Last updated on June 9th, 2023 at 09:41 am
If you have ever needed to delete an app to clear space on your iPhone, then you are likely familiar with the method for deleting apps on an iPhone. But you may have found that some of the apps icons do not have a small x on them that would otherwise allow for app deletion.
Some of the apps on your iPhone cannot be deleted, and are typically the apps that were included on your iPhone by default. You can continue reading below to see which of the apps on your iPhone cannot be removed.
Related: If your iPhone is set to offload apps, then check out this tutorial about how to stop iPhone from deleting apps.
iOS 9 iPhone Apps That Cannot Be Uninstalled
The apps that cannot be uninstalled on your iPhone are the ones that were included on the device by default. These apps are shown in the images below:


As shown in the images above, the default apps that cannot be removed are, in alphabetical order:
- App Store
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Camera
- Clock
- Compass
- Contacts
- FaceTime
- Find Friends
- Find iPhone
- Game Center
- Health
- iBooks
- iCloud Drive (this can be removed in Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive)
- iTunes Store
- Maps
- Messages
- Music
- News
- Notes
- Phone
- Photos
- Podcasts
- Reminders
- Safari
- Settings
- Stocks
- Tips
- Videos
- Voice Memos
- Wallet
- Watch
- Weather
If you are attempting to delete an app other than the ones on that list, but are unable to, then you may have enabled a setting on the Restrictions menu that prevents app deletion. This option can be found by navigating to:
Settings > General > Restrictions > Deleting Apps

You will be able to delete apps when this setting is turned on, as it is in the image above. For more information on preventing the deletion of apps, you can click here.
If you want to get your default apps out of sight, then a good way to do so is by putting them into a folder.
If you need to clear up some additional space on your iPhone, then there are other ways that you can do so. Check out our complete guide to deleting iPhone items for additional ways to make some room on the device.

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.