Folders group several Home Screen apps under one icon. Instead of separate icons for every banking, shopping, travel, or streaming app, you can keep related apps together and reduce Home Screen clutter.
Folder creation works on all recent iOS versions.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if your Home Screen has too many pages, or if you want related apps grouped manually under names you choose.
Create a Folder
- Touch and hold an app on the Home Screen until icons jiggle or the quick menu appears.
- Drag that app directly onto another app you want in the same group.
- Hold it there until iOS creates a folder frame.
- Release your finger.
- Accept the suggested folder name or type your own.
- Tap Done or tap outside the folder to finish.
There is no separate “new folder” menu for apps. Dragging one app onto another is how folders are created.
Rename or Add Apps
- Touch and hold the folder until the icons jiggle, then open it.
- Tap the folder name field and enter a new name.
- To add another app, drag the app icon onto the folder.
- To remove an app, open the folder, touch and hold the app, and drag it out to the Home Screen.
Folder Management Tips
Move a Folder
Touch and hold the folder icon and drag it where you want it. Hold it at the screen edge to move it to another Home Screen page.
Folder Pages
A folder can hold more apps than the first visible grid. Extra folder pages appear as dots at the bottom of the open folder, and you can swipe between them.
Delete a Folder
Drag every app out of the folder. Once it is empty, the folder disappears automatically. The apps are not deleted.
Sources
- Apple Support: Organize apps into folders on iPhone
- Apple Support: Organize the Home Screen and App Library
- Apple Support: Change Home Screen settings on iPhone