How to Close Apps on Android
How to Close Apps on Android GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Mobile Phones > Android
Shutting off, killing, or clearing away Android apps isn't the same as deleting them. You need to uninstall an Android app to remove it completely.
How to Close Apps on Android
Shut off running apps to free up memory and declutter
By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on September 27, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Android Switching from iOSWhat to Know
Close an app by swiping it up and off the screen. For vertically listed apps, swipe left or right.Some devices have an exit button in the upper-right corner of each app. Tap the exit button to close the app.If you see a three-line button with a small X, tap it to close all recently opened apps. This article explains how to close apps on an Android device from the Home screen. It also includes information on closing apps from the apps manager and shutting down running services,How to Close Apps on Android From the Home Screen
To close apps on Android means to shut the apps down. You might shut down an app if it isn't responding normally, if your phone or tablet is low on memory, or to clear up the screen. Closing running apps from the Home screen is the quickest way to shut them down. Start by viewing all running apps. How you do this depends on your phone and the Android version. If you're not sure how your device shows running apps, try the different methods that are available: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (but don't swipe too far up or the app drawer opens).Tap the small square icon on the bottom of the screen.Press the physical button on the bottom of your phone or tablet that looks like two overlapping rectangles. You might not see it light up until you press in that area next to the Home button.On Samsung Galaxy devices, press the Recent Apps button to the left of the Home button. Swipe up and down or left and right (depending on your phone) to find the app you want to close down. Swipe up on the app you want to kill, as if you were throwing it off the screen. This works if your apps are listed horizontally. Or, for vertically listed apps, swipe the app left or right to close it immediately. On some devices, there's an exit button in the upper-right corner of each app when in this view, and you can tap it to close the app. If you see a three-lined button at the bottom with a small x on it, tap it to close all the recently opened apps. Some devices have a Clear all option if you swipe all the way to the left. Tapping that kills all the apps at once. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to close the other running apps. When you're finished, select an empty space next to the edge of the screen or press the Home button.How to Close Apps Using the Apps Manager
Your phone or tablet has a built-in manager for apps that you should use if you need to close background apps (apps that are running but don't show up when you follow the method above). When you use the settings to close running apps, there are more options than what you find in the swiping method. This option isn't as friendly and is geared more toward killing unresponsive apps rather than exiting gracefully. Open the settings and tap Apps. If you don't see that, look for Apps & notifications, App Management, Application manager, or General > Apps. Tap See all <#> apps and then locate the problem app that you want to shut down. If you don't see that option, you may be viewing a list of the apps on your device, in which case you can scroll to find the one you want to close. Select the app and choose Force stop. Depending on your device, this screen is also where you can uninstall the app if you're not sure why you have it in the first place. Tap OK or Force stop to confirm that you want to kill the running app. Once the app has stopped, you can open it again normally. However, the destructive nature of forcing an app to close down may cause some corruption or unintended behavior.Closing Apps Isn' t Usually Necessary
It's not usually required that you shut down apps on Android because your device should handle the apps appropriately, shuffling memory back and forth between apps you're actively using and the ones running in the background. Constantly shutting down apps might make your device run slower. However, if there's a reason you want to clear the apps, you can do so easily.Shutting off, killing, or clearing away Android apps isn't the same as deleting them. You need to uninstall an Android app to remove it completely.