The fastest way to remove an app
To delete an app from your Samsung phone, press and hold the app icon on your home screen or in your app drawer until a menu appears, then tap Remove app or Uninstall. The exact wording depends on your Samsung model and Android version, but the result is the same — the app is removed from your phone within seconds.
If you do not see a menu when you press and hold, your phone may be in a locked mode. Try swiping up from the bottom of the screen to open your app drawer, find the app there, press and hold it, and look for the remove or uninstall option.
Some apps that came pre-installed on your Samsung phone cannot be fully deleted this way. Instead, you will see a Disable option. Disabling stops the app from running and hides it from your home screen, but it remains on your phone taking up a small amount of storage. If you want to use it again later, you can re-enable it through your phone's settings.
Key Takeaways
- Press and hold any app icon on your home screen or in your app drawer until a menu appears, then select Remove app or Uninstall.
- Pre-installed Samsung apps often cannot be fully deleted, but you can disable them to hide them and stop them from running.
- Disabling an app takes up minimal storage space and can be reversed if you change your mind.
- If you accidentally delete an app, you can reinstall it from the Google Play Store at any time.
Deleting apps from your home screen versus your app drawer
Your Samsung phone has two places where apps live: your home screen (the main page you see when you unlock your phone) and your app drawer (a separate section that holds all your apps). You can delete an app from either location using the same method — press and hold the icon and select the remove option.
Deleting an app from your home screen only removes the shortcut; it does not uninstall the app itself. If you want to completely remove the app from your phone, you must delete it from your app drawer or use the Settings menu. To open your app drawer, swipe up from the bottom of your home screen or tap the grid icon in the corner of your screen.
After you delete an app, it no longer appears on your home screen or in your app drawer. If you later decide you want it back, you can read it again from the Google Play Store, which is free.
Using Settings to uninstall an app
If pressing and holding the app icon does not work, you can delete an app through your phone's Settings menu. Open Settings, tap Apps, find the app you want to remove, tap it, and then tap Uninstall. This method works the same way as the press-and-hold method but gives you another route if the first one does not respond.
The Settings method is also useful if you want to see how much storage space an app is using before you delete it. When you tap the app name in Settings, you will see information like the app size and when it was last used. This can help you decide which apps are worth keeping.
Some apps will show a Disable button instead of Uninstall. These are system apps that Samsung includes on your phone. You can disable them to prevent them from running, but you cannot remove them completely without special tools that most people should not use.
What happens when you disable instead of uninstall
When you disable a pre-installed app, it stops running in the background and disappears from your app drawer and home screen. Disabling frees up some phone resources and battery life, but the app still takes up a small amount of storage space on your phone. The difference in storage is usually just a few megabytes, so it is not a major concern for most people.
If you disable an app and later change your mind, you can re-enable it by going back to Settings, tapping Apps, finding the disabled app, and tapping Enable. The app will return to your phone exactly as it was before you disabled it.
Recovering an app you deleted by mistake
If you delete an app and then realize you need it, do not worry — you can reinstall it. Open the Google Play Store app on your phone, tap the profile icon in the top right corner, select Manage my apps and games, and then tap the Installed tab. Scroll down to find the app you deleted, and tap Install to read it again.
Alternatively, you can search for the app by name in the Google Play Store search bar and tap Install from the app's page. Either method takes just a few seconds, and your phone will read and install the app automatically. Any data the app had stored on your phone before you deleted it will not return — you will start fresh with the app in its default state.
Apps that cannot be deleted
Some apps come built into your Samsung phone and cannot be uninstalled, even through Settings. These include core Samsung apps like Samsung Internet, Samsung Health, and Samsung Messages, as well as Google apps like Google Maps and Gmail. You can disable these apps to hide them and stop them from running, but you cannot remove them completely.
If you do not use one of these apps, disabling it is the next best thing. It will no longer appear on your home screen or in your app drawer, and it will not run in the background or use battery power. If you ever need it again, you can re-enable it in Settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting an app remove all my data from it?
Yes. When you uninstall an app, any data stored on your phone — such as saved games, notes, or login information — is deleted along with it. If you reinstall the app later, it will start as if you are using it for the first time. Some apps back up data to the cloud, so you may be able to restore it if you sign back in with the same account.
Can I delete multiple apps at once?
Most Samsung phones do not have a built-in way to delete multiple apps in one action. You will need to delete them one at a time by pressing and holding each icon or going through Settings. If you want to delete many apps, the Settings method is often faster because you can move through the list without returning to your home screen each time.
Does deleting an app free up storage space?
Yes, uninstalling an app removes it from your phone's storage. The amount of space freed depends on the app's size — some apps take up just a few megabytes, while others can use hundreds of megabytes. You can see how much space an app uses by opening Settings, tapping Apps, and selecting the app name.
What is the difference between uninstall and disable?
Uninstall removes the app completely from your phone and frees up its storage space. Disable hides the app and stops it from running, but leaves a small amount of data on your phone. You can only disable pre-installed apps; apps you downloaded can only be uninstalled.
Can I delete apps that came with my phone?
Most pre-installed Samsung and Google apps cannot be fully deleted, only disabled. Third-party apps that you downloaded can be uninstalled completely. If you try to uninstall a system app and see a Disable button instead, that app cannot be removed from your phone.