• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

AppleToolBox

Tools and Fixes for Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod

Search posts

  • About
  • Contact

CONNECT WITH US

CATEGORIES

  • All
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Mac/MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • How-To’s
  • Reviews

SITE

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise

Search posts

You are here: Home / How-to / How to “really” delete completed reminders on iPhone and Mac forever

How to “really” delete completed reminders on iPhone and Mac forever

By Andrew Palmer 2 comments Last updated May 24, 2019

Okay folks, most of us at one point or another have bashed our head into the wall trying to get reminders to disappear after they’ve been completed. Marking a reminder complete doesn’t delete it from the list automatically.

Also, if you’re brand new to Apple products, it can be tempting to think it’s more complicated than it actually is, but it’s really quite simple.

Related:

  •  Customize Spark scheduling options for snoozes, reminders and send later
  • How to Use Location-Based Reminders in iOS + Helpful Tips
  • iPhone: Respond with Text and Using Reply with Message and Reminders

Contents

  • Lists and reminders
  • Completing a reminder and deleting a reminder
    • To delete a reminder on the iPhone:
    • To delete the list on the iPhone:
  • On the Mac
  • Across multiple devices
  • Remember
    • Related Posts:

Lists and reminders

In the Reminders app, you can create lists to organize your reminders. When you’re having a busy day with several tasks ahead, you can mark a task as complete to help you keep track of where you are with your day.

Completing a reminder and deleting a reminder

It’s important to note that while marking a reminder complete removes it from your list, it doesn’t delete the reminder. When you select Show Completed at the bottom, there it is again.

This looks different depending on if you’re using the Reminders app on the iPhone or Mac.

To delete a reminder on the iPhone:

First select Show Completed.

Show completed in reminders on iPhone.
Select show completed at the bottom.

Then select Edit in the top right.

Edit in reminders on the iPhone.
Select Edit in the top right.

Then swipe left from the far right of the list item.

Delete key in reminders on iPhone.
Swiping left reveals the Delete button.

Select the red delete button to delete the item and that permanently deletes the item from the list.

To delete the list on the iPhone:

First select the list.

Select a list in reminders on iPhone.
Select a list to delete.

Second select Edit on the top right.

Select edit in reminders on the iPhone.
Select Edit in the top right.

At the bottom, are the red words Delete List.

Delete List in reminders on iPhone.
Select Delete List at the bottom.

When you select Delete List a window pops up.

Verify delete in reminders on iPhone.
Select Delete to finalize the deletion.

Select Delete to complete the deletion.

On the Mac

On an Apple desktop or laptop, Reminders is a much tamer beast.

To delete a Reminder, you simply highlight the completed reminder you want deleted.

Highlight reminder in reminders on Mac.
Highlight the completed reminder.

Then you simply hit the delete key on your keyboard and voila, it’s gone.

Deleted reminder in reminders on Mac.
Now the reminder is gone.

Same thing with deleting a list.

Just highlight the list.

Highlight ist in reminders on mac.
The list will be highlighted in blue.

Hit the delete key on your keyboard and bam, you’re done.

Empty list in reminders on Mac.
The list is gone.

Keep in mind, there must always be at least one list in Reminders.

Across multiple devices

If you’re signed in with your Apple ID across an iPhone, iPad and a Mac, deleting a reminder will be deleted across all of them, which is handy if it’s just a few reminders.

If you have a lot of completed reminders, it’s tedious and time consuming to delete them all individually. The easiest and most convenient way at that point is to delete the completed reminders from your Mac or PC.

After you log into iCloud.com with your Apple ID, click on Reminders.

Reminders on iCloud.com on mac or pc.
Reminders is here in the top right.

Select a list to see a completed tab.

Select completed under lists in reminders on iCloud
Click the arrow next to completed.

Once you select it, your completed tasks appear.

To delete all your completed tasks, select Clear Completed.

Select clear completed under lists under reminders in iCloud
Click on clear completed.

A window then pops up to verify what you’re doing and warns you that this action cannot be undone.

Hit clear completed in pop up window in reminders on iCloud.
Select clear completed in pop up window to verify deletion.

Select clear completed again and away they go.

Remember

It’s an easy trap to fall into if you don’t know the difference between a completed task and a deleted task, but just know that completed tasks remain on your device until they’re deleted.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Some people may want to keep track of their completed tasks to use as a reference point later on. It’s all up to you though.

andy apple
Andrew Palmer( Contributor )

Andy is a former Apple employee with a deep knowledge of Apple products. He currently covers writing tips and tutorials for different Apple products.

Andy is also an avid video producer with superb video editing skills and loves editing using his MacBookPro.

Related Posts:

  • Customize Spark scheduling options for snoozes, reminders and send later
    Customize Spark scheduling options for snoozes,…
  • How to use Reminders on Mac, a complete user guide
    How to use Reminders on Mac, a complete user guide
  • iOS 13 or iPadOS problems and how to fix them - Troubleshooting Guide
    iOS 13 or iPadOS problems and how to fix them -…
  • iMessage not working iOS 13 or iPadOS? Fix it today
    iMessage not working iOS 13 or iPadOS? Fix it today
  • iMessage Not Working iOS 12? Fix Message App Problems
    iMessage Not Working iOS 12? Fix Message App Problems
  • Attach images, links and more into Reminders to make it actionable on your iPhone or iPad
    Attach images, links and more into Reminders to make…
  • How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11
    How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11
  • What is iMessage and how is it different to normal text messages?
    What is iMessage and how is it different to normal…
  • How to use the new Reminders app to replace other task managers - Complete Guide
    How to use the new Reminders app to replace other…

Reader Interactions

Write a Comment Cancel reply

Show 2 Comments

  1. Dave says

    March 28, 2020 at 4:13 AM

    on a android cell phone how do you delete completed reminders

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      March 28, 2020 at 8:51 AM

      HI Dave,

      On your Android device, use the Google app
      Tap the More button
      Choose Reminders
      Tap a reminder
      Choose Delete and then OK.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Fix: Mac Time Machine Not Deleting Old Backups
  • Fix: App Is Damaged and Cannot Be Opened on Mac
  • Do Third-Party Camera Apps Work On iPhone?
  • Fix: MacBook Not Importing Photos From iPhone
  • How To Add Playback Effects To a Live Photo
  • How To Use the Workout App on an Apple Watch

Connect with us

Related Posts

  • How to move Reminder items between Lists on your…
  • These Apps Have the Best iOS 14 Widgets
  • iPhone’s Location Services Always ON? Here's Why
  • Taking Photo But iPhone Says Storage is Full?
  • AirPods Pro---The Complete Guide
  • No text or message notification alerts or sounds on…

Footer

ABOUT

  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

DEVICES

  • iPhone
  • Mac & MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • iPad
  • AirPods
  • Apple TV
  • iPod Touch

GUIDES

  • iOS 13 & iPadOS
  • Apple ID
  • iCloud
  • App Store
  • iTunes
  • FaceTime
  • iMessage
  • Siri
  • Books and iBooks
  • Game Center
  • AirPlay

CONNECT

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • FeedBurner
  • YouTube

© Copyright 2010-2021 AppleToolBox · All Rights Reserved

This site and its content are in no way affiliated or endorsed by Apple, Inc. · Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited