Samsung Galaxy Watch: Remove a Face From the List

To remove a watch face from the list on a Samsung Galaxy Watch, open the Watch app on your paired phone, tap “Watch faces,” find the face you want to delete under “My faces,” and tap the trash icon next to it. On the watch itself, you can only hide faces from the carousel by long-pressing the current face, swiping to the one you want to remove, and tapping the trash icon (if available). This article explains both methods in detail, covers what happens to faces you delete, and answers common questions about managing watch faces.

How Watch Faces Are Stored

Your Galaxy Watch stores watch faces in two places: on the watch’s internal memory and in the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone. When you add a new face from the Galaxy Store or a third-party app, it downloads to the watch and appears in the “My faces” section of the Wearable app. The list you see when you swipe through faces on the watch is actually a carousel of all installed faces; there is no separate “list” view on the watch itself, so “removing from the list” usually means deleting or hiding the face from the carousel.

Faces that come preinstalled with the watch (like “Analog Dashboard” or “Digital Dashboard”) cannot be deleted permanently. They are part of the system firmware, and the watch will always keep them in memory. You can only hide them from the carousel, which removes them from the visible list but does not free up storage space.

Method 1: Remove via the Galaxy Wearable App (Phone)

This is the most reliable way to remove a watch face, especially if you want to permanently delete a downloaded face. The steps are the same for Galaxy Watch 4, 5, 6, and 7 series, as long as the Wearable app is updated.

Open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone. If you don’t have it, download it from the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store.
Make sure your watch is connected via Bluetooth. Tap the Watch faces tab at the bottom of the app (it looks like a small watch face icon).
Scroll to the My faces section. This lists all faces currently installed on your watch, including those you downloaded.
Find the face you want to remove. Tap the trash icon (a small bin) in the corner of its preview tile. If you don’t see a trash icon, the face is preinstalled and cannot be deleted.
Confirm the deletion when prompted. The face will be removed from the watch and from the “My faces” list.

If you have many faces, you can also tap “Edit” at the top of the “My faces” section, then select multiple faces and delete them at once. This is handy when you want to clean up after testing several new faces.

Method 2: Remove via the Watch Itself

On the watch, you can only hide faces from the carousel, not delete them permanently. This is because the watch’s interface does not expose a file manager. To hide a face:

Press and hold the current watch face until the carousel view appears.
Swipe left or right to browse through all installed faces.
When you reach the face you want to remove, swipe up on it (or tap the trash icon if it appears). A confirmation message may appear.
Tap the checkmark or “Hide” to confirm. The face will no longer appear in the carousel, but it remains installed on the watch.

Note that on some models, swiping up on a face in the carousel shows a “Remove” option only for faces that are not preinstalled. For preinstalled faces, you might only see a “Hide” option. If you later want to bring a hidden face back, go to the Wearable app, tap “Watch faces,” scroll to “Hidden” (if available), and tap the face to restore it.

What Happens When You Delete a Face?

Deleting a face from the “My faces” list in the Wearable app permanently removes it from the watch. The face will no longer be available in the carousel, and the storage space it used is freed. However, if you purchased the face from the Galaxy Store, you can re-download it at any time without paying again, as long as you use the same Samsung account. Free faces can also be re-added from the store.

If you delete a face that is currently active, the watch will automatically switch to the default face (usually the last one you used or the first preinstalled one). You will not lose any data or settings associated with the face; those are stored separately and will be recreated if you reinstall the face.

Common Problems and Misconceptions

One common issue is that the trash icon does not appear for some faces. This happens when the face is preinstalled or when it is part of a watch face pack (a bundle of multiple faces). In that case, you can only hide it. Another misconception is that deleting a face from the phone app will also delete it from the watch; this is true, but the reverse is not—hiding a face on the watch does not remove it from the app’s “My faces” list. To fully remove a face, you must delete it from the app.

If you delete a face and it still appears on the watch, try restarting the watch or toggling the Bluetooth connection. Sometimes the watch’s cache needs a refresh. Also, ensure the Wearable app is updated to the latest version, as older versions may have bugs with face management.

Alternatives: Using Third-Party Watch Faces

If you prefer to use watch faces from third-party apps like Facer or WatchMaker, those faces are managed differently. They are installed as apps on the watch, and to remove them, you must uninstall the app itself. Go to the watch’s app drawer, find the watch face app, press and hold it, and select “Uninstall.” This will remove all faces that came with that app. If you only want to remove one face from such an app, you usually need to do it within the app’s own interface (e.g., Facer lets you delete faces from its library).

Keep in mind that third-party watch faces may not appear in the “My faces” list in the Wearable app, so the deletion methods described above won’t work for them. Always check the app’s settings for face management.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete preinstalled watch faces on my Galaxy Watch?

No, you cannot permanently delete preinstalled watch faces. They are part of the system software and are required for the watch to function. You can only hide them from the carousel using the method described above, which removes them from the visible list but does not free storage.

Why doesn’t the trash icon appear for some faces in the Wearable app?

The trash icon only appears for faces that you have downloaded or installed. If a face is preinstalled or part of a system pack, it cannot be deleted, so the icon is absent. You can still hide such faces from the watch itself.

If I delete a paid watch face, do I have to pay again to reinstall it?

No, you do not have to pay again. Purchased watch faces are tied to your Samsung account, and you can re-download them from the Galaxy Store at any time without additional cost. Just go to the store, find the face, and tap “Install” – it will not charge you again.

How do I remove a watch face that I got from a third-party app like Facer?

Faces from third-party apps are not managed by the Wearable app. To remove them, you need to uninstall the entire app from your watch. Go to the app drawer, find the app (e.g., Facer), press and hold it, and select “Uninstall.” This removes all faces that came with that app. If you only want to remove one face, use the app’s own interface to delete it from its library.

Will deleting a watch face affect my watch’s battery life?

Deleting a watch face itself does not directly affect battery life. However, having many faces installed can slightly increase the background processing needed to manage them. Removing unused faces may help keep the watch’s performance snappy, but the impact on battery is minimal. Battery life is more influenced by the face’s design (e.g., always-on display, animations) than by the number of faces installed.

Can I recover a hidden watch face without re-downloading it?

Yes. Hidden faces are still installed on the watch. To bring one back, open the Wearable app, go to “Watch faces,” and look for a “Hidden” section (if available). Tap the face you want to restore, and it will reappear in the carousel. If you don’t see a “Hidden” section, you can simply re-add the face from the Galaxy Store, and it will be restored to your list.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

More in this bed

The whole Tech How-To bed →