Finding all the apps you’ve downloaded on your phone or tablet can be tricky, especially if you’ve been downloading apps for a while. With new apps coming out every day, it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve installed over time. Fortunately, every major mobile operating system provides ways to view and organize all of your installed apps in one place.
Viewing all your apps on an iPhone
If you have an iPhone or iPad, the easiest way to see all your apps is to go to your home screen and swipe left past all your main pages of apps. The last page contains a categorized list of all your apps, organized alphabetically by genre.
To get there:
- Go to your first home screen page filled with app icons.
- Swipe left to scroll past all your home screen pages of apps.
- The last page is an alphabetical list separated by category of all apps.
This app library contains every app you’ve downloaded, even if it’s not on one of your home screen pages. Apps are automatically categorized by type – Social, Creativity, Entertainment, etc. You can tap on the categories along the top to filter the list and find apps quicker.
From this view you can:
- Scroll to browse every app you’ve downloaded.
- Search for a specific app by name.
- Delete apps you no longer need.
- Tap and hold on apps to add them back to your home screen.
Searching for apps
If you know the name of a specific app you want to find, you can also search your iPhone to locate it:
- Go to your first home screen page.
- Swipe down anywhere on the screen to bring up the iPhone search bar.
- Type the name of the app you’re looking for.
- Tap the app to open it if it appears in the search results.
This will search the names of all your downloaded apps and display any results. Use search if you know the app name and want the quickest way to access it.
Finding recently downloaded apps
If you’re trying to find an app you just downloaded recently, there’s an easy way to see your most recently added apps:
- Go to your first home screen page.
- Swipe right from the middle of the screen.
- Your most recently downloaded apps will appear in a list for quick access.
This screen shows your last several app downloads in chronological order, making it easy to find something you just installed.
Viewing all your Android apps
On an Android phone or tablet, there are a couple ways to see all your downloaded and installed apps in one place.
App drawer
The app drawer contains all the apps downloaded on your device, including those not on your home screen. To access it:
- From your home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- This will open the app drawer, an alphabetical list of all apps.
Tap on any app in the list to open it. You can also search the app drawer by typing in the search bar at the top.
Play Store app
The Google Play Store app where you download new apps also contains a list of all apps already installed:
- Open the Play Store app.
- Tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.
- Select “My apps & games.”
- You will see a list of all apps you’ve downloaded onto your device through the Play Store.
This list only contains apps downloaded from the Play Store. Apps downloaded elsewhere won’t show up here.
Settings
Finally, you can view a list of installed apps through your device settings:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select “Apps.”
- Here you can see all your downloaded apps in one place.
In Settings you can also search for a specific app, clear app data or cache, and uninstall apps you no longer want.
Using a third-party app
In addition to the built-in ways to view your apps, there are various third party apps you can download that offer more options for organizing and managing your app library.
Some popular apps for viewing all your downloaded apps include:
- AppMgr III (Android) – View and categorize apps, uninstall, clear data, stop running apps.
- App Library Organizer (Android) – Automatically categorize apps, view recent installs, clear cache and data.
- AppViewer (iPhone/iPad) – View all your apps in one place, including apps not on your home screen pages.
- Organize My Apps (Android) – Customize how your app drawer is organized for easier access to apps.
Third party apps provide more ways to view, categorize, search, and organize your app library beyond what your device includes natively. They can make it easier to navigate all your downloaded apps.
Cleaning up old or unused apps
Once you have a comprehensive view of all your downloaded apps in one place, you may want to take the opportunity to clean up old or unused apps.
Why remove apps?
Here are some reasons you may want to uninstall apps you no longer need:
- Free up storage space on your device.
- Remove unused apps so your home screen is less cluttered.
- Delete apps you no longer use or need.
- Get rid of low quality apps.
- Some old apps may no longer be supported or work properly.
How to uninstall apps
Removing apps from your iPhone or Android device:
- Locate the app you want to remove through your app library or app drawer.
- Press and hold your finger on the app icon.
- Tap uninstall/delete from the pop-up menu.
- Confirm you want to uninstall the app.
Alternatively, you can uninstall apps through your device Settings > Apps menu. This will give the additional options to clear app cache/data before removing.
What happens when you uninstall an app?
- The app will be removed from your device.
- No longer takes up storage space on your phone/tablet.
- Removes app from your home screen if it was there.
- App data/settings also removed in the process.
- App no longer runs or provides notifications.
If you ever want to reinstall a removed app in the future, you simply need to download it again from the App Store or Play Store. As long as the app store listing remains, you can always download it again later even after uninstalling.
Safely uninstalling apps
To safely uninstall apps without losing data:
- Offload unused apps – This removes the app while keeping its data in case you want to reinstall later.
- Log out of apps – Make sure to sign out of any apps where you want to keep your account before deleting.
- Back up app data – If there’s any app data you want to save, make sure to back up that data separately.
Reinstalling removed apps
If you change your mind later and want an app you previously removed back, reinstalling is easy:
iPhone/iPad
- Open the App Store.
- Tap on your profile icon in the top right.
- Tap “Purchased” to see all your previously downloaded apps.
- Find the purchased app you want and tap “Install” to download it again.
Android Device
- Open the Play Store app.
- Tap on the hamburger menu icon and select “My apps & games.”
- Choose the “Installed” tab to see previously installed apps.
- Find the app you want and tap “Install” to redownload it.
As long as the app is still available in the app store, you can reinstall it this way even if you had uninstalled it from your device. Your app purchases and download history remain available.
Transferring apps between devices
When getting a new phone or tablet, you probably want to move your apps over. Here are some ways to transfer apps between devices:
Sync app downloads on Android
If you use the same Google account on multiple Android devices, your app download history can be synced between them:
- Make sure you’re logged into the same Google account on both devices.
- Apps you’ve downloaded from the Play Store will be available for download on the new device.
- Open the Play Store, go to “My apps & games” and install apps to move them over.
App syncing with iTunes on iPhone/iPad
To sync iPhone or iPad apps using iTunes:
- Connect your new iPhone/iPad to a computer using a USB cable.
- Open iTunes on the computer and select your device.
- Go to the Apps section in iTunes and check “Sync Apps.”
- Click Apply to transfer your apps from your old device to the new one.
This will copy over most of your downloaded apps to the new device.
Restore from iCloud backup
You can also restore apps by using an iCloud backup:
- Make sure you have an iCloud backup from your old iPhone or iPad.
- On the new device, go through the setup process.
- Select “Restore from iCloud backup” during setup and pick your backup.
- Your apps will be transferred from the backup.
This method allows you to move apps wirelessly without a computer.
App backup & restore on Android
For Android app backup and restore:
- On your old device, make sure app data is being backed up to Google Drive.
- On your new device, make sure you’re logged into the same Google account.
- When you install an app you previously had, app data will be restored from the backup.
This allows you to restore both your apps and their related data.
Recap & Conclusion
To quickly recap, here are some of the key ways to view and manage all your downloaded apps on an iPhone, iPad, or Android device:
- iPhone App Library – Swipe past your home screens to see every app organized alphabetically.
- Android App Drawer – Swipe up from your home screen to see all your apps in one scrollable list.
- Play Store’s My Apps & Games – See apps you’ve downloaded from Google Play specifically.
- Device Settings – The Apps or Application Manager section lists installed apps.
- Search – Use your device’s search feature to quickly find a specific app.
- Third party apps – Get extras app management features with an app like AppMgr III or AppViewer.
- Uninstall old or unused apps to free up space and reduce clutter.
- Transfer apps to a new device either wirelessly or by syncing.
Keeping track of the apps on your mobile devices can be tricky, but every platform provides ways to view and manage your entire app library. Taking advantage of your phone or tablet’s app organizer will help keep your app collection clean and organized.