AppStore Cloud IcTo on: What Does It Mean And How Remove It?

If you’ve ever used the AppStore on an iPhone before, then you’ve probably stumbled on the icons beside each app. The “Free” icon speaks for itself as it means you can get the app for free, you might have also stumbled on the prices of some paid apps, or a Cloud icon beside the apps instead. The Cloud icon might seem questionable as all other icons speak for themselves hence, bringing us to question its meaning.

The Cloud icon means that the app which the icon sits beside has been purchased by you and is stored on the Cloud. The app is owned by you but not downloaded to your device. To get it on your device, all you have to do is download the app from your iCloud back to your device by clicking the Cloud button.

Apple product users, especially the new ones may have suffered confusion caused by this icon at least once. In this article, I will expatiate on the details of the Cloud icon.

What Does The AppStore Cloud Icon Mean?

If you’ve ever used an Apple product, you probably have found an app that has the Cloud icon on the AppStore and you were wondering why or what it meant. The icon indicates that the app has already been purchased with your Apple ID- this includes both free and priced apps as “free” apps are also purchased on the AppStore. After you have purchased the app using your Apple ID, you own that app forever even if you choose to delete the app from your device at any point in time.

Once you own an Apple ID and begin to download apps across all your Apple devices, there’s a probability that you purchased and downloaded an app and removed it instantly, forgetting you ever downloaded it cos you didn’t need the app at the time. Since apps can be purchased by any Apple device that is using your Apple ID, a family or friend that shares your Apple ID on their device might have purchased the app for themselves or you purchased the app on your other devices.

If the app you’re about to download has the Cloud icon next to it, you can download it to your device for free. The Cloud icon means you previously downloaded the app to your device and can redownload it on your present device for free.

The app is stored on the Cloud for you when you make your first purchase so whenever you redownload the app on your device, provided you use the same Apple ID, you can download the app free of charge. 

How To Remove AppStore Cloud Icon From The AppStore?

In the bid to ease payments for Apple users and help them not pay recurring fees on apps purchased on the AppStore, Apple created the Cloud icon. After purchase, the history is stored to your Apple ID so whenever you log in to the AppStore with another device, you can access the app and download it free of charge. 

But to remove the Cloud icon means you’re permanently removing or hiding the app from your Apple ID so whenever you log in with your Apple ID on other devices, you won’t be able to access that app as it has been removed from your purchase history.

If you’d ever want to permanently remove apps from your Apple ID history, the following are the steps you should follow:

• Tap on the AppStore icon on your homepage.

• Tap on your Apple ID profile picture on the top right corner of your screen.

• Click on “Purchased”- This includes all of your purchases on AppStore.

• Click on “My Purchases”- You’ll be directed to a page with a list of all your purchased apps in the history of your Apple ID. There’s a slider with “All” and “Not on this iPhone” at the header of the page. The slider helps you choose to see All of your purchases or just purchases that are not presently downloaded to your iPhone.

• Slide to “Not on this iPhone”.

• Scroll to the particular app you’d like to hide or delete permanently from the history of your Apple ID.

• Slide the particular app you want to remove to your left. “Hide” with a danger highlight will pop.

• Click on “Hide”.

The particular app you clicked on will be removed from the list of your purchased apps permanently. You can do this for any app you want to remove from the list of purchased apps on your Apple ID.

Why Is AppStore Cloud Icon Not Downloading?

There are a number of reasons your app might not be downloading but the most common reason could be due to your network connection.

Here are some ways to troubleshoot the problem when your app with the AppStore’s Cloud icon isn’t downloading:

• Double-tap the icon beside the app you’re unable to download and wait a while. Your download should resume. If this persists, try the next step.

• Reconnect your WiFi. Go to settings > WiFi > then turn WiFi off and on again.

• Restart your IOS device by holding the lock button until you see a red slider, then slide to turn off your device. Turn it back on and try again. It should work.

• If the problem persists, sign out of your Apple account. Go to settings > ITunes&AppStore > Your Apple ID > sign out. Then restart your phone and sign in again to retry. 

• Reset your Network Settings. Head to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Your device will restart itself and all your network settings will reset, including your WiFi.

• If any of the above doesn’t work, then this should be your last option. Reset your iOS device by pressing and holding the lock and home button together. This will reset your phone entirely. 

Any of the above options should get your Cloud icon working correctly. Most times, the malfunction is majorly due to your network connection so, resetting your network connection should get it working perfectly.

Resetting your phone should be the last option as you could lose some vital information if your phone isn’t backed up to iCloud.