To close an open app on an iPhone 5, press the Home button twice quickly to open the app switcher. Swipe left or right to find the app, then swipe its preview up and off the top of the screen. The app closes right away. Press the Home button once to go back to the Home screen.
The same steps work on any iPhone with a Home button, including the iPhone 5s, 6, 7, 8, and iPhone SE. Below are the steps for newer iPhones too, and when closing apps actually helps.
How to close apps on an iPhone 5
- Double-press the Home button, the round button below the screen.
- Swipe left or right to find the app you want to close.
- Put your finger on the app’s preview and swipe it up toward the top of the screen.
- Press the Home button once to leave the app switcher.
Close up to three apps at once
Put two or three fingers on different app previews and swipe them up together.
How to close apps on newer iPhones without a Home button
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle until the app switcher appears.
- Swipe left or right to find the app.
- Swipe the app’s preview up to close it.
Should you close apps on your iPhone?
Usually, no. Apple says you should only force an app to close if it stops responding. iOS pauses apps you aren’t using, so they don’t use much battery or memory. Reopening a closed app from scratch can actually use more battery than switching back to a paused one.
Close an app when:
- It’s frozen or not responding.
- It’s acting strangely, like not loading content or crashing.
- A navigation or music app keeps running in the background and you want it to stop.
If an app won’t close or keeps freezing
- Restart the iPhone 5: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on the top until the slider appears, drag it, wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the button again until you see the Apple logo.
- Force restart: If the screen is frozen, hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons together for about 10 seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Update the app in the App Store, or delete and reinstall it.
- Free up storage in Settings > General > Usage (called iPhone Storage on newer iOS versions).
A note about the iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 can’t update past iOS 10, so many current apps no longer install or run on it. If apps crash often, they may no longer support your phone’s iOS version. Security updates have also stopped, so be careful with banking and shopping apps on it.
Frequently asked questions
Does closing apps save battery?
Not usually. It only helps if a specific app is misbehaving. To save battery, lower screen brightness and turn off Background App Refresh in Settings > General.
Why doesn’t double-pressing Home work?
Press faster, with less than a second between presses. If the Home button is unreliable, turn on AssistiveTouch in Settings > General > Accessibility to get an on-screen Home button.
How do I close all apps at once?
iPhone doesn’t have a close-all button. Swipe up on each app, or use two or three fingers to close several at a time.
Does closing an app delete its data?
No. Your data stays saved, though you may lose anything you hadn’t saved in that app, like a message you were typing.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.