How to see previously downloaded apps on android 2022

It's easy to see all the apps you've downloaded on an Android phone. Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Even if you uninstall an app from your Android phone, it's never "lost." You can always reinstall it again later for free, because the Google Play Store remembers your entire purchase history. 

If you've uninstalled an app — maybe to free up space on your phone, or because you didn't think you'd use it again — it's easy to find it again in your app library and reinstall it. 

1. Start the Play Store app.

2. Tap the three horizontal lines at the top right of the screen and then, in the menu, tap "My apps & games."

You can find a list of all your apps in the "My apps & games" menu. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Here, you'll have two options.

3. At the top of the screen, tap "Installed." As the name suggests, this is a list of all the apps that are currently installed on this phone. 

4. At the top of the screen, tap "Library." This is a list of all the apps, both free and paid, that you've ever downloaded from the Google Play Store, on any phone that's associated with your Google account, which aren't currently installed on this phone. Here, you have two more options:

  • To reinstall an app on this phone, tap "Install."
  • You can also permanently remove the app from your account. To do this, tap the "X" to the right of the Install button. 

The "Library" is a list of all your apps which aren't currently installed on this phone. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

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That handy app you had to delete years ago -- to free up space on your phone -- what was it called? Is it still around? Now that you have a shiny new iPhone, can you re-download it?

You sure can! Android, iOS and Windows all keep convenient running lists of every app you've ever downloaded. As long as the app hasn't been discontinued and pulled from the app store, you can always find your app history and re-download any apps you may have forgotten about (for free, naturally).

Android

You can see your Android app history on your phone or on the web.

How to see previously downloaded apps on android 2022
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

On your Android phone, open the Google Play store app and tap the menu button (three lines). In the menu, tap My apps & games to see a list of apps currently installed on your device. Tap All to see a list of all apps you've downloaded on any device using your Google account.

How to see previously downloaded apps on android 2022
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

On the web, simply click this link to open up a list of the apps associated with your Google Play account. (You can also get here by going to the Google Play store and clicking Apps > My apps.) You can see all apps associated with your account, or you can sort them by device.

iOS

You can see your iOS app history on your phone or on iTunes.

How to see previously downloaded apps on android 2022
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

On your iPhone, open the App Store app and tap Updates in the lower right corner. Tap Purchased (if you have a family account, you may need to tap My Purchases) to see a list of all the apps you've downloaded, both on and off of your current device. To see a list of just the apps that are not currently installed on your device, tap Not on This iPhone.

On iTunes, click the profile icon and go to Purchased. You can sort purchased apps by device (iPhone and iPad) and you can see apps that are not currently in your library by clicking Not in My Library.

Windows 10 Mobile

You can see your Windows 10 app history on any device with the Windows Store app. Open the Windows Store app and click your profile icon (next to the search box) and click My Library.

How to see previously downloaded apps on android 2022
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

You'll see a list of apps currently installed on the device you're using, but you can click Show all to see a list of all apps associated with your Microsoft account. At the top of this list will be apps that are compatible with your device; scroll down to see a list of noncompatible apps associated with your account.