Add apps, shortcuts and widgets to your home screens

To quickly get to your favourite content, you can customise your home screens. You can add and organise:

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

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 9 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

The Pixel battery continuously learns your behaviours and optimises itself based on your most recent app usage. When you set up a new device or after a factory reset, optimisation may take up to a few weeks to take full effect. For best results keep Adaptive Battery and Battery Optimisation on.

It's normal for your Pixel battery to drain a little more than usual after a software update. This is because the phone is working hard to download and optimise the new software and get everything up and running.

If you still experience unusual battery drain after a few days, please let us know and we'll be happy to help.

Add to home screens

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 and hold the app, then lift your finger. If the app has shortcuts, you'll get a list.
  2. Touch and hold 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 Widgets.
  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 Widgets.

Resize a widget

  1. Touch and hold the widget on your home screen.
  2. Lift your finger. If the widget can be resized, you'll find an outline with dots on the sides.
  3. To resize the widget, drag the dots.
  4. When you've finished, tap outside the widget.

Organise on home screens

Make a folder (group)
  1. Touch and hold an app or shortcut.
  2. Drag that app or shortcut on top of another. Lift your finger.
    • To add more, drag each one on top of the 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 that you want to use.
Move an app, shortcut, widget or group
  1. Touch and drag the item. You’ll see 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. Find out how to pick what kinds of information appear.

Remove an app, shortcut, widget or group
  1. Touch and hold the item.
  2. Drag the item up to Remove Remove.
  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. Find out how to pick what kinds of information appear.

Add a home screen
  1. Touch and hold 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 off the home screen.
  2. After the last one is removed, the home screen will be removed.

Customise 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 my calendar
  • Nest parcel delivery reminders
  • Flight baggage claim info

To change the information that is displayed:

  1. Touch and hold that section.
  2. Tap Customiseand then Settings Settings.
Change an app

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

  • Remove a favourite app: From your favourites, touch and hold the app that you'd like to remove. Drag it to another part of the screen.
  • Add a favourite app: From the bottom of your screen, swipe up. Touch and hold an app. Move the app into an empty spot with your favourites. 
Change other home screen settings
  1. On your home screen, touch and hold an empty space. 
  2. Tap Home 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 More More and then Preferences.
  3. Turn Searchbox effects on or off.

Change your favourite apps

At the bottom of your screen is a row of your favourite apps. Your phone suggests apps for your favourites, based on your recent and most-used apps, as well as your routines. Your suggested apps have a coloured shadow around the icon.

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

Pin an app
  1. Touch and hold the suggested app. 
  2. At the upper-right corner of the menu, tap Pin Pin.
Remove a favourite app
  1. Touch and hold the suggested app. 
  2. At the upper-right corner of the menu, tap Pin Pin.

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

Turn off app suggestions for your favourites

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 and then Suggestions.
  3. Choose to turn on or off:
    • Suggestions in all apps list
    • Suggestions on home screen
Add a favourite app

Important: You can only manually add a favourite app if you turned off app suggestions through the Home 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 favourites.
  4. Lift your finger.​ 

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