution 3 worked perfectly. Thank you very much. It’s amazing how difficult it was to find the correct solution, since there are so many hacks out there with simplistic solutions. Kudos to you for a thorough job.

  26. THANK YOU!!!!! You have the only information I could find to solve my ‘delete app’ problem. Check ‘Restrictions’ did the trick. Simple but no one else seemed to suggest it. Thanks

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