How to Install the Real Wordle App on Your iPhone

Update 02/02/22: Added instructions on how to save Wordle on a Mac as a pre-New Your Times offline game.

People are going crazy over Wordle, the simple word game created by Josh Wardle. Wardle published the game on the web and told The New York Times that since it was a “labor of love”, he was not interested in making an app version of it. Wordle is readily available on the web, but copies of Wordle that were released on the App Store and eventually removed by Apple show that there is demand for a version of the app.

There’s a way to get Josh Wardle’s Wordle ‘app’ – it involves using a feature that’s been around for a long time in iOS, saving a web page to your home screen. It’s really easy to do, and once you’ve done it, the Wordle icon will appear on your home screen and app library and work as an app.

One caveat about creating the Wordle web app: if you’ve played through Safari before, your current streak won’t transfer to the web app, just like if you started playing on a new device. We will therefore have to start a new series.

The New York Times reported that he bought Wordle from Josh Wardle, who was paid “in the seven figures”. Wordle will join The Times’ various subscription services and apps, including The New York Times Crossword app which is free but offers in-app purchases. The Times article states that Wordle will “initially remain free for new and existing players”, so it remains to be seen if Wordle will continue to be free in the long term. In his statement to the media, Wardle said he was “working with [the Times] to ensure that your wins and streaks will be preserved.

How to save Wordle as an “application”

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Safari and go to https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/.
2. Tap the Share button, which is the rectangle with the arrow pointing up.
3. On the Share screen, find Add to home screen and press it.
4. On the next screen, you can rename Wordle if you wish. You can also check the URL to make sure it is correct (https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/).
5. Faucet To add and Wordle icon will appear on your home screen.

When you’re ready to play (or when you can, since there is only one Wordle game per day), you can simply press the green “W” icon on your home screen and the game will launch. Good luck!

It’s not just Wordle, the App Store is a total mess: How scams, fakes, scams and fake reviews show just how much Apple needs to clean things up

How to load a new game

If you launch the Wordle web app on a new day and a new game didn’t load, try launching the app again. Don’t worry about your streak, it will be maintained.

1. Access the app switcher by swiping up from the bottom edge of the screen. Stop swiping around the middle of the screen. On devices with home buttons, double-tap the home button.
2. You’ll see a set of “cards” that represent apps you’ve recently opened. Swipe to Wordle, then swipe it up to remove it from the set.
3. Return to the home screen by tapping anywhere on the screen and open Wordle.

IDG

How to Save Wordle as an Offline Game, Pre-New York Times

With the sale to the New York Times, it’s unclear if Wordle will eventually cease to be free to play. The Times said Wordle will “initially remain free for new and existing players,” which likely means it will have a price to play in the near future. But, as Motherboard points out, you can save Wordle as it was before it became part of the NYT apps and services.

Wordle runs in a browser and the game code is basically in the web page itself. It is not a ping server or need to access anything online. So you can save the Wordle website on your Mac and read it from there instead of on the web. Here’s how to save it on a Mac in Safari.

1. Open Wordle (https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/) in Safari.
2. Go to To file > Save as.
3. The Save window will open. Choose a location where you want to save the file and name the file.
4. For format, select Web Archive.
5. Click on To safeguard.

Opening the file: When you first open the file to play the game, you may receive a warning that the file cannot be opened because macOS cannot verify that the file is free of malware. To open the file, right click on it and select Open. Instead of the malware warning, you’ll need to confirm that you really want to open the file. Click on Open and you should be good to go.

IDG

All the words Wordle uses are in the actual file and there are over 2,000 words. Since Wordle is played once a day, you should have over six years worth of games if you play daily. However, if you played online and decide to play that way, your streak will end and you will have to start a new one.

For iPhone and iPad, there is an issue that we are trying to fix. When we save Wordle as a web archive and try to open it, all we get is a blank page. Once we figure it out, we’ll update this article with instructions.

How to Play Past Wordles

Wordle only has one game per day and each day is numbered. For example, Wordle on January 27 is game number 222. Wordle itself doesn’t have a way to play previous editions, but as Lifehacker reports, there is a site that allows you to access older Wordles.

Created by Devang Thakkar, Wordle Archive allows you to play old editions of Wordle. The site provides buttons that take you to a specific puzzle – you can even replay Words you’ve already solved.

IDG/Devang Thakkar

If you really like Wordle Archive, you can make it an “app” on your iPhone and iPad, which would give you quick and easy access to the game. Just open the Wordle Archive in Safari, then follow the same instructions as for saving Wordle as an “application” at the top of this article.

How to cheat on Wordle

No, we’re not in favor of cheating in a game we love, but maybe you just need a little help. Or maybe you’re tired of seeing Wordle’s scores on social media and want to post your own “high” scores as revenge. Whatever your reason, we’re not here to judge, we’re just here to direct you to an article and video from our sister publication, PCWorld, at how to cheat in wordle.

Google’s tribute to Wordle

This Google Easter egg will make you smile. All you have to do is type “Wordle” into the Google search field (or the address field on your iPhone or Mac if you’ve set Google as your search engine) and hit Return. The Google logo at the top will turn into a mini Wordle as a tribute to the game. It’s cute, so check it out!