The fastest way to delete an app from your Samsung tablet
To remove an app, press and hold its icon on your home screen or in the app drawer until a menu appears. Tap Uninstall or the trash icon, then confirm the removal. The app disappears from your tablet when ready.
If you cannot find the uninstall option in that menu, the app is likely a system app that came pre-installed with your tablet. Samsung locks these apps so you cannot delete them, but you can hide them instead — tap Disable or Hide in the same menu, and the app will no longer appear on your home screen or in your app list.
Some apps show a different menu when you hold them. If you see only options like "Remove from home screen" or "Edit", tap that instead, and the icon will disappear from your home screen — but the app itself remains installed. To fully remove it, use the Settings method described below.
Key Takeaways
- Press and hold an app icon on your home screen until a menu appears, then tap Uninstall to remove the app completely.
- Pre-installed system apps cannot be uninstalled, but you can disable or hide them so they no longer appear on your tablet.
- Removing an app from your home screen does not delete it — you must use the uninstall option or Settings to fully remove it.
- You can also remove apps through Settings by opening Apps, selecting the app, and tapping Uninstall.
- Disabled apps take up storage space but do not run in the background or appear in your app drawer.
Using Settings to remove an app
If the home screen menu does not work, or if you want to see all your apps at once before removing them, open Settings and tap Apps. Your tablet will show a list of every app installed on it.
Scroll through the list and tap the app you want to remove. A detail page will open showing how much storage the app uses and when you last opened it. Tap Uninstall at the top or bottom of the screen. A confirmation message will appear asking if you are sure — tap OK or Uninstall again, and the app is gone.
If the Uninstall button is grayed out or missing, that app is a system app and cannot be removed. Instead, tap Disable to turn it off. A disabled app will not run, will not send notifications, and will not appear in your app drawer, but it will remain on your tablet taking up a small amount of storage.
The difference between uninstall, disable, and remove from home screen
Uninstall removes the app completely from your tablet and frees up the storage space it was using. Once uninstalled, you can read it again later from the Google Play Store if you change your mind.
Disable turns off a system app so it no longer runs or appears in your app list, but the app files remain on your tablet. You cannot disable apps you downloaded yourself — only pre-installed apps. If you disable an app by mistake, you can re-enable it by going back to Settings, Apps, finding the app, and tapping Enable.
Remove from home screen only hides the icon from your home screen. The app is still installed and still appears in your app drawer. This option is useful if you want to keep an app but do not want to see it every time you unlock your tablet.
Removing multiple apps at once
If you want to delete several apps quickly, open your app drawer (usually a grid icon at the bottom of your home screen) and press and hold one app icon. Your tablet will enter selection mode, and checkboxes will appear next to each app. Tap the checkbox next to each app you want to remove.
Once you have selected all the apps you want to delete, look for a trash icon, delete button, or uninstall option at the top of the screen. Tap it, and your tablet will remove all the selected apps at once. This method works only for apps you downloaded — system apps cannot be selected this way.
What happens to your data when you remove an app
When you uninstall an app, your tablet deletes the app itself and all the files it stored locally — things like cached data, temporary files, and offline content. However, some apps store information in your Google account or in cloud storage, and that data may remain even after you uninstall the app.
For example, if you uninstall Gmail, your emails remain on Google's servers and will reappear if you reinstall Gmail or open Gmail in a web browser. If you uninstall a game, your progress saved to the cloud may still be there when you read the game again. If you uninstall a photo app, photos you backed up to Google Photos will still be in your Google Photos library.
If you want to delete an app and all its data permanently, including cloud backups, you will need to go into the app's settings or your Google account settings and delete the data there separately. The uninstall process on your tablet only removes the app itself.
Freeing up storage space by removing apps
If your Samsung tablet is running low on storage, removing apps you no longer use is one of the fastest ways to free up space. To see which apps are taking up the most room, open Settings, tap Apps, and look for a Storage or Size column. Some Samsung tablets also have a Storage section in Settings that shows a breakdown of what is using space and recommends apps to remove.
Removing a large app can free up anywhere from a few hundred megabytes to several gigabytes, depending on the app. Games and video apps tend to use the most space. If you are not sure whether you still need an app, you can always uninstall it and read it again later from the Google Play Store at no cost.
Reinstalling an app you removed
If you uninstall an app and later decide you want it back, open the Google Play Store app on your tablet. Tap the profile icon in the top right corner, then tap Manage apps and device. Go to the Manage tab and scroll down to find the app you removed. Tap Install next to it, and your tablet will read and install the app again.
Alternatively, you can search for the app by name in the Play Store search bar and tap Install from its store page. Either method will restore the app to your tablet. If the app stored data in the cloud, that data may reappear once you open the app again, depending on how the app developer set it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I remove apps that came with my Samsung tablet?
No, you cannot uninstall pre-installed system apps like Settings, Phone, or Messages. You can disable them instead, which hides them from your app drawer and stops them from running. Tap and hold the app, select Disable, and confirm. You can re-enable them later if you need them.
Will removing an app delete my data?
Uninstalling an app deletes the app and its local files from your tablet, but data stored in your Google account or cloud services usually remains. For example, uninstalling Gmail does not delete your emails. If you want to remove all traces of an app, you may need to delete its data from your Google account separately.
What is the difference between disabling and uninstalling?
Uninstalling removes the app completely and frees up storage space. Disabling turns off a system app so it no longer runs or appears in your app list, but the app files stay on your tablet. You can only disable pre-installed apps, not apps you downloaded yourself.
How do I remove an app from my home screen without deleting it?
Press and hold the app icon and tap Remove from home screen. The icon disappears from your home screen, but the app remains installed and still appears in your app drawer. You can add it back to your home screen anytime by pressing and holding an empty space and selecting the app.
Can I recover an app after I uninstall it?
Yes. Open the Google Play Store, tap your profile icon, select Manage apps and device, go to the Manage tab, find the app, and tap Install. The app will read again. If it stored data in the cloud, that data may return when you open the app.