The basic method: star icon and swipe

To add something to Favorites on iPhone, look for a star icon — usually outlined, sometimes filled. Tap it once. The star will fill in or change color to show it has been saved. That action moves the item into your Favorites list, which you can access later without searching again.

In some apps, you can also swipe left or right on an item to reveal a star or heart icon. Swipe in the direction the app suggests, then tap the star. The item is now in Favorites. Different apps use slightly different gestures, but the star is almost always the visual signal that something has been saved.

Once you have added items to Favorites, they usually appear in a dedicated Favorites section within that app — often at the top of the list, or in a separate tab. You can usually remove an item from Favorites by tapping the star again to un-fill it.

Key Takeaways

  • The star icon is the standard way to save something to Favorites on iPhone — tap it once to save, tap again to remove.
  • Some apps use swipe gestures instead of tapping; swipe left or right on an item to reveal the save option.
  • Favorited items appear in a dedicated Favorites section within the app, usually at the top or in a separate tab.
  • Removing an item from Favorites is the same action as adding it — tap or swipe to toggle the star off.

Where Favorites appear in different apps

In Safari, your Favorites are bookmarks. Tap the book icon at the bottom of the screen, then tap the Favorites tab (star icon). Any website you have starred appears here. You can also add a website to Favorites by tapping the Share button, scrolling to "Add Bookmark", and choosing "Favorites" as the location.

In Maps, tap the star icon on a location's details page to add it to Favorites. Your saved places appear in the Favorites tab at the bottom of the app. You can organize them into folders like "Restaurants" or "Home" by tapping and holding a favorite, then selecting "Edit".

In Music, tap the heart icon (not a star, but the same function) next to a song, album, or artist. Your liked items appear in your Library under "Liked Music". In Notes, you cannot star individual notes, but you can pin a note to the top of your list by swiping left on it and tapping the pin icon.

Organizing your Favorites once you have saved them

Most apps let you rename or move Favorites into folders. In Safari, tap Edit in the Favorites tab, then tap the folder icon next to a bookmark to move it into a different folder. You can create new folders by tapping the folder icon at the bottom of the screen.

In Maps, hold down on a Favorite to see options like "Edit", "Delete", or "Move to Folder". You can create custom folders to group related places — for example, all your regular coffee shops in one folder, all your work locations in another.

In Mail, you can star individual emails by tapping the star icon next to the sender's name. Starred emails appear in a dedicated Flagged folder, which you can access from the Mailboxes list. This is useful for marking messages you need to respond to or keep for reference.

Why Favorites are stored on your device, not in the cloud

Your Favorites are usually stored locally on your iPhone, which means they do not automatically sync to your other Apple devices unless you turn on iCloud sync for that specific app. In Settings, go to your name at the top, then iCloud, and toggle on the apps whose Favorites you want to sync — Safari, Maps, Mail, and others have this option.

If you do not turn on iCloud sync, your Favorites will only exist on the device where you created them. If you get a new iPhone and restore from a backup, your Favorites will transfer. If you set up the new phone as new, you will need to re-add your Favorites manually or turn on iCloud sync to pull them from the cloud.

Removing items from Favorites and clearing the list

To remove a single item, tap the filled star icon again — it will un-fill and the item will disappear from your Favorites section. In some apps like Maps, you can also swipe left on a Favorite and tap Delete.

There is no single button to clear all Favorites at once. You have to remove them one by one. If you have many Favorites and want to start fresh, the fastest way is to delete the app and reinstall it, which will clear all saved data — but this also removes any other settings you have customized in that app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see all my Favorites across every app in one place?

No. Each app keeps its own Favorites list. Safari Favorites are separate from Maps Favorites, which are separate from Mail Favorites. You have to open each app to see what you have saved there. Some third-party apps offer a unified bookmark manager, but the built-in iPhone apps do not.

What happens to my Favorites if I delete an app?

When you delete an app, all its data — including Favorites — is deleted from your phone. If you reinstall the app later, your Favorites will not come back unless you have iCloud sync turned on, in which case they will restore from the cloud.

Why does my Favorites list look different on my iPad?

If you have iCloud sync turned on for that app, your Favorites should match across devices. If they do not, check Settings on both devices to make sure iCloud sync is enabled for that app. It can take a few minutes to sync after you add a new Favorite.

Can I sort or rearrange my Favorites?

In Safari and Maps, you can tap Edit and drag Favorites to reorder them. In Mail, you cannot manually reorder flagged emails — they sort by date. In Music, your liked songs appear in the order they were added, and you cannot rearrange them manually.