You can disable the iPhone's default apps

The latest versions of Apple's iOS 9 lets you to delete more than 30 stock apps included on the iPhone

It started with Stocks, then Apple added iBooks, Maps, Watch, Health, Tips and more. There are now 32 apps on the iPhone that users are unable to get rid of.

Many of these are essential, like Settings, Phone and App Store. But others, such as Find Friends and Podcasts, are rarely used by many users.

For years people have been calling for a way to delete some of the phone's default apps. Others squirrel them away in a folder, hoping to ignore them as much as possible.

But now there is finally a way to remove the iPhone's default apps, although it is only available to Apple developers - requiring you to pay £79 - requires a bit of technical confidence and a full reset of the phone. Although it is complicated, it suggests that Apple might finally be ready to allow users to remove default apps.

For users who want an easier way to remove apps, there is a method that allows you to do it without downloading any special software, although the apps return when the phone is turned off and on again. For this method, scroll further down.

Reddit user bfodder revealed how iPhone users who have downloaded the beta version of the new iOS 9.3 software, using a beta version of Apple's Configurator program that lets businesses and schools manage the devices, can get rid of stock apps.

How default apps can be removed

Doing this requires a computer and a bit of technical confidence, so if you're not happy with doing it, you can try the method further down.

1. Sign up for the iOS beta programme so that you can download the iOS 9.3 public beta - the full release is not out yet. There's a full guide on signing up for the beta programme here, including backing up your device.
2. Once you've done that, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update to download the iOS 9.3 beta.
3. Download Apple Configurator 2.2 beta. This requires an Apple developer membership, which costs £79.
4. Users can then set up a configuration, selecting an option that says "Do not allow some apps". By entering commands for these apps, like "com.apple.stocks" for Stocks, they can be removed from the iPhone. A full list of the commands is her

5. The easy way to remove apps (temporarily)

   This method, introduced in iOS 9 last year, can remove apps, but they return when the phone is restarted. Here's how it works
   1. Put the apps you want to delete in a folder
   2. Press and hold on those apps so they begin jiggling, as if you were to delete or move an app
   3. Drag that app to the edge of the folder to move so it moves the next page of the folder, but keep the app in place when the page has moved
   4. While still holding the app, press the home button. It should fly off the edge of the screen.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said last year that the company was looking at ways of letting users remove default apps, although some apps, such as Phone, are linked to functions in iOS, meaning deleting them could cause problems or render the phone less capable.

Although the latest iOS trick requires a complex work-around, it could be paving the way for the feature to be introduced more widely.