How to Make App Folders on Android

Organize your apps and save screen space

What to Know

  • Long-press an app and drag it onto another app to create a folder.
  • Long-press the folder to rename it. (On some devices, tap the folder to open it, then tap the name to edit it instead).
  • You can also drag the folder into the row of favorite apps on the bottom of the Home screen on Android phones. 

This article explains how to create new folders on an Android device, how to rename those folders, and how to move them around your Home screen. The directions below should apply no matter who made your Android phone: Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.

Illustration of a guide to create Android app folders with a hand holding an Android phone
Kyle Fewel / Lifewire 

How to Make a Folder

To create a folder, long-press an app. Press and hold a finger on the app until you feel a mild feedback vibration and the screen changes.

Then, drag the app onto another app to make a folder. This is the same as on iOS devices such as the iPad and iPhone.

Long pressed icon, dragging one icon onto another to make a folder, and a folder full of apps on Android

Name Your Folder

Unlike iOS, Android doesn't provide a default name for new folders; it appears as an unnamed folder. When a folder is unnamed, nothing displays as the name of the collection of apps.

To give the folder a name, long-press the folder. It opens, displays the apps, and launches the Android keyboard. Enter a name for the folder and tap the Done key. The name displays on the Home screen.

Some phones do this differently. On a Samsung or Google Pixel device, tap the folder to open it, then tap the name to edit it.

Add Your Folder to the Home Row

You can also drag the folder onto your favorite apps on the bottom of the Home screen on Android phones. That makes it two clicks to get to the app, but Google demonstrates this by grouping Google apps into a folder and putting it on the Home row at the bottom.

Some Things Do Not Drag Like the Others

Dragging order is important. You can drag apps onto other apps to make folders. You can drag apps into existing folders to add the app to the folder. You cannot drag folders onto apps. If an app runs away when you drag something on it, that could be what happened. The other thing you can't do is drag Home screen widgets into folders. Widgets are mini apps that run continuously on the Home screen, and won't run properly inside a folder.

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