What does it mean to offload an app on your iPhone?
💡Need to know
- Offloading saves space: Your iPhone® removes the app but keeps its documents and data.
- You can manually offload apps: Offloaded apps have a cloud icon on your Home Screen or in the App Library.
- Restoring offloaded apps is easy: While connected to the internet, tap the cloud icon to recover an app and its data.
- iOS® can offload unused apps automatically: You can turn automatic offloading on or off in Settings.
You’re swiping through your iPhone Home Screen or browsing the App Library when you notice a little cloud icon next to an app. Now you worry you might have accidentally deleted something or lost data.
What happened? The app was offloaded. But what does it mean to offload an app?
Every day, Asurion Experts help people understand their iPhones and get the most out of them. Here’s what you need to know about offloading an app, including what happens to your data and how to get the app back.
What offloading an app does on your iPhone
When you offload an app on your iPhone, you remove it to free up storage space while keeping its documents and data. In other words, you don’t lose the information you’ve saved in the app when you offload it. The app still appears on your Home Screen or in the App Library, but you’ll see a cloud icon next to it to show that it’s been offloaded.
If you see the cloud icon and don’t remember offloading the app, your iPhone might have done it for you. Your system software (iOS) can automatically offload apps you don’t use to free up space.
Offload vs. delete: which one to use
Both options remove the app from your iPhone. However, offloading keeps your app data while deleting removes it permanently.
Offload apps when you need more space but want to keep their data on your iPhone. Delete apps if you no longer need them, and you don’t want to keep their data.
To tidy up your Home Screen without freeing up storage, you can hide apps on your iPhone instead of deleting or offloading them.
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How to offload an app on iPhone
Follow these steps to offload an app on iPhone:
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to General > iPhone Storage.
- Select an app from the list, then tap Offload App.
You can offload most apps you’ve downloaded from the App Store®. However, you can't offload some system apps that came with your iPhone.
How to turn on Offload Unused Apps
Want your iPhone to automatically offload apps you don’t use? Follow these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Apps > App Store.
- Switch on Offload Unused Apps.
If you want to keep your apps fully installed, even when you’re running low on storage, switch off Offload Unused Apps.
How to reinstall an offloaded app
Getting an offloaded app back is pretty simple. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Select the app from the list, then tap Reinstall App.
Alternatively, reinstall it from your Home Screen or App Library.
- Find the app on your iPhone Home Screen or in the App Library.
- Tap the cloud icon.
- Wait for it to reinstall.
- Open the app. Your documents and data related to that app should still be there.
You’ll need an internet connection to reinstall the offloaded app. If it’s no longer available on the App Store, you can't reinstall it.
When offloading isn’t enough
Offloading apps can free up storage, but it may not always be enough. If available storage is still almost full even after offloading apps based on app size, check what’s taking up space.
Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. You’ll see a list of apps and how much storage they use. If you no longer need an app, tap it and then select Delete App > Delete. This removes the app and its data permanently.
Photos and videos can also take up a lot of space, but you may not want to delete those precious memories. Instead, you can store files in iCloud® and then remove them from your iPhone to free up space.
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FAQ
Does offloading an app clear the cache?
Yes. Offloading deletes the app cache.
Is offloading the same as uninstalling?
Not exactly. Offloading removes the app but keeps its documents and data. Uninstalling removes the app plus its data permanently.
Is it better to delete or offload an app?
It depends. Offload an app if you want to keep its data. Delete it if you no longer need the app or its data.
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