In the past, every single app you downloaded from the App Store was automatically placed onto your iPhone’s Home Screen, leading to endless pages of disorganized icons. With the introduction of iOS 14, Apple added the “App Library”—a hidden page at the very end of your Home Screen that automatically categorizes and stores all of your apps.
Despite this new organizational tool, your iPhone still defaults to the old behavior: dropping a new icon onto your Home Screen the moment an app finishes downloading. If you prefer a minimalist Home Screen and want to manually curate which apps earn a spot there, you can force iOS to send all newly downloaded apps directly to the App Library instead.
How to Send New Apps Directly to the App Library
Changing where new apps are saved requires a quick trip to the Settings app:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Home Screen & App Library (on older versions of iOS, this may just be called Home Screen).
- Under the “Newly Downloaded Apps” section, you will see two options. By default, “Add to Home Screen” is selected.
- Tap on App Library Only to change the setting.
How Do I Find My Apps Now?
Once you enable this setting, your Home Screen will remain completely undisturbed when you install something new. To find and open your newly downloaded apps, you have two options:
- Swipe to the App Library: Swipe left across all your Home Screen pages until you reach the App Library. New apps are automatically placed into the “Recently Added” folder in the top right corner.
- Use Spotlight Search: From the center of your Home Screen, swipe down with one finger to open the search bar. Type the name of the new app to open it instantly.
If you eventually decide you use a specific app often enough to warrant a spot on your Home Screen, simply find it in the App Library, long-press its icon, and select Add to Home Screen from the pop-up menu.