How to Hide Apps on iPhone

Table of Contents

Whether you want to keep certain apps private from someone borrowing your phone, declutter a chaotic Home Screen, or simply stop specific apps from showing up in search and notifications, iPhone offers several genuinely different ways to hide an app. Some methods just tidy up your layout, while others go much further — locking an app behind Face ID and hiding it from Spotlight Search, Siri Suggestions, and even your notification previews entirely.

In this guide, we’ll walk through every method for hiding apps on iPhone, from the simplest (removing an icon from your Home Screen) to the most secure (Apple’s built-in Hidden & Locked Apps feature). We’ll also cover iOS version differences, since this is one area where Apple has significantly changed what’s possible in recent updates, along with pro tips and answers to common questions.

Step 1: Understand Your Hiding Options Before You Start

Before diving in, it’s worth knowing that “hiding” an app on iPhone can mean a few different things, and the right method depends on what you’re actually trying to achieve:

Removing an icon from the Home Screen (but keeping it accessible via the App Library) — good for decluttering, not privacy.
Hiding an app completely, including from Spotlight Search, Siri Suggestions, and notifications, requiring Face ID or Touch ID to reveal it — good for genuine privacy.
Offloading an app so it’s not installed at all until reopened — good for saving space, not hiding usage.
Restricting app visibility for other users via Screen Time — good for shared or family devices.

We’ll cover all four in detail below, starting with the quickest option.

Step 2: Remove an App From Your Home Screen (Keep It in App Library)

This is the fastest way to get an app off your visible Home Screen without deleting it or losing any data.

Press and hold the app icon until a menu appears.
Tap Remove App.
Choose Remove from Home Screen (not Delete App).

The app disappears from your Home Screen entirely but remains fully installed. This method is good for tidying up your layout, but it offers no real privacy — anyone who swipes to the App Library or searches for the app by name will find it instantly.

Step 3: Use Apple’s Hidden & Locked Apps Feature

For apps you genuinely want to keep private, Apple’s built-in Hidden Apps feature is the most secure option available without third-party software. When an app is hidden this way, its icon disappears from your Home Screen and App Library, it’s excluded from Spotlight Search results, and its notifications no longer show content on your Lock Screen.

Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID, depending on your device) from the menu.
Tap Hide and Require Face ID to confirm.

Once hidden, the app moves into a dedicated Hidden folder inside the App Library, which itself is locked behind Face ID or Touch ID.

To find and open a hidden app later:

Swipe to the App Library.
Scroll to the very bottom, where a Hidden folder appears.
Tap the folder and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
Tap the app inside to open it.

To unhide an app:

Open the Hidden folder as described above.
Press and hold the app icon.
Tap Don’t Require Face ID, or drag it back out to the App Library or Home Screen manually.

This method is by far the most complete way to hide an app’s existence from anyone casually browsing your phone.

Step 4: Hide an App’s Notifications Without Hiding the App Itself

Sometimes you don’t need to hide the app entirely — you just don’t want its notification content showing up on your Lock Screen where anyone glancing at your phone can read it.

Go to Settings > Notifications.
Tap the specific app.
Under Show Previews, choose When Unlocked instead of Always.

With this setting, notifications still arrive and the app badge still appears, but the actual message or alert content only becomes visible once you unlock your phone. If you want to suppress notifications from that app altogether, you can instead turn off Allow Notifications at the top of the same screen.

Step 5: Offload Apps to Reduce Their Visible Footprint

Offloading isn’t designed as a hiding feature, but it has a side effect worth knowing about: an offloaded app’s icon remains on your Home Screen with a small cloud icon next to it, signaling it’s not fully installed, and it won’t appear in certain “recently used” or usage-tracking views until reopened.

Tap the app you want to offload.
Tap Offload App.

This is more useful for saving storage space (see our related guide on freeing up iPhone storage) than for genuine privacy, since the icon typically remains visible unless you also remove it from the Home Screen.

Step 6: Move Apps Into an Inconspicuous Folder

If you want a lightweight way to keep an app out of casual view without using Face ID locking, tucking it inside a folder — especially one buried on a later Home Screen page — can work as a basic deterrent.

Press and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until icons begin jiggling.
Drag the app you want to obscure on top of another folder, or onto a different app to create a new folder.
Optionally, rename the folder something generic like “Utilities” or “Misc” so the contents aren’t obvious from the label alone.

Keep in mind this is the weakest form of hiding on this list — anyone who taps the folder can see everything inside instantly, with no authentication required.

Step 7: Restrict App Visibility for Other Users With Screen Time

If you’re setting up a shared iPhone, a hand-me-down device for a child, or simply want to prevent someone else from opening certain apps when using your phone, Screen Time restrictions go further than hiding — they actively block access.

Go to Settings > Screen Time.
Tap Allowed Apps, and turn off any apps you don’t want accessible.
Set a Screen Time Passcode (separate from your device passcode) so restrictions can’t be reversed without it.

Restricted apps disappear from the Home Screen entirely for anyone using the device without the Screen Time passcode, which makes this a strong option for genuinely shared devices, though it’s overkill if you’re the only person using the phone.

Step 8: Hide Purchase History for Sensitive Apps

Even after hiding an app from your Home Screen, it can still show up in your App Store purchase history, which is visible to anyone who has access to your Apple ID account or family sharing group. You can hide individual apps from this list too.

Open the App Store and tap your profile icon in the top-right corner.
Tap Purchased, then find the app.
Swipe left on the app (or tap Edit, depending on iOS version) and select Hide.

Hidden purchases are removed from your visible purchase history but remain associated with your Apple ID, so you can still redownload them later if needed through Settings > [your name] > Media & Purchases > View Account > Hidden Purchases.

Platform Variations: iOS Versions and iPad

iOS 17 and earlier: The dedicated Hidden & Locked Apps feature described in Step 3 was not available on iOS 17 and earlier. On these versions, your realistic options are limited to removing apps from the Home Screen (Step 2), folder organization (Step 6), and Screen Time restrictions (Step 7).
iOS 18 and later: Apple introduced the full Hidden Apps system with Face ID locking in iOS 18, which is the version this guide’s Step 3 instructions apply to. If your iPhone doesn’t show a Require Face ID option when long-pressing an app, check Settings > General > Software Update to confirm you’re running iOS 18 or later.
iPad: The Hidden Apps feature works identically on iPad running a compatible iPadOS version, with apps moving into the same locked Hidden folder inside the App Library. Screen Time restrictions and notification preview settings also match the iPhone experience exactly.
Devices without Face ID or Touch ID: On the rare iPhone model without biometric authentication enabled, the Hidden Apps feature falls back to requiring your device passcode instead, and the menu option is labeled Require Passcode rather than Require Face ID.

Tips

Combine methods for maximum privacy. Hiding an app with Face ID (Step 3) alongside setting its notification previews to “When Unlocked” (Step 4) prevents both the icon and any Lock Screen content from revealing that the app exists on your phone.
Check Siri Suggestions separately. Even with an app hidden, Siri may still verbally mention it in response to certain voice queries.
Remember that hidden apps still count toward storage and battery usage summaries in some system reports, so hiding an app isn’t the same as making it fully invisible from every corner of iOS.
Use a separate Screen Time passcode from your device passcode if you’re restricting apps for someone else. Using the same code for both makes the restriction trivial to bypass.
Periodically review your Hidden folder. It’s easy to hide an app and forget about it entirely, especially since it doesn’t appear anywhere in your normal Home Screen browsing. Set a reminder every few months to check what’s tucked away and confirm you still need it hidden.
Don’t rely on hiding alone for sensitive financial or health apps. Pair hiding with the app’s own internal security features, such as an in-app PIN or biometric lock, so there are two independent barriers rather than one.

Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting

“I don’t see a ‘Require Face ID’ option when I long-press an app.” This option only appears on iOS 18 and later. Check your current iOS version under Settings > General > About, and update your device if a newer version is available.
“I hid an app, but I can’t find it again.” Swipe all the way to your App Library, scroll to the bottom, and look for a folder labeled Hidden. You’ll need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to open it — this is expected behavior, not a bug.
“My hidden app’s notifications are still showing full content on the Lock Screen.” Hiding an app’s icon and restricting its notification previews are two separate settings. Go back to Settings > Notifications, select the app, and manually change Show Previews to When Unlocked or Never.
“Someone found my hidden app anyway.” If your device passcode or Face ID enrollment is known to that person, they can unlock the Hidden folder just as easily as you can, since it uses the same authentication as your device. For stronger separation, consider using Screen Time restrictions with a distinct passcode instead, especially on a genuinely shared device.
“I can’t unhide an app because it’s not showing up anywhere.” Double-check you’re looking inside the App Library’s Hidden folder rather than searching Spotlight, since hidden apps are intentionally excluded from search results. If it’s still missing, confirm the app wasn’t accidentally deleted instead of hidden by checking Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see if it’s still installed.
“I hid an app, but its widget still shows up on my Home Screen or Today View.” Hiding an app through the Hidden Apps feature does not automatically remove any widgets you previously added for that app. Widgets are managed separately — press and hold the widget itself and select Remove Widget to take it off your Home Screen or Today View independently of the app’s hidden status.

Conclusion

iPhone gives you more control over app visibility than most people realize — from a quick Home Screen cleanup to a genuinely private, Face ID-locked hiding system that keeps an app invisible across search, notifications, and the App Library. The right method depends on your goal: use simple removal for tidiness, the Hidden Apps feature for real privacy, and Screen Time restrictions when you need to control what someone else can access on a shared device. Combining a couple of these methods gives you the strongest coverage available without needing any third-party tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I hide an app on iPhone without deleting it?

Yes. You can remove an app from your Home Screen while keeping it installed and accessible through the App Library, or use the Hidden Apps feature to lock it behind Face ID for stronger privacy — neither method deletes the app or its data.

2. Does hiding an app delete its data?

No. Hiding an app, whether by removing it from the Home Screen or using the Face ID-locked Hidden Apps feature, only affects its visibility. All app data, login sessions, and settings remain fully intact.

3. Which iOS version supports the Hidden & Locked Apps feature?

This feature requires iOS 18 or later. On earlier versions, you can still remove apps from the Home Screen or use Screen Time restrictions, but the full Face ID-locked hiding system isn’t available.

4. Will a hidden app still send me notifications?

Yes, hidden apps can still send notifications, but by default their content won’t display on the Lock Screen when the phone is locked. You can further restrict this by setting notification previews to “When Unlocked” or “Never” in the Notifications settings.

5. Can someone find my hidden apps by searching Spotlight?

No. Apps hidden using the Hidden Apps feature are excluded from Spotlight Search results, Siri Suggestions, and the regular App Library view, appearing only inside the locked Hidden folder.

6. How do I hide an app from someone else using my phone?

For apps you’re hiding from someone with occasional access to your device, Screen Time’s Content & Privacy Restrictions with a separate passcode offers stronger control, since it fully blocks access rather than relying on the same Face ID or passcode used to unlock your phone.

7. Can I hide an app’s purchase history too?

Yes. In the App Store, go to your profile, tap Purchased, find the app, and select Hide. This removes it from your visible purchase history while keeping it associated with your Apple ID for future redownloads.

8. Is there a way to hide an app from iPhone’s screen time or usage reports?

Not directly. Hidden apps can still appear in some system-level usage and battery reports, even though they’re excluded from the Home Screen, App Library, and Spotlight Search. Full invisibility from every usage log isn’t currently possible using Apple’s built-in tools.

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