Android phone white background
Androids offer two ways to remove apps from your home screen.
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  • There are two ways you can delete apps on your Android device: permanently or by temporarily relocating them. 
  • You can delete apps entirely from your Android through the phone’s settings app or remove them from your home screen by dropping them into the app drawer.
  • When you move an app to the app drawer, its data is not deleted, and you can access it.
  • If you delete the app entirely, its data will also be deleted, and you’ll need to reinstall it to use it again.
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If you’re like most people, you probably have too many apps on your phone. 

From productivity apps you downloaded but never used to games you played for two weeks before abandoning, it’s easy to overload your phone with unnecessary apps.

If you’re an Android user looking to clean up your home screen and pare it down to only what you need and use, there’s good news. Android makes it very easy to clean up your home screen, and you don’t even need to delete the apps to do so permanently.

Android offers you the ability to trash an app altogether. But if you have apps that you don’t want to see every time you open your phone, but also don’t want to delete permanently, Android lets you move them to the app drawer instead. 

Moving an app to the app drawer means they won’t be visible on your home screen, but you can still access them without having to redownload them.

Here's how to permanently or temporarily remove an app on your Android.  

How to move apps to the app drawer on an Android 

1. Press and hold the app you want to remove. 

2. Your phone will vibrate once, granting you access to move the app around the screen.

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Press and hold on the app you want to get rid of until it vibrates.
Melanie Weir/Business Insider

3. Drag the app to the top left corner of the screen, where it says 'Remove.' 

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To move the app to the app drawer, drag it over to the Remove icon.
Melanie Weir/Business Insider

4. Take your finger off the app once the app turns gray to complete the action. 

How to permanently delete apps on an Android 

1. Press and hold the app you want to remove. 

2. Your phone will vibrate once, granting you access to move the app around the screen.

3. Drag the app to the top of the screen where it says "Uninstall." 

4. Once it turns red, remove your finger from the app to delete it. 

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To delete the app entirely, drag it over to the Uninstall icon.
Melanie Weir/Business Insider

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