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How to stop Android from automatically slapping new app icons on your homescreens

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By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Jan 21, 2015, 5:54 AM

Are you suffering from the Neat Homescreen OCD? Annoyed that Google slaps a new app icon there each time you download something from the Play Store, ruining your perfect stock home screens look you've invested so many hours in?

Well, apps belong to the App Drawer, said the screen purist, regardless of what all Chinese manufacturer overlays are trying to force on them, and started searching for a way to prevent new app icons multiplying on the homescreens like there is no tomorrow. Here is what you need to do, according to their findings:

1. Start the Play Store app on your handset, and hit the context menu section (that's the three-dash thingy top left);

2. From there, scroll down a bit, and choose the Settings option;

3. You should now be seeing the "Add icon to Home screen" checkbox, which is marked by default;

4. Uncheck it, and app icons will only go where they belong after installing a new app - in the drawer, ready to be taken front and center only if you decide to do so.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.