What’s the Difference Between Offload and Delete App in iOS and iPadOS

Quick Tips

• Offloading an app will only delete the app from your iPhone; all its associated data will remain on your device.
• Deleting the app will remove it from your iPhone and its associated data.
• While deleting an app frees more storage, offloading is a wise option for seldom-used apps.

Difference Between Offload and Delete App

When you go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage → App name, you’ll observe two options, i.e., Offload and Delete app. But what’s the difference between them?

• Deleting unused apps deletes the app and all its associated data. Whereas, if you offload an app, only the app is deleted; the related documents and data are retained.
  
• When you reinstall a deleted app, you’ll start afresh as if you installed it for the first time unless it offers a cloud sync facility.
  
• If the offloaded app is reinstalled, you won’t need to reconfigure it, as the data linked with it is still available on your iPhone or iPad.
  
• When you offload an app, it no longer makes API calls or runs in the background. You are even saved from unnecessary notifications without affecting the app data.

Note: You cannot offload or delete system apps such as Messages, Phone, Health, Safari, Photos, etc.

What Happens When You Offload or Delete Apps

Let’s see the aftereffects of offloading and deleting apps.

App Icons

• Delete – The app icon gets removed immediately from the Home Screen/App Library of your iPhone or iPad.
• Offload – The icon stays on the Home Screen/App Library, while a small cloud-shaped symbol appears under the app’s icon.

Note: The app will also disappear from the main Settings list, but you can still see it under Settings → General → iPhone or iPad Storage.

Device Storage

An app’s total size is split into two ways, i.e., App Size and Documents & Data. The Documents & Data is home to the cached files, cookies, app login details, setting preferences, and downloaded files such as images, videos, audio, etc.

Offloading an app will free up the amount of storage listed next to App Size, for only the app is removed and not its data. The App Size option will vanish after offloading an app. And the Offload button will be replaced by the Reinstall app.

• Deleting the app will free up the total size of the app, i.e., App Size + Documents & Data. So, everything gets deleted.

Offloading vs. Deleting Apps Explained with Instagram, WhatsApp, and More

Let’s see what data gets affected by a few examples mentioned below.

What Happens When You Offload WhatsApp

• When you offload WhatsApp, iOS will preserve your chats, images, and other data. The next time you install WhatsApp, you’ll log in automatically with your number without registering again. However, you will not receive any messages while your WhatsApp is offloaded. You will receive them only when you install the app again.

• When you delete WhatsApp, your chats will be deleted unless you have enabled backup to iCloud. You will have to register your number again. Your WhatsApp account will not be deleted by uninstalling or offloading the app. Find out in detail what happens when you uninstall WhatsApp.

Similarly, in other social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, etc., offloading will preserve all the local data and preferences.

YouTube

• Offloading the YouTube app will preserve any changes you had made to the YouTube app settings before offloading it, such as dark mode, autoplay setting, and more. Similarly, your downloaded content will also remain untouched. But you will need the YouTube app to open it. You will also be logged in automatically to your account.

• Deleting an app will remove the app setting preferences, downloaded content, and login details. You will have to customize the app again when you reinstall it after deleting it.

Google Chrome

• In Google Chrome and other browsers, your app preferences, downloaded files, etc., will be untouched by offloading an app. When you reinstall the app, it will feel like you have reopened it from the last time, even if your open tabs are intact.

• But if you delete Chrome, you must set up and modify the app settings again as needed. For instance, if you had changed the search engine before deleting the app, you would have to change it again.

Note: Deleting any images or files downloaded through Chrome will not remove them. You can access them from supported apps, such as the Photos app, for images and videos.

Games

For most games, deleting an app will remove your high score, level count, and similar things. That’s because such data is usually stored locally on your iPhone or iPad. Only if an app supports a cloud sync facility, such as Candy Crush, you won’t lose your levels.

However, deleting the app will nuke other items, such as bonus props, lives, etc., but that’s not the case with offloading a game; everything will remain as is.

How to Reuse Apps After Offloading or Deleting Them

In both cases, you must download the app again from the App Store. As is evident, that will require an internet connection. So, if you don’t have a working internet connection, you can’t access either the offloaded or deleted app.

To reinstall an offloaded app, tap on the offloaded app icon on your iPhone or iPad’s home screen. Alternatively, go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage. Tap on the offloaded app you want to reinstall and then Reinstall app. You can also directly install the app from the App Store.

To reinstall a deleted app, open the App Store and search for the app name. Install the app by tapping the install icon.

Note: You can install a deleted or offloaded app only if it’s still available in the App Store. If the app no longer exists, you cannot install it back.

Should You Offload or Delete Unused Apps

Both Offload and Delete have pros and cons. For instance, offloading an app saves all the local data linked to it. It helps save storage space on the iPhone or iPad without affecting the app data. I like using it only for apps I need in certain places.

For example, I use some apps for services limited to specific regions. I don’t want to lose their data. So, offloading them makes sense until I need them again. That’s why you should offload apps that you rarely use.

Deleting an app will help you reclaim more space than offloading, but you will lose the associated data. Hence, I deleted apps that I no longer use. A good tip is to uninstall apps you haven’t used in 3-6 months.

However, both have a drawback: they need an internet connection to reinstall. If you are in a place with no or bad internet, you can’t use offloaded or deleted apps.