Just like regular programs on your Windows PC or applications on your Mac, apps can be removed and uninstalled from your iPad at any time; and unlike a regular computer, the process is actually much simpler. And since the App Store and iTunes keep track of the apps you have purchased, you can always restore an uninstalled application later on, something we'll explain in a later iPad tutorial.
Uninstall iPad apps
Here how you temporarily or permanently remove an application from your iPad:
- First, flick through the Home screens until you find the app you want to delete.
- Then, press and hold for a couple of seconds any of the icons you see on screen, until they all start wiggling.
- When your apps start shaking, you will notice that some of them have an "x" close button appear into their upper left corner, and some don't: apps that wiggle but don't have a close button can be moved around, and even switched to another Home screen, but they cannot be uninstalled. These are the "system apps" that ship with your iPad, like the App Store, the Safari web browser, the Settings icon, etc.
- To remove and uninstall an app from your iPad, click on its close button; your iPad will show a confirmation message: "Delete [app name] - Deleting [app name] will also delete all of its data".
- What your iPad means is that, while you can reinstall an app you have purchased, as well as free apps, once you uninstall them from your device, all their preferences, scores for games, profiles, etc. will themselves be permanently deleted. (You may be able to restore some of these settings, in some cases, if you have created a full backup of your iPad from iTunes - but this isn't guaranteed to work, and you shouldn't count on it.)
- To keep the app, tap on the "Cancel" button.
- To uninstall the app, tap on the "Delete" button.
- Before actually removing the app from your iPad, you will see an optional "Please rate [app name] before deleting" message.
- Your iPad will delete the selected app and completely remove it.
- You can now exit "wiggling" mode by clicking on the Home button on the case of your iPad.
And this is how you delete and uninstall apps from your iPad! If you accidentally deleted an app, go back to the App Store to re-download it and install it; in the case of paid apps, the store should normally remember that you have already purchased them, and you should be able to re-install them for free.