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Tired of that app? How to delete apps, from Apple to Android

Brett Molina
USA TODAY

If your smartphone is feeling a bit cluttered, or you're running out of space on your device, it might be time to start deleting apps.

Whether you use Google Play or Apple's App Store, smartphone owners have millions of apps available to download. You can manage your personal, professional and financial lives all through your smartphone. Not to mention all the games and video apps like TikTok built to entertain.

But if you love to download lots of different apps, then it's likely your phone is overstuffed. That hot game or app you used a few months ago is just eating up space. 

Finally ready to delete those apps? Here's how:

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Delete apps on iOS

The process is simple: tap and hold on to the app you want to delete until you see a prompt with three options: edit home screen, share app, and remove app. Click remove app, then you'll see another prompt to either delete app or remove from home screen, which only yanks the shortcut from your screen but you still have the app on your phone. Just click delete app and you're done.

If there are apps you want to delete from your app library, simply scroll over all the way to the right, tap on the search bar and scroll through the alphabetical list to find the app you want to delete. Tap and hold until you see the option to delete the app.

Delete apps on Android

Head to the Google Play Store app on your phone and tap the profile icon. Go to "Manage Apps & Devices," then select manage. Tap on the app you want to remove and hit uninstall. Similar to Apple, you can also tap and hold on an app to find the option to delete.

On Samsung devices, there are a couple of ways to delete apps. Swiping up from the bottom pulls up all your apps. Tap and hold on the app to pull up the option to delete. You can also go to Settings, Apps, then choose the app and tap the uninstall option.

It won't work for every app though

There are some apps native to their respective devices you can't remove. For example, many of the Apple apps included on your iPhone such as Safari and Wallet can't be deleted. If you don't use them, consider stuffing them into a folder on your phone so they don't take up space on your screen. In the case of iPhone, those apps can remain in your app library without taking up real estate on your screens.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

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