How to Close Apps on iPhone With and Without a Home Button

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Learn how to close all running apps on any iPhone with this easy guide

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: February 3, 2024 Fact Checked

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• Using iPhone X and Newer
|
• Using iPhone 8, SE, or Older
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• Q&A

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Apple suggests only closing apps if they're unresponsive or buggy. If you have lots of opened apps in the background, you can easily close them by opening the preview and swiping up. Here's how to close apps on iPhone with and without a Home button.

Things You Should Know

• To close an app on iPhone X or newer, swipe up from the bottom and pause in the middle. Select an app, and then swipe up to close it.
• On iPhones with a Home button, double-click the home button. Select an app, and then swipe up to close it.
• Buggy apps can usually be fixed by closing it and opening it again.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using iPhone X and Newer

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1. 1
   Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle. Release your finger when the apps open in preview-form.

   • Your iPhone must be unlocked and open to the Home Screen or an app.
   • This method will work on iPhones without a Home button.
2. 2
   Swipe to the app you want to close. You can swipe left and right to search through all open apps.
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3. 3
   Swipe up on the app. This will close the app.

   • Closing buggy apps usually fixes it upon the next launch. If your iPhone is frozen, try closing all the apps before restarting it.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using iPhone 8, SE, or Older

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1. 1
   Double-click the Home button. This is the circle button at the bottom of the iPhone. You'll see apps open in preview-form.

   • Your iPhone must be unlocked and open to the Home Screen or an app.
   • If your Home button is broken, you'll need to enable AssistiveTouch.
     • Go to Settings → Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch → toggle on AssistiveTouch.
     • Tap the circle that appears on the screen to open the menu.
     • Double-tap Home.
2. 2
   Swipe to the app you want to close. You can swipe left and right to search through all open apps.
3. 3
   Swipe up on the app. This will close the app.

   • If you want to keep a lot of apps open, you can save battery by disabling Background App Refresh.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  If my home button is broken, how do I close apps?

  

  Brandon 567123

  Community Answer

  Go to "settings" on your phone. Then go to "general" and tap "accessibility." Go down to "assistive touch" and turn it on. A box with a circle should appear. Tap it, then press the home button twice, and swipe up to remove the apps.

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• Question

  What is the red bubble with numbers for next to episode game app for?

  

  Bri1231

  Community Answer

  The numbers indicate how many push notifications you received from the app.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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  Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2

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