How to Offload Unused Apps on iPhone & iPad

Remove apps you don't use while keeping their data. Easily reinstall later without losing settings or documents.

Save 5-20GB of storage by offloading apps you rarely use while keeping all your data safe.

Why This Matters

Apps can be surprisingly large:

• Games: 1-5GB each
• Social media apps: 500MB - 2GB
• Navigation apps: 500MB - 1GB

Offloading vs Deleting:

• Offloading: Removes the app but keeps all data and settings
• Deleting: Removes everything (app + data)

When you reinstall an offloaded app, everything returns exactly as you left it.

Automatic Offloading (Recommended)

Let iOS automatically offload apps you don’t use:

1. Open Settings

Tap Settings on your home screen.

2. Go to App Store

Scroll down and tap App Store.

3. Enable Offload Unused Apps

Toggle on Offload Unused Apps.

✅ Done! iOS will automatically offload apps when storage is low.

Manual Offloading

Offload specific apps manually:

1. Open Settings

Tap Settings on your home screen.

2. Go to General

Tap General.

3. Tap iPhone Storage

Tap iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage on iPad).

4. Select an App

Scroll through your apps and tap one to see details.

5. Offload the App

Tap Offload App and confirm.

Which Apps Should You Offload?

Good candidates for offloading:

• ✅ Games you finished but might replay
• ✅ Seasonal apps (tax software, holiday planners)
• ✅ Apps you use occasionally
• ✅ Large apps with cloud-synced data

Don’t offload:

• ❌ Apps you use daily
• ❌ Apps with local-only data you need
• ❌ System apps

How to Reinstall

When you tap an offloaded app’s icon, it automatically reinstalls from the App Store with all your data intact.

How Much Space Will I Save?

Check iPhone Storage (Settings → General → iPhone Storage) to see:

• How large each app is
• When you last used it
• Recommendations for apps to offload

Typical savings: 5-20GB depending on which apps you offload.

Works on iPhone and iPad

This feature works identically on both iPhone and iPad running iOS 11 or later.

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