Easy Tips: How To Create Folders & Organize Apps On iPhone

Grouping apps into folders is one of the best ways to declutter your iPhone and simplify your experience. Yes, you can rely on the App library to organize your apps, but what fun would it be?

Creating a folder gives you more control over your apps and only takes a few seconds. So, if you're wondering how to create a folder on an iPhone, this guide will show you how.

How to Create a New Folder On Your iPhone

Scrolling through pages of apps to find one icon gets old fast. Folders help you group related apps together so your Home Screen stays easier to use.

Steps:

1. Touch and hold the Home Screen background until your apps start to jiggle.
2. Hold and drag one app onto another app you would like to place in the same folder.
3. This will create a folder. Release the app to drop both apps into the new folder, then drag in any other apps you want to keep there.


Release to Create An Apps Folder

Note: If a quick actions menu appears instead of the icons jiggling, keep holding a moment longer or tap Edit Home Screen. On older iPhones with 3D Touch, a lighter press often works better than pressing hard.

How To Create A Subfolder on iPhone

You can't place one Home Screen app folder inside another on iPhone. If you need deeper organization, use more folders, extra Home Screen pages, or the Files app for nested file folders instead.

Steps:

1. Open the Home Screen and review the folder you want to reorganize.
2. If you need another level of organization, create a separate folder instead of expecting a nested Create Folder option on the Home Screen.


A subfolder in Another Folder

Note: Remember, folders behave like apps. Apps from both folders won't consolidate into one folder but one folder inside another.

How To Rename Your iPhone Folder

iOS suggests a folder name automatically, but you can rename it to something clearer if you want the category to make sense at a glance.

Steps:

1. Touch and hold the folder until the Home Screen starts to jiggle, or open the quick actions menu.
2. Tap the editable Title field and type the name you want. Alternatively, you can tap Rename in the pop-up menu to change the folder's name.


Renaming An Apps Folder

How To Mark A Folder With A Color Tag

iPhone Home Screen folders do not support color tags, but you can still make them easier to spot with a clear folder name and a cleaner app layout.

Steps:

1. Open the folder you want to identify more clearly instead of looking for a …More menu.
2. Rename it with a short label that matches the apps inside, because there is no Mark With Color Tag option for Home Screen folders.
3. Move the folder to a consistent Home Screen position so it is easier to find later.

Move An App From A Folder To The Home Screen

To make your apps more accessible, you can move an app from the folder to the Home Screen to make it easier to locate and open.

Steps:

1. Go to the home screen page with the folder that contains the app.
2. Open the folder.
3. Touch and hold the target app until the apps start to jiggle.
4. Drag the app from the folder to the home screen.
5. Click the Home or Done button to save the new arrangement.

How To Delete An iPhone Folder

With time, you might be required to delete some apps. Hence, the need to delete a folder and have your apps listed individually on your home screen. See below for how to delete the folders and restore the apps to their original locations.

Steps:

1. Press and hold any app icon in that folder until the apps shake.
2. Press and drag the apps one at a time from within the folder to your home screen.
3. Automatically, the folder will disappear once empty.
4. Tap the Home or the Done button at the top right to save your changes.

How To Move Apps and Widgets Around On Your iPhone

You can manage the layout of your Home Screen by repositioning apps and widgets to other Home Screen pages. On top of that, you can temporarily hide home screen pages and change where new apps get downloaded.

Steps:

1. Touch and hold any app or widget on the Home Screen, then tap Edit Home Screen.
2. Once the apps begin to jiggle, drag an app to another location on the same page or another Home Screen page.
   • Drag the app or widget to the right edge of the screen and wait a second for the new page to appear. Focus on the dots on the Dock to know how many pages you have and which one you're viewing.
   

   Moving an App to a Different Home Screen Page

3. After reorganizing the apps, press the Home button (on an iPhone with a Home button)or tap Done (on other iPhone models).

Tip: You can move all your apps and widgets related to a particular Focus, like your Work Focus, onto one Home Screen page and make that page accessible during that Focus.

How To Reset The Home Screen And Apps To Their Original Layout

Sometimes you get bored with the Home Screen configurations you make, and you wish to reset the main Home Screen back to its original layout. Here's how to quickly reset your iPhone home screen layout.

Steps:

1. Go to Settings > General.
2. From the bottom, click Transfer or Reset iPhone.
3. Tap Reset followed by Reset Home Screen Layout.
4. Tap Reset Home Screen.


Reset Home Screen Layout

Note: You might see one or more third-party apps on the first Home Screen if there is some space due to Apple News being unavailable in your region or if you have deleted some built-in Apple apps. Doing so also removes the widgets you have added. You will have to add the desired widgets once again.

Bonus Tip: How To Create (and Delete) a File Folder

After creating a folder for apps, I think it's wise to create a folder for files. On your iPhone, you can only create folders within file management apps. Here I'll illustrate using the native Files app in iOS 15.

Steps:

1. Open the Files app marked in blue.


Open Files App

2. Tap a location or existing folder where you want the new folder to live.
3. Choose a Location such as On My iPhone or iCloud Drive.
4. Tap the three dots icon in the top right corner of the app.
5. On the drop-down menu, tap New Folder. If you don't see it, that location does not allow new folders.
6. Rename the new folder that appears to your liking.


DRename the new folder

7. Easily drag-and-drop files in it just as on the Home Screen.
8. Otherwise, if you wish to delete any folder, long press on the Folder icon and tap Delete from the pop-up menu.

1. How to make a locked folder on my iPhone?

iPhone does not support locking a folder. Hence, you'll need to use a third-party app from the App Store to password-protect a folder and lock it on your iPhone. For example, the Folder Lock app or iPhone file manager apps like File Manager & Browser or File Manager for iPhone lets you password-protect any personal files, photos, documents, and more.

2. How to make a hidden folder on my iPhone?

The iPhone can hide an entire Home Screen page of folders and apps, but it does not create a truly hidden folder. Simply tap and hold the screen until it jiggles, then tap the dots at the bottom. Every page will show a checkmark underneath it. To hide a page of folders and apps, tap the checkmark > Done.