Industry guru Dave Taylor offers free tech support on a wide variety of technical and business topics, including HTML, Apple iPhone, online advertising, Cascading Style Sheets, Web design, management, Unix, Linux, search engine optimization, online dating, Mac OS X, shell script programming and Microsoft Windows.

How do I delete custom Apple iPhone icons?

Saw your earlier note about creating custom Apple iPhone website icons and think it's very cool, but I'm wondering: how did you delete the icon you didn't want to keep?

Dave's Answer:

The latest version of Apple's iPhone operating system (1.1.3) indeed includes a terrific feature wherein you can now bookmark your favorite Web sites with custom icons showing up right on the home screen. It's one of the coolest additions to the phone since I bought it on day #2 of The iPhone Era, and I already have a half-dozen bookmarks on my home screen, including a link to Google Calendar rather than worrying about the iPhone calendar, Twitter, Meebo and, yes, my own site too.

All well and good, and the ability to move the icons around and rearrange things to best meet your own needs (including the icons on the navigational bar on the bottom of the screen) is also cool, but how do ya do it?

It's easy once you learn the trick: Simply put your finger on an icon and hold it in place for a few seconds. After about two seconds all the icons will be wiggling back and forth in a rather amusing way, and it'll look like this:

To move icons around now, simply touch and drag them to where you want: everything else moves out of the way and zips around on the screen to make space as necessary.

As with Apple's dashboard widgets, iPhone icons that aren't part of the standard set gain a small black circle with a white "x" on the top left (you can see a few of them in the screen capture above). To delete one of these user-defined icons, simply tap on the "X":

Tap "Delete" and you've zapped it.

Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Stumble Upon

Ringaza Free Bonus Ringtones and Wallpapers!

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

Thank you thank you thank you..............I couldn't get rid of a repeat widget and followed your succinct directions. Presto!!!!!!!! Gone!!!! Once again I'm enchanted.

Posted by: Claudia Behr at January 24, 2008 11:51 AM

If you want to add iphone icons of your favorite websites to your iphone homescreen check out www.icons4iphone.com

Posted by: Mike Witherspoon at February 4, 2008 9:52 PM

I have a 1.0.2 iphone and cannot delete icon. Even after holding it for a few second it doesn't wiggled.

Posted by: Jay at February 12, 2008 10:11 PM

I tried your suggestion on how to remove the custom icons from the iphone home page and it worked perfectly :) Thank you!

Posted by: Karmen at February 17, 2008 2:06 AM

Cool! Good to know! Appreciate it!

Posted by: Jen at April 7, 2008 10:35 AM

when I hold them they are wiggling and I can move them, but there is no X to delete them!!!!

I got 1.1.3 can someone help me?

Posted by: jan at April 22, 2008 12:58 AM

Outstanding advice, my thanks

Posted by: William at April 23, 2008 6:36 AM

Jan, if you don't have the little "X" on the top left of the icon when they're all wiggling, it's because it represents a system feature and you can't delete it. For example, the Calculator.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at April 23, 2008 8:09 AM

I too have the new iPhone 3G and when the icon wiggles there is no x to delete.

Mind you, this is not a system icon it was an icon that came up from a download from the app store. It still says 'loading' and never completed the download.

Now the icon is still there and I want it gone!!

Pleas help! thanks.

Posted by: Ras at July 18, 2008 7:49 AM

Hello

I have an 1.1.1 verison iphone. I want to know is how can I deleted some icon from my home screen? I went into the installation where I get the apps from the third party but there isn't anyway on how to uninstall the icon unless they are there. So how do I deleted those icons?

Thank you,

Firoz

Posted by: Firoz at August 9, 2008 6:22 PM

Thanks a much. It works. More Power!

Posted by: Andre at September 23, 2008 2:38 AM

I am loving my iphone but know very little about it. I added some "free" games and then didn't like them. Had no idea how to get rid of them. Thank you thank you thank you!!! Great help!!

Posted by: MKM at November 25, 2008 11:28 AM

Mister dave...how do I capture a photo online and turn that into an icon?? possible

Posted by: Joseph at December 28, 2008 3:28 PM

thanx a lot bro i'm in the military so u know that im slow so I thank u for that.

Posted by: wagner mendoza at January 8, 2009 7:59 PM

Hi,

It seems like it works for alot of people but some of us still dont see x on icon wile its shaking.

I have 2.2.1 Version and model MB702LL.

I need someone to help me with this..

Posted by: Rahat Khalid at June 23, 2009 2:26 AM

Few Min Ago i ask a question which i solve my self. if you cant see the x on your iphone to delete icons then do this....

--> go to installer icon
--> press Categories
--> press install Packages
--> click the icon you wanna delete and Uninstall.

Posted by: Rahat Khalid at June 23, 2009 3:23 AM

Hello

Thank you,

Posted by: Lingondo Divine Namanga at September 17, 2009 2:44 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!