The fastest way to remove an app from your Samsung

Press and hold the app icon on your home screen or app drawer until a menu appears. Tap Uninstall or the trash icon, then confirm the removal. The app is gone from your phone when ready. This works for any app you downloaded yourself.

If you cannot see an uninstall option, the app came pre-installed on your Samsung and your phone may not let you remove it completely. You can still hide it or disable it so it no longer appears in your app drawer — the steps for that are different and covered below.

The entire process takes about five seconds. You do not need to restart your phone or clear any settings afterward.

Key Takeaways

  • Apps you downloaded yourself can be deleted by pressing and holding the icon, then tapping Uninstall.
  • Pre-installed Samsung apps cannot always be fully removed, but you can disable them or hide them from view.
  • Deleting an app frees up storage space on your phone when ready.
  • You can reinstall any app you delete later by downloading it again from the Google Play Store.
  • Some apps require you to remove them as a device administrator before they will uninstall.

Deleting apps from your home screen

The home screen is usually where you see your most-used apps. Press and hold any app icon until the phone vibrates slightly and a menu or toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen. Look for the word Uninstall or a trash icon. Tap it once.

A confirmation dialog will pop up asking if you are sure. Tap Uninstall again. The app vanishes from your home screen and from your phone's storage. If you change your mind later, you can read it again from the Google Play Store at no cost.

This method works on most Samsung phones running Android 9 or newer. On older models, the menu might say Remove instead of Uninstall, but the result is the same.

Removing apps from the app drawer

The app drawer is the folder or screen that holds all your installed apps. Swipe up from the bottom of your home screen to open it, or tap the grid icon if your phone has one. Find the app you want to delete.

Press and hold the app icon until a menu appears. Tap Uninstall. Confirm the removal when prompted. The app is deleted from your phone and no longer appears in the app drawer.

If you do not see an uninstall option, that app came with your Samsung phone and cannot be fully removed. You can instead tap Disable or Hide to keep it out of sight.

Disabling or hiding pre-installed apps you cannot delete

Samsung phones come with apps like Samsung Internet, Samsung Health, and others that you may not want. These apps often cannot be uninstalled, but you have two options to get them out of your way.

Disable the app: Press and hold the app icon and tap Disable. The app turns off and stops running in the background. It still takes up some storage space, but it will not send notifications or drain your battery. You can re-enable it later by going to Settings > Apps, finding the app, and tapping Enable.

Hide the app: Press and hold the app icon and tap Hide. The app remains on your phone but disappears from your app drawer and home screen. This is useful if you want to keep it but do not want to see it every day. To unhide it, go to Settings > Apps, tap the menu icon (three dots), select Show system apps, find the hidden app, and tap Show.

Removing apps that require device administrator permission

Some apps, especially security or work-related ones, ask for device administrator permission when you install them. These apps cannot be uninstalled until you remove that permission first.

If you try to uninstall and see a message saying the app is a device administrator, go to Settings > Security > Device administrators (the exact path varies by Samsung model). Find the app in the list and tap it. Select Deactivate or Remove. Return to your home screen or app drawer, press and hold the app icon again, and tap Uninstall. It should now delete without error.

Freeing up storage space after deletion

Uninstalling an app removes it from your phone's storage right away. You do not need to empty a trash folder or restart your phone. The storage space becomes available for new apps or files when ready.

If you want to see how much space you freed up, go to Settings > Storage. The available storage number will increase. If you delete many large apps, you may notice your phone runs faster because there is less data for it to manage.

If you are trying to free up space and are not sure which apps are taking the most room, go to Settings > Apps and tap the menu icon. Select Sort by size. The largest apps appear at the top. You can delete the ones you no longer use.

Reinstalling an app you deleted

If you delete an app and later want it back, open the Google Play Store app on your Samsung phone. Tap the search icon and type the app name. When you find it, tap Install. The app downloads and installs automatically.

Any data the app stored on your phone is gone after deletion, so you may need to log in again or reconfigure settings. However, if the app syncs data to your Google account (like Gmail or Google Drive), that information is still there and will reappear when you reinstall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting an app remove my data from that app?

Yes. Any photos, messages, or settings stored only on your phone are deleted with the app. However, if the app backed up your data to the cloud or your Google account, that data remains and will return if you reinstall the app later. Check the app's settings before you delete it if you are unsure where your data is stored.

Can I delete multiple apps at once?

Most Samsung phones do not have a built-in way to select and delete multiple apps at the same time. You must delete them one at a time by pressing and holding each icon and tapping Uninstall. If you want to delete many apps, it takes a few minutes but is straightforward.

What happens if I delete a system app by mistake?

If you deleted a pre-installed app and now your phone is not working properly, you can reinstall it from the Google Play Store. Search for the app by name and tap Install. If the app is not in the Play Store, you may need to restart your phone or contact Samsung support.

Why does an app say it cannot be uninstalled?

Pre-installed Samsung apps are locked to prevent accidental removal. You can disable or hide these apps instead. If a third-party app will not uninstall, it may have device administrator permission — go to Settings > Security > Device administrators, find the app, and tap Deactivate before trying to uninstall again.

Does uninstalling an app free up RAM?

Uninstalling frees up storage space on your phone's hard drive, not RAM. However, if an app was running in the background and using RAM, stopping it will free that RAM when ready. You do not need to uninstall an app just to free RAM — you can force-close it instead by going to Settings > Apps, tapping the app, and selecting Force stop.