Apple is famous for its approach to user privacy. Unlike other players in the mobile world, the company doesn’t lean on advertising and is less dependent on data as a fuel for success. Still, iOS users on iPhone and iPad may choose to uninstall apps that feel intrusive and ask for unjustified data permissions. If you’re an iPhone or iPad (or both) user who wishes to remove an app, we’ve got you covered with a quick guide.

Step-by-step: Here’s how to delete an app from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad:

1. Tap the app on your screen and hold it for a couple of seconds.
2. Select the minus sign to remove the app.
3. Select “Delete App.”
4. Tap “Delete.”
5. Select “Done” if another confirmation message appears.

<nofollow>Sign in to Mine<nofollow> if you are curious to learn about other apps that have access to your data. With our smart data assistant, you can do much more than just discover your digital footprint, you can actually manage it.

Apple and data privacy

Apple is considered an industry leader in data privacy. The company announced significant privacy-focused initiatives like limiting app tracking on iOS 14.5, requiring detailed data use explanations from app developers, creating consent pop-ups asking users for permission, offering an extensive “a day in the life of your data guide,” and more.

But Apple is still a business that uses our data and is far from perfect in doing so. A French startup group accused the company of allegedly collecting user data for ad tracking purposes without consent. Last year, a former contractor who worked with the company told the lead data protection regulator in Europe that teams working on Siri are routinely exposed to sensitive user data. Finally, some claim that while the company speaks publicly against the data practices of its competitors, it also enables them to use its iPhone and iPad devices to collect data.    

A few things worth noting

• Apple explains that built-in apps cannot be removed and offers a list of such apps.
• Deleting apps doesn’t cancel in-app subscriptions.
• It also doesn’t remove your data from the app. This is one common mistake we’ve discussed in the past. To do so, you can easily manage your data-sharing preferences via your <nofollow>Mine account<nofollow>.
• In iOS14, the removal process may delete iOS apps from the home screen while keeping them in the app library.

Discover which apps have access to your data

Mine enables mobile users to learn which companies have access to their data, giving you a simple solution for managing and protecting your private information. Own your data and uninstall every bad apple.