Find out how to delete apps on Android in this simple, step by step guide, allowing you to clear up some extra space on your smartphone and make more room for new games, memories, and more.
If you’re in the middle of a spot of virtual spring cleaning, we’ve got plenty of other how to tutorials to help you, including our guides on how to cancel Roblox Premium, how to delete Facebook accounts, how to delete Netflix profiles, and even how to cancel LinkedIn Premium.
How do I delete apps on Android?
You can delete or uninstall apps directly from your Android settings. Here’s how to delete apps on Android:
- Open settings on your mobile device
- Click on apps
- Click on ‘see all apps’
- Click on any app you want to delete
- Hit uninstall
- Then confirm by pressing OK
How do I delete apps via Google Play?
As long as your phone is connected to the internet, you can also delete or uninstall Android apps through the Google Play Store. Here’s how to delete apps via Google Play:
- Open the Google Play Store app on your device
- Click on the profile icon at the top right of the screen
- Click on manage apps and devices
- Then click on manage
- Click on an app you want to delete
- Click uninstall
- Repeat with any additional apps you wish to delete
Why can’t I uninstall an Android app?
Having trouble getting rid of an app? While uninstalling Android apps is usually a simple process, there are some apps that you can’t remove. This can be fore a few reasons.
If you can’t uninstall an Android app, it could be one of the following:
- Bloatware – phones, tablets, and even computers often come with pre-installed apps installed on the device by your manufacturer or carrier. We call these apps bloatware. Bloatware generally includes things like weather apps, tool apps like the calculator, app stores, and music or video players. Unfortunately, you often can’t remove these apps, and, as they’re baked in, resetting your phone also won’t work
- System apps – in addition to bloatware, all Android phones also come with certain preinstalled apps that are essential to your phone’s functionality. These apps are often integral to your device and play a critical role in its functions, so you can’t remove them
- Admin requirements – some apps require admin rights to work, which can prevent you from uninstalling them following the usual methods
- Corrupted files – it can be difficult to uninstall an app if it has corrupted files or didn’t download and install properly
How to uninstall apps that won’t uninstall
If you’re having issues uninstalling an Android app after following the steps above, you can try the following methods to get rid of it.
Uninstall the app through Google Play
If you’re struggling to uninstall or delete an app through your phone settings, try following the steps above to uninstall it via the Google Play Store. Just keep in mind that you need to have an internet connection in order to do this. If you’ve already tried to uninstall the Android app via Google Play, you can try the delete it via your phone settings instead.
Delete Android apps using administrator privileges
As mentioned above, some Android apps require special administrative privileges. You then can’t uninstall these apps unless you revoke those privileges. This is most common with things like antiviruses, authenticators, and app locks.
Here’s how to delete Android apps with administrator privileges:
- Open the settings menu on your Android device
- Locate your device’s security settings (depending on your phone, this could be called ‘security’, ‘security & privacy’, or ‘password & security’)
- Open ‘authorization & revocation’ or ‘other security settings’
- Tap ‘device administrators’ or ‘device admin app’
- Find the app you want to uninstall, then tap the slider to its right to toggle administrator privileges off (it should be blue for active and grey for inactive)
- If there’s no toggle, tap on the app instead, then hit ‘deactivate’
- If a confirmation window appears, choose ‘revoke’
After this, you should be able to uninstall the app via settings by following the steps at the top of this guide.
Disable apps from settings
As we mentioned above, you can install some pre-installed ‘bloatware’ apps. However, you can disable them to prevent it from using system resources. While this won’t free up any space, it may make your phone faster, as these apps won’t be working away in the background any more.
Here’s how to disable Android apps:
- Open the settings menu on your Android device
- Go to ‘Apps’
- Tap ‘all apps’ or ‘manage apps’
- Either scroll through or search for the app you want to disable, then tap on it
- Hit ‘disable’
Some apps may give you a pop-up when you try to disable them, claiming that disabling the app may impact other apps. This generally won’t negatively impact you, as these messages often refer to other pre-installed apps that you likely don’t use, so simply hit ‘ok’ to continue.
However, please note that some apps won’t let you disable them.
And there you have it – now you know exactly how to delete apps on Android. If you fancy grabbing yourself a new Android phone to get even more space, then be sure to check out our guide to the best Android phone.