Guides / Hide an app on iPhone

How to hide an app on iPhone, and what each way really hides

Updated 10 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

Short answeriPhone's own way is Hide and Require Face ID: touch and hold the app, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. The app leaves your Home Screen for a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. Apple says its name can still show in a few places, such as Screen Time and Battery. For a quick glance at your Home Screen, a different icon or a shortcut with another name can be enough.

Way 1: iPhone's Hidden folder

This is Apple's own feature, and the only one that takes the app off your Home Screen and puts it behind Face ID. Apple's steps:

  1. Go to the Home Screen and find the app.
  2. Touch and hold the app's icon until the quick actions menu opens.
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
  4. Tap Hide and Require Face ID, confirm with Face ID, then tap Hide App.

To open it later, swipe left past all your Home Screen pages to the App Library, tap the Hidden folder at the bottom, and confirm with Face ID. To bring it back, touch and hold the app there and tap Don't Require Face ID.

Apple names the places a hidden app can still appear: Settings › Apps › Hidden Apps (behind Face ID), Screen Time, Battery, and your App Store purchase history. Apple also says apps that come with the iPhone can't be hidden, and that hiding doesn't sync to your other devices through iCloud.

Way 2: a different icon

Some apps can change their own Home Screen icon. FirstHour's Camouflage offers a Calculator, Compass, Weather, Notepad, Flashlight, Level and Stopwatch icon. The app opens as usual, with its own lock.

Way 3: a shortcut with another name

Apps can't rename themselves, but Apple's Shortcuts app can put a shortcut with any name on your Home Screen. FirstHour shows these steps on its Camouflage page:

  1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap +.
  2. Search for Open App, tap it, then tap App and choose the app.
  3. Tap the shortcut's name at the top, then tap Add to Home Screen.
  4. Type the name you want, and choose a picture for it if you like.
  5. Tap Add. Then touch and hold the real app, tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen. It stays in the App Library.

When a shortcut opens an app, iPhone may show a small Shortcuts banner for a moment. The app itself still shows under its own name in search and the App Library.

Which to choose

This is our advice. If someone might pick up your phone and look around, use iPhone's Hidden folder: it's the only way that adds a lock. If you only want your Home Screen to look ordinary, a different icon or a shortcut is quicker. None of them stops someone who knows your passcode, so a private app should have its own lock too. FirstHour asks for Face ID or your passcode, and its Vault has its own pattern or PIN.

Questions

Does hiding an app delete it or what's inside?

No. Hiding only moves the app to the Hidden folder. Everything in it stays as it was.

Can I hide an app that came with my iPhone?

No. Apple says apps that come installed with iOS 18 or later can't be hidden.

Can a child hide an app?

Apple says children under 13 can't lock or hide apps, and for ages 13 to 17 a parent or guardian can still see the app's download and usage time.

Sources

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