iTunes App Store contains hundreds of thousands of applications for purchase or free download for use in iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Each download is considered a purchase, including the free apps, or commercial apps that reduce their prices to zero cost, and entitles purchasers for free download of the apps again in future.

If you have deleted or lost the apps that installed on the mobile iOS devices (iDevices) and iTunes, where synchronization and transfer of apps from either one to another (between iTunes and iPhone, iPod touch or iPad) for restoring the lost apps is not possible, the following trick can be used to re-download a purchased app in the App Store.

Tip: In order to minimize the risk of “accidental” purchase of apps (which have not been purchased before) when attempting to redownload, it’s recommended to remove payment information or set the credit card to none in iTunes account prior to attempt the trick below. When no payment information found, iTunes will prompt user to enter the payment details prior to purchase.

  1. Launch iTunes and go to the iTunes Store.
  2. Sign in with the same account that was used for the original purchase of the app to restore.
  3. Locate the app in the App Store and click the Buy App button.

    Buy App in Apple App Store

  4. When prompted with dialog asking to confirm buy and download the app, click the Buy button.

    Purchase App in iTunes App Store

  5. If the app has been purchased before, the following dialog box will be shown, stating that you have already purchased this item. Click OK to download the app again for free.

    Re-Download Purchased App for Free
    Another possible dialog will prompt that this update is free because you own a previous version of this item. To get this update now, select OK.

  6. If the app is downloaded to iTunes, sync the app to mobile device. The app downloaded to iPhone, iPod touch or iPad will be automatically transferred back to iTunes.

Note that the re-download purchased step-by-step guide above is applicable for both iTunes on computer or the App Store app on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. However, one exception is that if the application is no longer available for download on the App Store, then you will not be able to redownload it.