Canonical: https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-hide-apps-on-iphone Title: How to hide apps on iPhone Updated: 2026-10-25 Author: Zaniar, Founder of Hideroom (https://hideroom.app/authors/zaniar) Sources: Lock or hide an app on iPhone, Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), checked 2026-10-25 ; Lock or hide apps on your iPhone, Apple Support (Personal Safety User Guide), checked 2026-10-25 ; Remove or delete apps from iPhone, Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), checked 2026-10-25 ; Hide and unhide apps in your App Store purchase list, Apple Support, checked 2026-10-25 ; Use locked apps with Stolen Device Protection, Apple Support, checked 2026-10-25 ; About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone, Apple Support, checked 2026-10-25 # How to hide apps on iPhone ## Quick answer To hide an app on iPhone, touch and hold its icon on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate and tap Hide App. It moves to a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Only apps you downloaded from the App Store can be hidden, and the name still shows in a few places. You can hide an app on iPhone without installing anything: Apple’s lock-and-hide option moves an app off your Home Screen and out of search into a Hidden folder that opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. It works on apps you downloaded from the App Store, not on apps that came installed on the iPhone. This guide covers the steps, the places a hidden app still shows its name, and when locking an app or removing it from the Home Screen suits you better. It’s checked against Apple’s iOS 27 guides. ## How do you hide an app on iPhone? Hiding and locking are one menu. A hidden app is always locked as well, so it needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode every time it opens. 1. Go to the Home Screen and find the app you want to hide. 2. Touch and hold the app until the Quick Actions menu opens. 3. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode, depending on your iPhone). 4. Tap Hide and Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then authenticate. 5. Tap Hide App. The app disappears from your Home Screen and moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Apple says hiding also takes it out of search results. Tap Require Face ID first to see whether hiding is on offer. If the next menu has no Hide option, the app is one Apple doesn’t let you hide. Apps that came installed on the iPhone can’t be hidden, and neither can an app you’ve set as your default web browser or, in the EU, your default app marketplace. ## How do you open a hidden app? 1. Swipe left past all your Home Screen pages to reach App Library. 2. Tap the Hidden folder at the bottom and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. 3. Tap the app, then authenticate again. The app locks again after you quit it, so the next time you open it you’ll be asked again. For a full list of what you’ve hidden, open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Hidden Apps. ## Where does a hidden app still show? Hiding takes an app off your Home Screen, out of App Library’s normal folders and out of search. It doesn’t erase every trace, and Apple says so plainly. The name of a hidden app can still appear in: - **Settings, Apps, Hidden Apps.** This list needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open. - **Settings, Screen Time.** App usage is listed by name. - **Settings, Battery, Battery Health & Charging.** - **Your App Store purchase history.** You can take the app off your App Store purchase list, though not out of your complete purchase history. In the App Store, tap your photo or initials, tap Apps & Purchase History, then Your Apps, swipe left on the app and tap Hide. Apple says the app still appears in your complete purchase history in Settings, and hiding a purchase doesn’t remove the app from your phone. Hiding is also per device. The hidden status doesn’t sync with iCloud, so an app you hide on your iPhone stays visible on your iPad unless you hide it there too. > Careful > > The Hidden folder and the apps inside it accept your iPhone passcode as well as Face ID or Touch ID, so wherever that passcode works, anyone who knows it can open them. Stolen Device Protection narrows this: Apple says that with it on, opening a locked app away from familiar places such as home and work needs Face ID or Touch ID, with no passcode fallback. In familiar places the passcode still works, unless you’ve chosen Apple’s Always option, which applies the extra checks even there. Either way, hiding an app keeps it out of sight; the lock is what keeps it closed. Want to know the day Hideroom is ready? Hideroom is coming to iPhone. One email when it launches, then we delete your address. ## Is locking an app enough? Often it is, and it’s the better choice when you don’t mind people seeing the app is there. A locked app stays on your Home Screen but won’t open without Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Apple says information inside a locked app also stays out of notification previews, search, Siri suggestions, your call history and CarPlay. To lock an app without hiding it, touch and hold it, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then tap Require Face ID again and authenticate to confirm. To undo it, touch and hold the app, tap Don’t Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode) and authenticate. Some apps that came installed can be locked even though they can’t be hidden. Others can’t be locked at all, including Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts and Settings. ## What about removing an app from the Home Screen? If all you want is a tidier Home Screen, you don’t need to hide anything. Touch and hold the app, tap Remove App, then tap Remove from Home Screen. Apple says the app moves to App Library and can still be used from there; it isn’t deleted. This hides nothing from someone who opens App Library, and it adds no Face ID or passcode check of its own. It suits apps you’d rather not see every day, not apps you’d rather nobody opened. Be careful not to tap Delete App by mistake. Deleting removes the app and its data from your iPhone, although Apple notes that anything the app stored in iCloud isn’t deleted with it. ## Which way should you choose? - **Remove from Home Screen** when you want a cleaner Home Screen and privacy doesn’t come into it. - **Lock** when people may see your phone but shouldn’t see inside one app, or notification previews from it. - **Hide** when you’d rather the app wasn’t on show at all, and you accept that Settings and Screen Time may still show its name. Locking and hiding both lean on the same thing: your iPhone passcode, wherever it’s accepted. Photos has a separate lock for its Hidden album, which also opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, as our guide to [hiding photos on iPhone](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone) explains. > Where Hideroom fits > > Hideroom is built to protect what you keep with a secret that isn’t your iPhone passcode. Coming to iPhone soon, it opens each room with a pattern you draw, so someone borrowing your unlocked iPhone, even one who knows the passcode, can’t open a room without that pattern or tell how many rooms exist. Everything inside is encrypted on the phone. Pro adds private app icons; on iPhone only the icon changes, while the name under it, the app switcher and Settings still say Hideroom, and we’d rather tell you that than overpromise. Our [security page](https://hideroom.app/security) explains what Hideroom protects and what it doesn’t. If the app you want to hide is where your private photos live, read [how to lock photos on iPhone](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-lock-photos-on-iphone) next, for the ways to lock the photos themselves and what each one misses. ## Questions ### Where do hidden apps go on iPhone? Into the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Swipe left past all your Home Screen pages, tap Hidden and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. For a list of every hidden app, open Settings, tap Apps, then Hidden Apps. ### Why can’t I hide some apps on my iPhone? Apple only lets you hide apps you downloaded from the App Store. Apps that came installed on the iPhone can’t be hidden, and neither can an app you’ve set as your default web browser or, in the EU, your default app marketplace. Some built-in apps can still be locked, and in a Family Sharing group children under 13 can’t lock or hide apps at all (Apple says the ages vary by country or region). ### Can someone tell I’ve hidden an app? Sometimes. Apple says a hidden app’s name can still appear in Settings under Screen Time and under Battery, Battery Health & Charging, and in your App Store purchase history. Hiding also only applies to that iPhone, because the setting doesn’t sync with iCloud. ### How do I unhide an app on iPhone? Open the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library and authenticate. Touch and hold the app, tap Don’t Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then authenticate again. The app comes back near the top of App Library, and you can drag it to the Home Screen. ### Does hiding an app delete its data? No. Hiding doesn’t delete the app or its data; it stays installed, and you open it from the Hidden folder after authenticating. Deleting an app is what removes it and its data from your iPhone, though Apple says anything it stored in iCloud isn’t deleted with it. Written by Zaniar with AI research help, and checked against the sources below on 25 October 2026. [How we write guides](https://hideroom.app/editorial-policy) ## Related guides - [Hiding photos · 5 min read](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone) ### [How to hide photos on iPhone](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone) [Hide photos on iPhone with the Hidden album, lock it with Face ID, and learn what it doesn't protect against. Checked against Apple's guides for iOS 27.](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone) - [Hiding photos · 5 min read](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-lock-photos-on-iphone) ### [How to lock photos on iPhone](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-lock-photos-on-iphone) [Lock photos on iPhone with Face ID, lock the whole Photos app, or password protect pictures in Notes. Every option for iOS 27, and what each one misses.](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-lock-photos-on-iphone) - [Hiding photos · 5 min read](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-find-hidden-photos-on-iphone) ### [How to find hidden photos on iPhone](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-find-hidden-photos-on-iphone) [Find the Hidden album on iPhone in four taps, plus what to do if it's missing, won't open, or you meant the hidden apps folder. iPad and Mac too.](https://hideroom.app/guides/how-to-find-hidden-photos-on-iphone) ## Sources 1. [Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph00f208d05/ios), Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), checked 25 October 2026 2. [Lock or hide apps on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/personal-safety/ipsd0be4c185/web), Apple Support (Personal Safety User Guide), checked 25 October 2026 3. [Remove or delete apps from iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/remove-or-delete-apps-iph248b543ca/27/ios/27), Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), checked 25 October 2026 4. [Hide and unhide apps in your App Store purchase list](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/108091), Apple Support, checked 25 October 2026 5. [Use locked apps with Stolen Device Protection](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/125690), Apple Support, checked 25 October 2026 6. [About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/120340), Apple Support, checked 25 October 2026 Spotted something out of date? Email . > Hideroom > > - Encrypted on your phone > - Verified backups > - No account > > [Get notified](#notify)