How To Find Old Apps You Deleted

Don't sweat it if you find yourself in a bind trying to recover an app deleted from your Android device. Recovering apps is much simpler than recovering photos and other data.

There are many reasons why you might need to recover app data that you deleted. Often, people delete apps only to find out they need the app again but can't remember the name. There are also cases where apps are deleted accidentally by the owner or someone else with access to the phone. You also may have had to perform a factory reset, which deletes all the apps you've installed on your device.

Whatever the reason, this article shows you the options you have to view recently deleted Google Play apps and possibly recover them and the data they held.

How to View and Recover Deleted Apps using Google Play

The most straightforward way to get access to your deleted apps is already on your device. The Google Play app keeps a record of the applications you've downloaded and allows you to see your app history. Follow these simple instructions.

Open the Google Play app on your device.
Tap the "Hamburger icon" (☰) to the left of the search bar—you can also swipe right anywhere on the screen to access the menu.
In the menu, tap on "My Apps & Games," on some Android devices it might say "Manage apps & device" instead.
From here, select the "Library" tab at the top of the screen which shows all previous and current downloaded apps.

5. From there, navigate the list to find the app you want to recover. You can sort the list "alphabetically" or "by date" to help with your search. Organizing by date displays the most recent apps first.

It's important to point out that the list of applications applies to your Google account and all your devices, not just the one you're using now. Every app you've ever downloaded on any device (unless you deleted some) displays in the list, so it's a handy tool.

Another important note to remember is that a paid app is usable on any Google device, not just the purchasing device. If you use the Google Play Library method to recover apps you've purchased, you won't have to pay for them again.

How to View and Recover Deleted Apps using Phonerescue

If you need to dig deeper into your device's history, PhoneRescue is a robust recovery tool for Android devices. The software does much more than display your lost app data. It can also restore a variety of deleted content. The maker claims that it works on just about any Android device. The software is free to try, but you will eventually have to buy a license to continue using it.

First, download PhoneRescue onto your desktop computer. You read that right; this software works from your computer.
Launch the application, and you'll see some quick tips on how to use it.
Use your phone's USB cable to connect your Android device to the PC. You'll get prompted to perform some simple tasks like enable "USB debugging" and "rooting your phone." The software will walk you through it pretty quickly.
Once the preliminaries get completed, choose what types of data you want to recover. There is a wide range of file types that PhoneRescue can access. However, you want to ensure that you check off "App Documents" on the menu.
From there, click "Next," and you'll get served a complete report on what got recovered. The software allows you to recover data directly to your device, which is an excellent time-saver. You might find some of your other data that got mixed up, but you should see the apps you've deleted.

How to View and Recover Deleted Apps using the Galaxy Store

If you don't have a typical Android phone or tablet but have a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet instead, you can find deleted apps using the Galaxy Store. Assuming you've signed in to your Galaxy account, you may find your missing app there. Here's how to do it.

Perform a quick search for the "Galaxy Store" by swiping up from the bottom of your phone or selecting the "Apps" icon. Type "Galaxy Store" in the search bar and choose the app.
Now, tap on the "hamburger icon" (☰) in the upper left-hand corner. To make the search process faster, toggle the "Show installed apps" option off.
3. Scroll through the list of apps and tap the download icon to recover your missing application.

What to Do if All Apps Went Missing

The Android OS (Operating System) can be a strange and peculiar thing. If all your apps randomly went missing, there's usually a handful of reasons why. The first is that you could've somehow accidentally deleted them all.

To check for accidental deletion, set your phone to "safe mode." On many Android devices, hold down the physical power button until the power off option appears on the screen, then long-press Power off and choose
Safe Mode when it appears.

Your phone will restart. If all of your apps reappear, you have a software problem. Most of the time, this situation is due to a Launcher. While in Safe Mode, go into your phone's settings and search for any launchers. If it's one you want to keep, clear the cache and data, then restart your phone. If it's one you didn't intentionally download, uninstall it. After doing this, all of your apps should reappear upon restarting your phone.

Accidentally Deleted the Google Play Store

It isn't completely unheard of that the Google Play Store suddenly goes missing from your Android device. Fortunately, it's still there. The Google Play Store is a pre-loaded app, so you can't completely uninstall it from your phone.

All you need to do is head to Settings on your phone and tap on Apps or Applications, depending on the Android version you're running.
Search for and select Google Play Store in the list of apps on your phone.
Next, tap Enable. Your Google Play Store will reappear on your home screen.

The most common reason for the Play Store disappearing is when you've disabled it on your device. By enabling it, you've brought it back to life.

Finding Deleted Android Apps FAQs

I had an APK, but I can't find it now. What's happening?

APKs are Android Package Kits or files that help you install apps. Many Android users download APKs because the apps aren't released yet, or they provide more functionality and freedom than the monitored apps in the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, some apps promote illegal pirating activities, which ends with getting taken off the app store. If you're trying to recover an APK, it's best to do a Google or DuckDuckGo search for the missing application or one similar. Once located, download it and set it up just like you would any other APK file.

How can I locate all Android deleted apps, not just Play Store?

Although you can use any methods above to download all your Android apps, it would be time-consuming. Your best bet is to check for a backup and make a full system recovery. This method has some risks because you'll need to factory reset your device, which means you could lose everything, so check for a backup first.

Head over to "Settings" on your device and tap on "Backup" (this may vary depending on your manufacturer). Samsung users can look for the Samsung Cloud backup, and LG users should have a similar option. Regardless of the device, every Android user should have a Google backup. Click on the backup, verify it is a recent date and that it stored your apps, photos, documents, contacts, and anything else necessary. Now, you can do a factory reset and restore your phone to normal with all apps intact.

Apps on Android

In closing, it's a good idea to set your device's settings to back up your data on Google's servers. It will make lost apps much easier to find during any problematic events in the future.

Did you accidentally delete a critical system app? Are you trying to recover an app and previous files associated with it? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.