If you have never synced apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you will experience an aggravating message the first time you try it.

The solution to keeping your apps intact is simple.

While the the iPhone/iPod Touch is very user-friendly, it does not come with instructions. Every once in a while, the user will be confronted with a confusing situation like this.

The Problem

Regardless of what you do, whenever you check the box to Sync Apps in iTunes, you will see the message:

“Are you sure you want to sync apps? All existing apps and their data on the iphone will be replaced with apps from this iTunes library”.

If you continue, and you have never moved your apps from your device to your computer, you will indeed delete everything off of your device!

The Solution

In iTunes, under File, select Transfer purchases from "Your Device Name". That’s it!

iTunes will now pull off all the apps from your device onto your computer. Now if you Sync Apps, you don’t have to worry about losing your apps (the message will still pop up though).

This scenario is most common when people download apps through the App Store on their computer and then want to add them to their device.

If this helped clear up any confusion for you, leave a comment!