What to Know

Press and hold a space without any apps on your Home Screen to customize the Dock on your iPhone.
Drag and drop apps in and out of the Dock while the apps are in jiggle mode.
You cannot get rid of the Dock on the iPhone, iPad, or Mac. But you can clear out all the apps and leave it blank.

The iPhone Dock lets you access your most frequently used apps from any of your Home screens. The default iPhone Dock apps are the Phone, Safari, Messages, and Music apps. I’ll teach you how to change, rearrange, and organize apps into folders.

What Is the Dock on iPhone?

The iPhone Dock is located at the bottom of the iPhone. It is sometimes referred to as the menu bar, iPhone home Dock, or the Home Screen bottom bar. It is important not to confuse the Dock with the iPhone Home bar at the bottom of the screen. This bar can be used to navigate between Home screens. People often ask how to remove the iPhone bottom bar from their phone. Unfortunately, this isn't possible. But you can customize the apps in your Dock! We'll go over how to do that below.

How to Move Apps In & Out of the iPhone Dock

If you already have four apps on your iPhone Dock, you'll have to remove an app before you can add a new app to the Dock. If you'd like more apps in your Dock, there's a workaround we'll go over below.

Press and hold anywhere clear of apps on your Home Screen.
When the apps begin to wiggle, you will know you can customize your Home Screen.
If you already have four apps in your Dock, drag one out of the Dock and place it on the Home Screen.
To add an app to the Dock, drag it from the Home Screen and drop it in the Dock.
When you're finished, tap Done.

Now you know how to add and remove apps! If you don't want any apps in your Dock, you can remove all apps using this method and leave the Dock empty. To add even more apps, you can create folders within your Dock.

How to Use Folders to Add Apps to the iPhone Dock

You can add apps to the Dock using folders. You can drag folders into and out of your Dock just like you'd drag any app! This will allow you to add an entire folder of apps to your Dock. To get tips like these directly in your inbox, don’t forget to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

How to Remove Dock on iPhone

A lot of people wonder if it's possible to remove their iPhone Dock. Apparently, there are ways to do it that involve jailbreaking your iPhone, but this is complicated and risky. Even those who succeed at it may not be able to use the Dock space for other apps, so there really isn't much reason to try it. If you only put your most-used apps here, the iOS Dock is a valuable tool that can save you time.

If you like this article, check out how to use the App Library to help you organize and find the apps you need. If you have other Apple devices, you might be interested in learning how to customize the Dock on a Mac.

FAQ

What is the bottom bar on iPhone called? The bar at the bottom of your iPhone's Home Screen is called the Dock. On most Mac devices, there is a bar at the bottom of your Home Screen where you can place and remove apps. This bar, the Dock, will stay put even when you switch Home Screens or desktops, making the apps always accessible.
Can you get rid of the bottom bar on iPhones? You cannot get rid of the iPhone Dock. But you can remove all apps from the Dock and leave it clear.
Can I get rid of Dynamic Island? On iPhone 14s and later, the floating graphic that hides the speaker and front camera is called the Dynamic Island. You cannot disable the Dynamic Island.