Can you disguise apps on your iPhone?

Yes, you can change apps names and icons on your iPhone using the Shortcuts app. Keep in mind: this only changes how the app name and icon is displayed on your Home Screen (not in your App Library).

Can you lock apps on iPhone?

Yes, many apps can be locked with Face ID . But even apps that aren’t made to work with Face ID or a passcode can be locked by placing a zero-minute limit on them in your Screen Time settings . You will then need to enter your Screen Time passcode to use the app.

What do I do if I hid an app and can’t find it?

Your missing app could be hidden in many different places including the App Library, a hidden Home page, or an app folder. Check out this article covering how to find hidden apps on your iPhone .

How to Hide Apps on iPhone: 6 Easy Ways

By Conner Carey Updated 11/13/2024

What to Know

You can hide an app from your iPhone's Home Screen, Search function, Siri Suggestions, and App Store purchase history.
However, there's no way to hide apps from your App Library (any installed app will appear here).
Avoid third-party apps that claim to hide apps on your iPhone.

Can you hide apps on an iPhone? Absolutely. You can use your iPhone's built-in features to hide any Apple or third-party app for free. We'll show you how to hide an app on your iPhone by removing it from your Home Screen, placing it in a folder, and hiding it from Search and Siri Suggestions. If you want to hide multiple apps, you can even hide an entire Home Screen page of app icons.

How to Hide Apps on iPhone Home Screen Using the App Library

Your iPhone will include the App Library if you are running iOS 14 or later. Here's how to hide apps in the App Library, which allows you to store them away from your Home Screen.

Press and hold the app icon for the app you want to hide.
Tap Remove App.

Tap Remove from Home Screen. This removes the app icon from your Home Screen, but keeps it safely stored in your App Library.

This will hide the app in the iPhone App Library. Now to find your app, just swipe left to your last Home Screen, swipe left one more time to access your App Library, and search for the app name. Since it's easy to find hidden apps in the App Library, you can always change your mind and add them back to your Home Screen later. If you're interested, here's more guidance on the App Library.

Discover your iPhone's hidden features

Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

Can I Hide Apps from the App Library?

No, you can't hide or remove an app from the App Library as long it is installed on your device. So unless you delete and reinstall the app each time you use it, the app will always appear when you search your App Library.

How to Hide Apps on iPhone by Hiding an Entire App Page

If you're looking for a way to hide multiple apps, hiding an entire Home Screen page of apps is my favorite method. Before you follow the steps below, drag any apps you want to hide onto their own Home Screen page. Then, follow the steps below to learn how to hide apps on your iPhone by hiding an entire Home Screen page of apps from view:

Press and hold anywhere on your Home Screen to enter Edit mode.
Tap the Home Screen dots located above your dock.

You'll see your Home Screen pages. To hide a page from view, tap the checkmark beneath the page to uncheck and remove it.

Only Home Screen pages with a checkmark below them will appear when you swipe through your Home Screen pages. If you change your mind and want to unhide this page of apps, tap the circle icon to add the checkmark again.

How to Hide Apps on iPhone from Search & Smart Suggestions

Your iPhone Search function allows you to search for apps or content on your device from one unified location, while Smart Suggestions uses Siri's intelligence to suggest apps based on your usage patterns. This can lead to hidden apps on your iPhone showing up in search results or suggestions when you'd rather not see them. Here's how to hide apps from Search and Smart Suggestions on your iPhone:

Open the Settings app and tap Siri & Search.
Scroll down to the app section and select the app you want to hide.

To hide an app and its contents from Search, toggle off Show App in Search and Show Content in Search.
To hide an app from Smart Suggestions, toggle off Learn from this App, Show on Home Screen, Suggest App, and Suggestion Notifications.

Once the toggles have been disabled, the app and its content will no longer appear in your Search results or Smart Suggestions (even if you have the Siri Suggestions widget on your Home Screen).

Alternate Ways to Hide Apps on Your iPhone

Below, we've listed some other ways to help hide apps on your iPhone. In addition to the methods above, you can hide apps from the App Store purchase history, create a hidden second page in an app folder, or change an app icon and name on your Home Screen. Also, learn how to remove apps from Spotlight Search.

How to Hide Apps from App Store Purchase History

If you have Family Sharing enabled, anyone in your Family Group can see the apps you’ve downloaded. If you want to keep some of your apps private, you can hide them from your App Store purchase history. Don't worry; you can always find hidden app purchases later when you need to.

Open the App Store app and tap on your profile icon.
Tap Purchased.

If you're using Family Sharing, tap My Purchases. If not, skip to the next step.
Swipe left on the app and tap Hide. This removes your app from the list of purchased apps.

Tap Done to save your changes.

This method only hides the app from your App Store purchase history, and will not delete the app on your iPhone or iPad. You also can’t hide app subscriptions from the Family Organizer in Family Sharing, even if you hide the app from Purchases. Need to find hidden App Store purchases? No worries; it's easy.

Hide Apps on an iPhone by Changing the App Icon & Name

If you're looking for a fun way to hide apps on your iPhone Home Screen, you can also learn how to change app icons using the Shortcuts app. This customization option allows you to replace the default app icon with another image on your Home Screen and change the app name that is displayed. However, this will only change how the app is displayed on your Home Screen (not in your App Library).

Use App Folders to Hide an App on Your iPhone

If you're looking for a way to reduce clutter on your Home Screen, creating app folders is a great way to do this! However, if your purpose is to hide multiple apps, I recommend using the Hide a Page of Apps method, which is more convenient. If you do chose the method below, here's how to create an iPhone folder to hide your apps:

Choose a folder that already exists on your iPhone or create a new app folder.
Press and hold anywhere on your Home Screen to enter edit mode.

Drag the app into the folder of your choice.
Tap to open the folder, then drag the app to the right so you can place it on the next page of the folder (only the apps on the first page of the folder are visible on the Home Screen).

While this method doesn’t completely hide apps on your iPhone, it does make it hard to accidentally come across them.

FAQ

Can you disguise apps on your iPhone? Yes, you can change apps names and icons on your iPhone using the Shortcuts app. Keep in mind: this only changes how the app name and icon is displayed on your Home Screen (not in your App Library).
Can you lock apps on iPhone? Yes, many apps can be locked with Face ID. But even apps that aren’t made to work with Face ID or a passcode can be locked by placing a zero-minute limit on them in your Screen Time settings. You will then need to enter your Screen Time passcode to use the app.
What do I do if I hid an app and can’t find it? Your missing app could be hidden in many different places including the App Library, a hidden Home page, or an app folder. Check out this article covering how to find hidden apps on your iPhone.