Some iPhone users have reported the photo app disappearing from their iPhones. For example, you may open your iPhone’s home screen and discover that your Photo app icon has disappeared. Sometimes, you can only access your photos through the Camera app.
As we’ll explain here, a few factors may have caused your Photo app to disappear from the home screen. We’ve also listed down a few steps you can follow to get the photo app back on your iPhone home screen.
Why has the Photos app disappeared from iPhone?
You may have accidentally removed the Photos app on your iPhone, which is common among iPhone users. In this situation, the app is just removed and not deleted.
In other situations, you may have also accidentally deleted the Photos app. Even though it is a built-in app, you can recover it from the App Store.
Read: How to compress photos for email on iPhone
How to get the Photos app or icon on your iPhone
The first step when the picture icon isn’t available on iPhone’s home screen is to replace it using the steps below:
- Swipe left past your home screen to open the App Library. A list of iOS apps will appear on the screen.
- Long press on the Photos app.
- Hold on to the app and swipe left to the home screen.
- Release it to free space on your home screen; from there, you have created a Photos app shortcut.
Alternatively, the Photos app is not on your iPhone because you may have accidentally deleted it. Despite it being a built-in app, you can recover it using the following steps:
- Tap on the App Store on your iPhone.
- On the search box, type Photos app. It will appear alongside other apps. Tap on the Photos app.
- Tap the Restore button with a cloud and down arrow icon to restore it.
- Wait for the app to download and restore itself onto your device, then launch it from your home screen.
Read: iPhone camera roll is out of order after iOS update?
You can also find a missing app icon on iOS by searching for it on the App Library’s search box using the following steps:
- Swipe left past your home screen to open the device’s App Library.
- If you can’t see the app immediately, you open the App Library and tap on the search box on top of the screen.
- Type the Photos app on the screen.
- The app icon should appear on the results list. Long press the app icon until a small menu appears on the screen.
- Tap on Add to Home Screen. The Photos app will automatically appear on the screen.
If you can’t see the Add to Home Screen option on the menu, the app will likely be buried in a folder or home page, so you need to unhide it. However, if the app is unavailable on the App Library, it most likely means it is deleted and needs to be restored or downloaded again.
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Alex is an IT technician who shares his experiences with Apple devices occasionally. He has a collection of Apple devices (from iPhone 4) and has recently started trying out Android.
IG: @I M_Alex