Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (2024)

To quickly get to your favorite content, you can customize your Home screens. You can add and organize:

  • Apps
  • Shortcuts to content inside apps
  • Widgets that show information without opening apps

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 9.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Add to Home screens

Add, group, or remove apps on your Home screen | Pixel Phone

Add an app

  1. From the bottom of your Home screen, swipe up. Learn how to open apps
  2. Touch and drag the app. You’ll find images of each Home screen.
  3. Slide the app to where you want it. Lift your finger.

Add a shortcut

  1. Touch andhold the app, then lift your finger. If the app has shortcuts, you'll get a list.
  2. Touch andhold the shortcut.
  3. Slide the shortcut to where you want it. Lift your finger.

Tip: To use a shortcut without adding it to a Home screen, tap it.

Add or resize a widget

Add a widget

  1. On a Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Widgets Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (1).
  3. Find the app that has the widget you want.
  4. To check the list of available widgets for the app, tap the app.
  5. Touch and hold a widget. You’ll get images of your Home screens.
  6. Slide the widget to where you want it. Lift your finger.

Tip: Some apps come with widgets. Touch and hold the app. Then tap Widgets Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (2).

Resize a widget

  1. On your home screen, touch and hold the widget
  2. Lift your finger.
    • If the widget can be resized, an outline with dots is visible on the sides.
  3. To resize, drag thedots.
  4. When you're done, tap outside the widget.

Organize on Home screens

Make a folder (group)

  1. Touch andhold anapp or shortcut.
  2. Drag thatapp or shortcut on top of another. Lift your finger.
    • To add more, drageach one on top ofthe group.
    • To name the group, tap the group. Then, tap the suggested folder name. You can also tap one of the suggested names at the top of the keyboard or type the name you want to use.

Move an app, shortcut, widget, or group

  1. Touch and drag the item.You’ll get images of your Home screens.
  2. Slide the item to where you want it.
  3. Lift your finger.

Note:On Pixel phones, you can't move the "At A Glance" information at the top of your screen. Learn how to pick what kinds of information show.

Remove an app, shortcut, widget, or group

  1. Touch and hold the item.
  2. Drag the item up to Remove Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (3).
  3. Lift your finger.

You can find "Remove," "Uninstall," or both. "Remove" takes an app off your Home screen only. "Uninstall" takes it off your device.

Note:On Pixel phones, you can't move the "At A Glance" information at the top of your screen. Learn how to pick what kinds of information show.

Add a Home screen

  1. Touch andhold an app,shortcut, or group.
  2. Slide it to the right until you get a blank Home screen.
  3. Lift your finger.

Remove a Home screen

  1. Move your apps, shortcuts, widgets, and groups offthe Home screen.
  2. After the last one is removed, the Home screen will be removed.

Customize your Home screen

Change info at the top

At the top of your main Home screen, you'll find "At A Glance" information. For example, you can find info about:

  • Date
  • Daily weather
  • What's next on your calendar
  • Nest package delivery reminders
  • Flight baggage claim info

To change the information that is displayed:

  1. Touch and hold that section.
  2. Tap Customize Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (4) Settings Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (5).

Change an app

At the bottom of your screen, you'll find a row of favorite apps.

  • Remove a favorite app: From your favorites, touch and hold the app that you'd like to remove. Drag it to another part of the screen.
  • Add a favorite app:From the bottom of your screen, swipe up. Touch and hold an app. Move the app into an empty spot with your favorites.

Change other Home screen settings

  1. On your Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. TapHome settings.

Turn search bar animations on or off

You'll sometimes get animations in the search bar on your Home screen. The animations are temporary for special events, like holidays.

To turn off these animations, or turn them back on:

  1. Touch and hold the search bar.
  2. Tap MoreAdd apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (6)Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (7)Preferences.
  3. TurnSearchbox effectson or off.

Change your favorite apps

At the bottom of your screen isa row of your favorite apps. Your phonesuggests apps for your favorites based on your recent and most-used apps, as well as your routines. Your suggested apps have a colored shadow around the icon.

When there’s an empty space in the row, a new suggested app will appear. You canpin, remove, or add any of the suggested apps. You can also manually swap out any app.

Pin an app

  1. Touch and hold the suggested app.
  2. In the upper right corner of the menu, tap Pin Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (8).

Remove a favorite app

  1. Touch and hold the suggested app.
  2. In the upper right corner of the menu, tap Pin Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (9).

To block an app as a suggestion, touch and drag the app to “Don’t suggest app.”

Turn off app suggestions for your favorites

Important: If you turn off suggestions, you won’t get any suggestions until you turn on the feature again.

  1. On your phone's Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Home settings Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens (10) Suggestions.
  3. Choose to turn on or off:
    • Suggestions in all apps list
    • Suggestions on Home screen

Add a favorite app

Important: You can only manually add a favorite app if you turned off app suggestions through the Home screen settings.

  1. From the bottom of your screen, swipe up.
  2. Touch and hold an app.
  3. Move the app into an empty spot next to your favorites.
  4. Lift your finger.​

Related resources

  • Find, open, and close apps
  • Change your wallpaper
  • Control notification dots
  • Customize your phone
  • Get around on your phone

Need more help?

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