How to Hide Apps on iPhone (iOS 18 and Later)

To hide an app on iPhone with iOS 18 or later, touch and hold the app on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID, then tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate and tap Hide App. The app leaves your Home Screen and moves to a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. If you only want a cleaner Home Screen, you can remove the app to App Library without locking it.

This guide covers each option, which apps can’t be hidden, and the places where a hidden app’s name still shows up. Every iOS detail comes from an Apple Support page, which is linked. If you need to get a hidden app back, see how to find hidden apps on iPhone.

Hide an app with Face ID (iOS 18 and later)

This is the option that actually keeps someone out. Apple’s Lock or hide an app page gives these steps:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold the app until the Quick Actions menu opens.
3. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
4. Tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App.

Apple says a hidden app disappears from your Home Screen and moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Hiding removes the app from the Home Screen, App Library and search results, and the Hidden folder needs authentication to open.

Hiding also locks the app. Apple notes that information inside a locked app won’t appear in other places such as notification previews, search, Siri suggestions or your call history. To open a hidden app yourself, swipe left past all your Home Screen pages to App Library, tap the Hidden folder, authenticate, then tap the app.

Two details from Apple that matter:

• Hiding only applies to that iPhone. Apple says the locked or hidden status of an app doesn’t sync with iCloud, so an app hidden on your iPhone stays visible on your iPad unless you hide it there too.
• You can lock an app without hiding it. That keeps the icon on the Home Screen but asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode every time the app opens.

Remove an app from the Home Screen only

If you don’t need a lock, removing the app from the Home Screen is quicker. Apple’s Remove or delete apps page says that when you remove an app from the Home Screen, it moves to App Library and isn’t deleted.

1. Touch and hold the app on the Home Screen.
2. Tap Remove App.
3. Tap Remove from Home Screen.

The app can still be used from App Library, and anyone who swipes left past your last Home Screen page can find it by browsing or searching there. Be careful not to tap Delete App, which removes the app and its data from the iPhone. This option works on iOS versions before 18 as well, which matters if your iPhone can’t run iOS 18.

Apple’s App Library page also lets you choose where new downloads go. In Settings > Home Screen & App Library, pick App Library Only and new apps skip the Home Screen from the start.

Hide Home Screen pages

If you keep a set of apps together on one page, you can hide the whole page. From the same App Library page, Apple lists these steps:

1. Touch and hold the Home Screen wallpaper until the app icons jiggle.
2. Tap the dots at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the checkmark under a page’s thumbnail to remove it.
4. Tap the done button, or press the Home button on iPhone SE.

The page is hidden, not deleted. Add the checkmark back in the same screen to show it again. Apple notes that new apps you download may be added to App Library instead of the Home Screen while pages are hidden.

Hiding a page offers no lock. Anyone who opens your phone can repeat the same steps and turn the page back on, so it works as tidying rather than privacy.

Which apps can’t be hidden

Apple’s iPhone guide says apps that come installed can’t be hidden, and only apps you download separately from the App Store can be. Apps set by the user as the default web browser or app marketplace (available only in the EU) can’t be hidden either.

Locking has its own exceptions. Apple’s Personal Safety guide lists Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts and Settings among the built-in apps that can’t be locked.

Family Sharing sets another limit. Children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can’t lock or hide apps. Anyone aged 13 to 17 can, but Apple says a parent or guardian in the family group can see that the app was downloaded and how much time it’s used, and can restrict access to it with Screen Time. Ages vary by country or region.

What hiding does not hide

A hidden app is out of sight, not gone. Apple’s Personal Safety guide lists the other places where you may still see the names of hidden apps:

• Settings > Apps > Hidden Apps, which requires Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode
• Settings > Screen Time
• Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging
• App Store purchase history

The App Store item deserves its own note. Apple’s page on hiding purchases is about a separate feature, hiding an app from your purchase list. Apple says hiding there doesn’t remove the app from your device, and that the purchase still appears in the complete purchase history in Settings. It’s not a replacement for hiding the app on the Home Screen.

Hiding also does nothing for the data the app holds. If the app syncs to the cloud or shows content in another way, it does that whether the icon is visible or not. And anyone who knows your passcode can authenticate and open the Hidden folder, so treat the passcode as the real lock.

Hiding an app that holds private photos

A common reason to hide an app is that it holds photos or documents you don’t want seen. The built-in route for photos is the Hidden album, covered in how to hide photos on iPhone. If you keep those files in a separate vault app, you can hide that app with the steps above. Then there are two layers: the app is out of sight on the Home Screen, and the files inside sit behind the vault’s own lock.

The two locks protect different things. Hiding the icon stops someone from noticing the app. The vault’s lock stops them from reading the files if they find it. Neither stops someone who has your passcode and time with your phone, which is why a lock inside the vault app is worth having rather than relying on the icon alone. The private photo vault recovery guide explains what to set up so that a lock you chose doesn’t lock you out.

Frequently asked questions

How do I hide an app on iPhone without deleting it?

Touch and hold the app, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate and tap Hide App. This needs iOS 18 or later. Without iOS 18, tap Remove App and then Remove from Home Screen to move it to App Library.

Can I hide a pre-installed app like Messages or Safari?

Apple says apps that come installed can’t be hidden. Removing one from the Home Screen so it sits in App Library is the closest option, though it has no lock. Apple also says an app you set as your default browser can’t be hidden.

Will hidden apps show up in search or notifications?

Apple says hiding removes the app from search results, and a locked app’s information doesn’t appear in places like notification previews, Siri suggestions or your call history. The name can still show in Screen Time, Battery settings and your App Store purchase history.

Does hiding an app on my iPhone hide it on my iPad?

No. Apple says the locked or hidden status of an app doesn’t sync with iCloud, so each device needs its own setting.

Can a parent see hidden apps?

For a child aged 13 to 17 in a Family Sharing group, Apple says a parent or guardian can see that the app was downloaded and how much time it’s used. Children under 13 can’t hide apps at all.

Keeping photos private with Forevault

Forevault is our vault app for iPhone, and it is a good fit if the thing you want to hide is photos or videos. Files are encrypted on the device with AES-256-GCM. You open it with a pattern on a 5×5 grid, a passcode or a password, and Face ID is optional. Separate vaults can use separate patterns, and the lock screen doesn’t list them. It has a 12-word recovery phrase, an encrypted backup to your own iCloud with “Test a restore”, and export to Photos or Files is always free. There is no account and nothing is collected. The free tier covers 100 photos, 10 videos and 3 vaults. There is no calculator disguise, so the app doesn’t pretend to be something else.

It protects against someone holding your phone, not forensic analysis. You can hide the Forevault icon with the steps above if you want it out of sight too. Download Forevault on the App Store.