How to Organize Your iPhone Home Screen

The iPhone home screen is the grid of app icons you see every time you unlock your phone. Over time, apps pile up and the ones you actually need can be hard to find. This guide shows you how to bring order to that clutter — moving important apps to easy spots, grouping related apps into folders, and hiding apps you rarely use so they are out of the way but not deleted.

These steps work on any current iPhone with an up-to-date version of iOS. If you are unsure which iOS version you have, go to Settings, tap General, then tap About. The software version number is listed there.

Why organizing your home screen matters

When Phone, Messages, and Camera are buried on page three behind twenty other icons, it takes longer to do the things you need most. A tidy home screen means fewer taps, less searching, and less frustration. You are not changing how the phone works. You are rearranging the furniture so the most useful items are closest to hand.

How to move an app

Press and hold on any app icon until the icons start to wiggle (jiggle) and small minus signs appear in their corners. Your phone is now in what Apple calls "jiggle mode" or edit mode. In this state, you can drag any icon to a new spot. Press and hold the icon you want to move, then drag it — slowly — to where you want it to go. To move an app to a different page, drag it to the edge of the screen and wait a moment. The next page will appear. When you are done arranging, tap Done in the upper-right corner, or press the side button to exit jiggle mode.

How to create a folder

Folders let you group related apps — for example, all your health apps in one folder or all your games in another. To make a folder, enter jiggle mode (press and hold any app), then drag one app directly on top of another app and hold it there for a second. A folder is created automatically, and the phone gives it a suggested name based on the app types. Tap the folder name to rename it to whatever you like — "Health," "Games," "News," or anything that makes sense to you. You can keep adding apps to the folder by dragging them onto it while in jiggle mode. To remove an app from a folder, open the folder, enter jiggle mode, and drag the app back out onto the main home screen.

How to hide apps you do not use often

You do not have to delete an app to get it off your home screen. iOS has a feature called App Library — a screen that automatically organizes every app on your phone into categories. You can remove an app from the home screen while keeping it in the App Library. To do this, enter jiggle mode, tap the small minus sign on the app you want to hide, and choose "Remove from Home Screen" (not "Delete App"). The app disappears from your home screen but is still on your phone. To find it later, swipe all the way left past your last home screen page to open App Library, then search or browse the categories.

How to customize the Dock

The Dock is the row of four apps at the very bottom of your home screen. It stays visible on every page. By default, Apple puts Phone, Safari, Messages, and Mail there. You can change any of those. Enter jiggle mode, drag an app out of the Dock to free up a slot, then drag any app from the home screen into the Dock. Most people find it helpful to keep Phone, Messages, Camera, and either Maps or a video-calling app (like FaceTime) in the Dock so those four are always one tap away.

How to add a widget

Widgets are small tiles that display live information — your current weather, today's calendar events, or battery level — without you having to open an app. To add a widget, press and hold an empty spot on the home screen to enter jiggle mode, then tap the plus sign (+) in the upper-left corner. A widget gallery opens. Tap any app name to see its available widget sizes (small, medium, large). Tap "Add Widget" to place it on your screen, then drag it to where you want it. Weather and Calendar widgets are particularly useful because you can see the day's forecast and upcoming appointments at a glance.

Suggested layout for easy daily use

A practical arrangement puts these on your first home screen: Phone, Messages, FaceTime (or your video-calling app of choice), Camera, Photos, Maps, Settings, and Weather. Add a medium-sized Calendar widget at the top so today's appointments are visible the moment you unlock your phone. Everything else — social media, games, shopping, health apps — can go in folders on a second page or in App Library.

Source: Apple Support — Organize apps in folders on iPhone (support.apple.com). Video walkthrough: Apple Support YouTube channel, search "organize iPhone home screen."