The quickest way to rearrange your iPhone home screen
To change what appears on your home screen, press and hold any app icon until a menu appears, then tap Edit Home Screen. You can now drag icons to new positions, delete them from the home screen (without deleting the app itself), or create new pages by dragging an icon to the right edge. When you're done, tap Done in the top right corner.
If you want to hide entire pages of apps instead of moving individual icons, press and hold the home screen background (not an icon), tap the dots at the bottom, then uncheck the pages you don't want to see. The apps stay on your phone—they just won't appear on your home screen.
You can also add widgets (small app shortcuts that show live information) to your home screen. Press and hold an empty area, tap the plus sign, choose an app, select the widget size you want, and tap Add Widget. Widgets for weather, calendar, reminders, and news are built in, and many third-party apps offer their own.
Key Takeaways
- Press and hold any app icon and select Edit Home Screen to move, delete, or organize icons on your current page.
- Drag an icon all the way to the right edge of the screen to create a new home screen page.
- Hide entire pages of apps by pressing and holding the background, tapping the page dots, and unchecking pages you don't want visible.
- Add widgets by pressing and holding an empty area, tapping the plus sign, and choosing an app that offers a widget.
- Deleting an icon from your home screen does not remove the app from your phone—it only hides it from view.
Moving and organizing individual app icons
The standard way to rearrange your home screen is to drag icons one at a time. Press and hold any icon until the menu appears, then tap Edit Home Screen. The icons will now jiggle slightly, showing they're ready to move.
Drag any icon to a new spot on the same page. If you want to move it to a different page, drag it toward the left or right edge of the screen—the page will scroll automatically, and you can drop it where you want. You can also drag an icon into a folder by dropping it on top of another icon of the same category (Photos, Productivity, Games, and so on). When you're finished, tap Done.
To remove an icon from your home screen without deleting the app, press and hold it during edit mode and tap Remove from Home Screen. The app will move to your App Library (the last screen, accessible by swiping all the way right), where you can still find it by searching or browsing by category.
Creating new home screen pages and organizing by category
Each new page you create holds up to 20 icons (depending on your iPhone model). To add a page, enter edit mode by pressing and holding any icon, then drag an app icon all the way to the right edge of the screen. A new blank page will appear, and you can drop the icon there.
Many people organize pages by category—one page for social media, one for productivity, one for entertainment. You can name pages informally in your own mind, or use the page dots at the bottom of the screen to see how many pages you have. Press and hold the background to see all pages at once and rearrange them by dragging the page thumbnails.
If you have pages you rarely use, you don't have to delete them. Instead, hide them by pressing and holding the home screen background, tapping the dots at the bottom, and unchecking the pages you want to hide. They'll still exist and you can unhide them later by checking the box again.
Adding and customizing widgets on your home screen
Widgets display live information from an app without opening it—weather, calendar events, reminders, or news headlines. To add one, press and hold an empty area of your home screen, tap the plus sign in the bottom left, then scroll through the list of apps and tap the one you want a widget from.
Each app may offer multiple widget sizes. Select the size you want (small, medium, or large), then tap Add Widget. The widget will appear on your home screen. You can move it the same way you move app icons—just drag it to a new position while in edit mode.
Some widgets are interactive: you can check off a reminder, mark a task complete, or play a song directly from the widget without opening the full app. Others are informational only. Try different widget sizes to see which one fits your home screen layout and gives you the information you need at a glance.
Using App Library to find apps you've removed from your home screen
The App Library is the final screen on your iPhone, automatically organized by category. When you remove an app from your home screen, it goes here instead of disappearing. You can still open it by scrolling to App Library and tapping it, or by swiping down and using the search box to find it by name.
You don't have to keep every app on your home screen. Many people use App Library as a storage area for apps they use occasionally, keeping only their most-used apps visible on the home screen pages they see every day. This keeps your home screen clean and makes it faster to find what you use most.
Resetting your home screen to the default layout
If you want to start over and return your home screen to Apple's default layout, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout. This will move all your apps back to their original positions and recreate the default pages.
This action does not delete any apps or data from your phone—it only changes where the icons appear on your home screen. All your apps, photos, messages, and settings remain exactly as they were. If you change your mind later, you can rearrange everything again using the steps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does removing an app from my home screen delete it from my iPhone?
No. Removing an icon from your home screen only hides it from view. The app stays on your phone and appears in your App Library. You can find it by searching or browsing by category, and you can add it back to your home screen anytime.
Can I have different home screen layouts on different iPhones?
Yes, each iPhone has its own home screen layout. If you use multiple iPhones, you can arrange each one differently. If you restore a backup from another iPhone, the home screen layout transfers too, but you can rearrange it afterward.
What's the difference between moving an app and creating a folder?
Moving an app changes its position on your home screen. Creating a folder groups multiple apps together under one icon, saving space. To create a folder, drag one app onto another app of the same category during edit mode.
Can I hide apps so they don't appear in search?
You can remove them from your home screen (they'll still appear in search and App Library), but you cannot hide an app from search without deleting it entirely. Removing from the home screen is the closest option.
How many home screen pages can I have?
You can create as many pages as you want. Most people use between two and five pages, but there's no limit. You can hide pages you don't use often so they don't clutter your view.