How to hide apps on iPhone without deleting them?

A quick glance at the iPhone home screen can reveal a lot about the owner’s professional and personal life. The question is, do you want to make this information available to anyone who might pick up your smartphone to make a call, play around, or simply peek over your shoulder? For those who highly value privacy, we’ll explain how to hide apps on the iPhone legally and securely, so you can feel comfortable handing your device over to others.

1. Remove the icon from the home screen

With the release of iOS 14, there are more options for managing the home screen. Some widgets can be added to the home screen, while others can be hidden. However, all apps remain in the “App Library,” so removing the icon from the home screen won’t radically change anything.

The basic way to hide an app icon on iPhone is as follows:

• Press and hold the app icon until a menu appears.
• Tap on “Remove App” > “Remove from Home Screen.”

The icon will disappear from the home screen, but it will remain in the “App Library.”

By the way, bringing back the app is as simple as removing it. Go to the library, find the desired icon, hold it, and then choose “Add to Home Screen” from the options provided.

2. Create a folder and move it to another page

Hiding an app in an inconspicuous folder is a great idea. To create a folder, simply drag one app onto another. You can group as many apps as possible, hiding the desired one among them, and give the collection a neutral name, such as “Work” or “Utilities.”

Here’s the step-by-step process:

• Press and hold the icon of the app you want until action options appear: “Edit Home Screen,” “Share App,” or “Remove App.” Choose the first one.
• Drag the icon onto another app’s icon, after which they will be grouped, and a folder will appear, which needs to be named. For privacy reasons, the name can be completely unrelated to the contents.
• Go into the folder and move the widget to the second page.

An important nuance. All efforts will be in vain if notifications in the app are not disabled. What’s the point of hiding the app if it will still alert you to new messages? To do this, go to “Settings,” select “Notifications,” choose the app, and then disable “Allow Notifications” (the slider will turn gray).

Advanced users know that Siri is the perfect detective, so you need to “throw her off the scent.” To do this, in the “Siri & Search” settings, scroll down the list until you see the app. Tap on it and disable all available options: “Siri & Suggestions,” “Show App,” “Suggestions While Searching,” “App Suggestions,” “Search & Siri Suggestions,” and “Suggest in Notifications.”

3. Hide the entire home screen

If you want to hide several apps on iPhone at once, it’s most convenient not to bother and move them to a separate screen, while hiding the main home screen. This trick is perfect if you need to hide the programs for a while and then easily return them to their place.

To enter editing mode, do the following:

• Long press on an empty part of the screen and hold it until the icons jiggle.
• Three or more dots will appear at the bottom of the screen (depending on the number of home screens), followed by thumbnails of all iPhone home screens. Uncheck the box next to the screen you want to hide from prying eyes.
• Tap “Done” in the top right corner of the screen.

The selected home screen with its contents will disappear, but the apps will remain accessible through the “App Library.” To return, you’ll need to perform the same actions, but this time you’ll need to check the box next to the hidden screen. And voilà — everything will return to normal!

4. Password protection

You can also password-protect an app on iPhone. For example, some third-party apps may require an Apple ID to access information stored in iCloud. To safeguard yourself from issues, you can create an Apple ID for using a specific app. The prerequisite is two-factor authentication.

Here’s what we do:

• Sign in to your account at appleid.apple.com.
• Choose “App-Specific Passwords” > “Generate Password” or “Add.”
• Follow the on-screen instructions.

To remove the password, you’ll need to sign in to your account again, select “App-Specific Passwords,” and then click “Delete” next to the specific password or “Delete All.”

5. Use another app

In the App Store, you can find apps that help disguise programs. For example, AppLock easily generates new widgets, names, and passwords. Unfortunately, all of this does not affect the search in the “App Library,” but it still brings considerable benefit.

To disguise the app, enter AppLock:

• Create a category for the block.
• Add the apps you want to hide (you can select “All” in the suggested categories or specific ones).
• Come up with a password, passphrase, security question, and its answer.

Don’t forget to disable notifications for hidden apps. How to do this was shown in the second method.

If you activate app locking in the app, the category with apps simply won’t open. If you remove the block within the app itself, then it will launch.

6. Remove from App Store purchase list

Apple carefully stores all information about apps you’ve downloaded from the App Store, even if they’re no longer there. So, if someone gains access to your device, they might even restore a deleted app. To prevent this from happening, simply clean up the download list:

• Open the App Store, tap on the account button (your photo/initials at the top of the screen).
• Go to “Purchases,” for those with “Family Sharing,” it’s under “My Purchases.”
• Find the app, swipe left, and choose “Hide,” then confirm your intention (“Done”).

7. Hide the app on iPhone using Screen Time

You can prevent your child from spending too much time on their smartphone and then punish them for not following the rules. Or you can take advantage of Apple’s valuable features, such as “Screen Time.” This feature works great for pre-installed programs, such as browsers, cameras, email, and so on.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to “Settings” > “Screen Time.”
• Enable the option if it’s not already working and set a passcode (mandatory!).
• Go to “Content & Privacy Restrictions” > “Allowed Apps.”
• Disable the programs whose usage time needs to be restricted.

Apps will no longer be displayed on the home screen. Even in the “App Library” and “Control Center,” your cunning child won’t find them. To restore access, you’ll need to re-enter “Allowed Apps.”

8. Operation “Substitution”

Another Apple app, “Shortcuts,” will help you hide confidential information:

• Go to “Shortcuts,” tap on “Add” > “Add Action” > “Open App” (in the search bar).
• Select this script from the search results.
• Tap on “App” and choose the app that will open when pressed, then confirm (“Done”).
• Hold the command until the contextual menu appears. Select “Share” > “Add to Home Screen.”
• Come up with a new name, tap on the icon next to it to change the widget. Add.

Now a new widget will appear on the screen, which opens the same app. Delete the “native” widget from the home screen using method №2.

This is an excellent solution if children have access to the device and enjoy exploring parental software.

Just don’t forget to remove the shortcut to the new app from the home screen. For how to hide a folder on iPhone, see item 2.