How Do I Know What App I Just Deleted By Accident?
We have all been there before. Sitting and fidgeting with your phone for a few minutes and dint realize that your screen was unlocked. Maybe your darling child got ahold of your phone or a parent that wasn’t all too sure what they were doing with themselves. Regardless of how you got there, you look over at your phone and then you look at your screen and realize that it is a little emptier than you remember.
Now you are looking at your phone, dumbfounded and confused. Was there something there? Is it just in your head? How do you even begin to get that back? With how many apps the average iPhone user has on their phone, it is not a surprise that we cannot name every app on their phone (and ultimately, we can’t just look at our phones an immediately realize it). If you were handed your phone back completely app-less, would you be able to download every app back without missing a single one?
This can pose a significant problem when you are about to run off the door, about to enter a wilderness of a cruel, wifi-less world. Once you get beyond the comfort of your wireless signal or a hotspot, it can be difficult to try to get those apps back. It is incredibly data-heavy to try to replace your apps on the network -especially for larger apps. Going over will cost you a fortune and, unfortunately, even after paying all that to start the download, your service may not be good enough to actually get the app back on your phone for a while.
That means you may have to deal with your long commute without music, or even spend a weekend away without your directions app of choice. Or perhaps you downloaded an obscure game that you play every day, but couldn’t name for the life of you. It’s 2017, and technology should be able to compensate for our lack of perfect memory. Are the apps you deleted ever really lost forever? Little do many of us know that there is a quick and easy way to tell what apps you deleted so you can save time and get them back before you need them -sort of.
How to get your app back
So, there is not direct, one-click way to figure out exactly what you accidently deleted, but there is a simple way to get there! If you go to the app store, you should see a prompt that shows you all of your updates. When you click on it, there should be a button labeled “Purchased” on the top of the screen. Then you can tap on “My Purchases” and “Not on this iPhone.” Once you get there, you will be shown a collective list of every app you have ever had before. They are organized from most recent, so you can just see what clicks in your mind as you search through the top icons.
Other potential uses
Sure, this is very convenient for if you are missing accidentally deleted apps, but there are so many more implications. Having access to EVERY app you have ever deleted can toss you right back on a trip through memory lane. Find all of those old apps you used to play -even the old cringeworthy ones you may not be so excited about. This can also be great for if you have children who suddenly remember a game they were dying to play all of the sudden, or even if you are looking to bring yourself some old enjoyment with new apps. You can even see how some of your old, favorite apps have changed over the last few years. You never know what old games got new levels and features -even different skins can be a fun surprise. I remember how entertaining it was to bring “Draw Something” back in my life for a few months.
While it is still not an ideal system, at least it is something. The iPhone features are certainly better than their droid counterparts.