How to add and edit widgets on your iPhone

With widgets, you can get timely information from your favourite apps at a glance on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or Today View.

How to add widgets to your Home Screen

  1. From the Home Screen, touch and hold a widget or an empty area until the apps jiggle.

  2. Tap the Add buttonGrey add button in the upper-left corner.

  3. Select a widget, choose a widget size, then tap Add Widget.

  4. Tap Done.

An iPhone showing widgets for weather and calendar events

How to add widgets to your Lock Screen

With iOS 16, you can add widgets to your Lock Screen to get information at a glance – for example, the temperature, air quality, battery level or upcoming calendar events.

  1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customise button appears, then tap Customise.

  2. Select Lock Screen.

  3. Tap Add Widgets.

  4. Tap or drag the widgets you want to add to the Lock Screen.

  5. When you're finished, tap the close buttonNo alt supplied for Image, then tap Done.

An iPhone screen showing how to add widgets to Lock Screen

If there's not enough room for a new widget, you can tap the Remove buttonNo alt supplied for Image to remove a widget and make room for the one you want to add.

How to add widgets to Today View

  1. Swipe right from the Home Screen or Lock Screen.

  2. Touch and hold a widget or an empty area in Today View until the apps jiggle.

  3. Tap the Add buttongrey plus icon in the upper-left corner.

  4. Scroll down to select a widget, then choose from the three available widget sizes.

  5. Tap Add Widget, then tap Done.

An iPhone showing widgets in the Today View

How to edit your widgets

You can configure your widgets. For example, you can edit the Weather widget to see the forecast for your current location or a different location.

To edit widgets from Today View:

  1. Swipe right from the Home Screen or Lock Screen.

  2. Touch and hold a widget to open the quick actions menu.

  3. Tap Edit WidgetEdit Widget icon.

  4. Make your changes, then tap outside the widget to exit it.

An iPhone showing how to edit a widget

You can also move your widgets around to put your favourite ones where they're easier to find. Just touch and hold a widget until it jiggles, then move the widget around on the screen.

To edit widgets from your Lock Screen:

  1. Tap the widget you want to edit.

  2. Make your changes, then swipe up to save the changes.

How to use widget stacks

You can use widget stacks to save space on your Home Screen and in Today View. You can use Smart Stacks or create your own widget stacks.

Add a Smart Stack

A Smart Stack is a pre-built collection of widgets that displays the right widget based on factors such as your location, an activity or the time. A Smart Stack rotates widgets automatically to show you the most relevant information throughout the day.

To add a Smart Stack:

  1. Touch and hold an area on your Home Screen or in Today View until the apps jiggle.

  2. Tap the Add buttongrey plus icon in the upper-left corner.

  3. Scroll down and tap Smart Stack.

  4. Tap Add Widget.

Create your own widget stacks

  1. Touch and hold an app or empty area on the Home Screen or Today View until the apps jiggle.

  2. Drag a widget on top of another widget. You can stack up to 10 widgets.

  3. Tap Done.

Edit a widget stack

  1. Touch and hold the widget stack.

  2. Tap Edit StackNo alt supplied for Image. From here, you can reorder the widgets in the stack by dragging and dropping the app to where you want it in the stack. You can also turn Smart Rotate* on or off.

  3. Tap Done.

An iPhone showing a widget stack

* When Smart Rotate is on, iOS shows you relevant widgets throughout the day.

With iOS 15 and later, you can turn on Widget Suggestions, so apps you already use can appear automatically in your Smart Stack at the right time based on your past activity. An option lets you add the widget to your stack so it’s always there when you need it. Just follow steps 1-2, then tap Widget Suggestions to turn it on.

You need to have iOS 14 or later to use Smart Stacks or create your own widget stacks.

How to remove widgets

  1. Touch and hold the widget that you want to remove.

  2. Tap Remove Widget.

  3. Tap Remove again to confirm.

Find out more

Find out more about Widgets on your iPad.

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