How To Stop Apps From Downloading To Home Screen In iOS 14

iOS 14 includes a new App Library section that organizes your apps in one single page for easier and quicker access. This has been introduced to help you unclog your iPhone Home Screen. Additionally, you have the option to stop (prevent) apps from downloading to the Home Screen. Instead, you can have them available only in the App Library.

If you enable this feature, apps will be still downloaded on your iPhone fully (not as an App Clip). However, their icon won’t be automatically added to the first free slot on the available Home Screen pages. You can use Spotlight search to bring up the app’s icon or search for it in the App Library search field.
This helps you to maintain a slimmed down version of the iPhone Home Screen.

How To Store New App Downloads In App Library Only

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Scroll for Home Screen.
3. Select ‘App Library only’ in the New App Downloads section of the screen.
Tip: You can also enable notification badges to show up in the App Library. If you decide to hide all app pages and plan to use a slimmed down version of the Home Screen you might wanna to display the badges in the App Library.

Other iOS 14 Home Screen Changes

Besides the newly added App Library the iPhone and iPad Home Screens get many other new features:
– stock and third party Home Screen widgets are now available in iOS 14 / iPadOS 14.
– hide Home Screen pages that contain rarely used apps.

Do you plan to hide app pages to gain easier access to the App Library? Let us know using the comments section available below.

Related: Find out all important iOS 14 new features for iPhone and iPad!