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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

By Morgan Lange 55 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“.

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Comments

  2. Burcu says

    Thank you so much for your help! Resolution 3 saved my life. I haven’t seen your suggestions anywhere else.

  3. Margaret Hughes says

    I cannot delete the ‘Apple app’. I have tried everything and followed all instructions but no good. I never use it and want to delete it.

  6. Sienna says

    I tried all of those and my iPad still won’t let me delete these apps I got years ago and I wont even use them and now I have a waste of iPad storage! Apple please help me in my situation!

  7. Kathy says

    Thank you!!
    I have been having this issue for a couple of months – found this site tonight – and resolved my issue with #3 in minutes!!

  8. Aaron says

    Solution #3 worked! Thank you! I’ve never had an issue deleting apps until I upgraded to iOS 14.

  10. Jeremy says

    Resolution 3 worked for me but the location was a little different for my Iphone 6.
    Settings >
    Screen Time >
    Content & Privacy Restrictions >
    iTunes & App Store Purchases >
    Deleting Apps was set to “Don’t Allow” for some reason. Just moved phone carriers with the same phone but also just updated the software to 12.5.1. Could have been the software update that changed this setting.

  12. Mark says

    I want to remove a game from my iPhone 6s, but there doesn’t seem to be an option to do so. I hold down on it, but no X appears. I also tried doing it from my settings, but can’t find the option there, either.
    How do I remove this app from my phone? I have tried every option listed, but no luck.

  13. Lou says

    My screen time isn’t under my general settings but I played around a bit and found out that the deleting of my apps wasn’t allowed. Yay! It’s only taken me bloomin’ a couple of years and post to achieve this. Very frustrating but now much happier. Thanks!!!

  14. Rick says

    iPad 5
    Running 13.6.1
    Solution 3 there is no screen time choice under general – settings
    Solution 5 there is no manage under IPad storage
    None of the suggestions worked

  17. Ethan J says

    Resolution 3 worked, just Incase those wondering what the default passcode for screen time its 1234 or some case 0123

  18. Sarah Pomeranz says

    No. I have Find Friends app installed on an old iPad. It doesn’t show in any of the listings under App Settings. It isn’t in General under Restrictions and it isn’t listed in Location Sharing or any other place. An ‘x’ does not appear when I try to delete it on the screen. It’s as if it isn’t there but it is. When I click on it the app opens and looks to be working. It also isn’t listed under Storage so that hasn’t worked either. Very odd.

  20. Paul says

    I have one app that I want to delete. It won’t allow me to. Every other app I can delete using the x in the upper left hand corner but this one won’t.

    iPhone 11
    iOS over 13

  22. sHer says

    Mitch is the Man.
    3 & Viola!
    thank you for keeping it real,
    reaL simpLe.! i had a reaL question & you had simpLe answers given in babysTepS.
    AND without ADinterference.
    congratulations. your my new techie & i do refer. LoL. best of luck one step at a time baby.

  23. Shannon says

    I have an iphone 8plus and have tried all of these, and cannot get the x to show up on the apps to delete them, please help!

  24. Amber says

    Yay! Finally able to delete apps! With the updates, my restrictions were hiding in the screen time area. Thanks so much!

  26. Brenndo says

    Thanks heaps for this. For me, it was an old employer’s apps that were not delete-able. Option 4 worked for me and the apps just disappeared without me having to delete.

  27. Ben says

    I really need help here, basically i do see the ‘x’ but hen i press it and the delete appthing comes up i press ‘delete app’, But for some reason the app doesnt delete but it just stays there and i really need to get rid of it becasue my storage Is SO close to full. If someone can PLease help!

  28. Anthony R Fratoni says

    HI I have an I phone 6s and I do not get the little x when I hold the app down I want deleted and there is no restrictions setting in general so how do I delete apps.

  29. David says

    My problem is that when I put the iPad into edit mode (and the icons start wobbling) the ‘x’ button simply doesn’t work. None of the above methods seem to work. Restrictions are set to “off”. This is on an iPad Air with iOS 11.6.2.

  30. Kikt says

    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

  31. Eshaan says

    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

  32. Roxane says

    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

  33. Randy says

    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).

  34. Joy says

    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!

  35. Joan Rumrill says

    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

  38. Nee says

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

  39. vandy says

    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

  40. Jim says

    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!

  41. NotTooTekie says

    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!!

  44. Kingman says

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

  45. Stephanie says

    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.

  46. Deal says

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

  47. Pmorgan says

    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.

  51. Jamie L Brody says

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

  52. Cam says

    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???

  54. Henry Fly says

    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.

  55. Lori says

    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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