How to Hide Apps on iPhone: Official iOS 18 Steps Guide

Q: How do I put an app as hidden?

Long-press the app icon, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, and confirm. The app disappears from your Home Screen and all search results.

You probably have a few apps on your iPhone that you’d rather keep private — maybe a budget tracker, a journaling app, or something work-related you check on weekends. iOS 18 quietly added a way to hide those apps completely, and the best part: nothing gets deleted. Apple officially supports this through Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode, and the hidden apps land in a secure folder inside your App Library. Here’s everything you need to know to keep your apps genuinely invisible.

Official source: Apple Support · Primary method: Require Face ID · Access hidden apps: App Library · No deletion needed: Hide without removing

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts

Apple officially supports hiding apps via Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode (Apple Support)
Hidden apps disappear from Home Screen, Spotlight search, and Siri (TechRadar)
Feature works on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18/iPadOS 18 (YouTube guide)

2What’s unclear

Whether hidden apps still appear in App Store purchase history — Apple doesn’t explicitly address this (YouTube guide)
Compatibility with older iPhone models not confirmed for all variants (YouTube guide)

3Timeline signal

iOS 18 announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10, with app hiding as a headline feature (iMore)
Feature available starting iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 (YouTube guide)

4What’s next

Hidden apps remain installed and continue receiving software updates while hidden (JimmyTech)
Unhide anytime through App Library’s Hidden folder with authentication (JimmyTech)

Key facts about hiding apps on iPhone
Attribute	Value
Supported on	iPhones with Face ID or Touch ID
iOS version	iOS 18 and later
Authentication methods	Face ID, Touch ID, Passcode
Access point	Hidden folder at bottom of App Library
Notifications	Completely suppressed for hidden apps
Search visibility	Not visible in Spotlight or Siri
Pre-installed apps	Cannot be hidden (Apple Support)

Can I hide apps on my iPhone?

Yes — and it’s a feature Apple built directly into iOS 18. You don’t need a third-party app or any technical workarounds. The process uses your existing Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode to lock and hide any downloaded app. The app stays installed, continues receiving updates, but vanishes from your Home Screen, App Library main view, Spotlight search, and Siri results.

Requirements for hiding apps

iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18
Face ID, Touch ID, or a six-digit passcode set up on your device
The app must be one you downloaded — Apple does not allow hiding pre-installed apps like Messages, Photos, or Safari (Apple Support)
Authentication required both to hide and to access hidden apps

Why this matters

Anyone picking up your unlocked iPhone won’t see the app at all — not in Search, not in App Library, not even if they swipe all the way left. The hidden folder itself sits at the bottom of App Library, behind a Face ID gate.

How do I make my apps hidden?

Apple gives you two distinct options when you long-press any app: “Require Face ID” locks the app but leaves it visible, while “Hide and Require Face ID” removes it entirely. Here’s the full step-by-step for the complete hide action.

Steps from Home Screen

Long-press the app icon you want to hide
Tap “Require Face ID” in the quick action menu
Select “Hide and Require Face ID” from the next screen
Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode
Tap “Hide App” to confirm

Confirm with authentication

Apple requires authentication at every step — you can’t accidentally hide an app (Apple Support)
Each authentication session covers both locking and hiding — no separate confirmations needed
Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode all work interchangeably

The catch

Once hidden, the app disappears from your Home Screen, App Library main grid, Spotlight, and Siri. There’s no way to accidentally reveal it — but you also can’t search for it until you unHide it.

Can apps be hidden on iPhone without deleting it?

Absolutely — hiding and deleting are completely different actions. When you hide an app, it remains installed on your device, retains all its data and settings, and continues running in the background. You can unhide it at any time and return to exactly where you left off. Deleting an app, by contrast, removes the app and typically prompts you to keep or delete its data.

Hide vs delete difference

Hide: app stays installed, data preserved, updates continue, accessible via Hidden folder
Delete: app removed from device, data may be preserved if you choose, requires reinstall from App Store to restore

The practical difference is significant. A hidden app keeps working silently — fitness apps still track, banking apps still sync, and messaging apps still receive notifications (though those notifications don’t appear). When you unhide it, everything resumes exactly as it was.

The upshot

The app becomes, for all practical purposes, invisible to anyone but you. This means that anyone accessing your unlocked phone won’t know you have that application installed on your device (TechRadar). Hiding is ideal for rarely used apps or ones you want genuinely private.

How can I find the apps I hide on my iPhone?

All hidden apps collect in a secure folder at the bottom of your App Library. The folder itself is hidden from plain view — you’ll only see it when you know to look. Accessing it requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode, so even someone who knows the folder exists can’t open it without biometric authentication.

Locate in App Library

Swipe left past your final Home Screen page to reach App Library
Scroll to the bottom of the App Library grid
Look for the “Hidden” folder with a lock icon
Tap the folder — you’ll be prompted to authenticate
After authentication, all hidden apps appear in a grid

From there, you can launch any hidden app normally — it opens just as it would from your Home Screen. The difference is that once you close it, it returns to the Hidden folder and disappears from everywhere else. Your authentication protects access every single time.

How to unhide apps on iPhone?

Unhiding takes you through the same authentication gate, then reverses the process. Long-press any app in the Hidden folder and select “Don’t Require Face ID” to restore it to your Home Screen and App Library. Apple refers to this as removing the Face ID requirement rather than “unhiding,” but the effect is identical.

Restore from App Library

Open the Hidden folder in App Library and authenticate
Long-press the app you want to unhide
Tap “Don’t Require Face ID” in the menu
Authenticate again to confirm
The app reappears on your Home Screen and in App Library’s main grid

After unhiding, the app lands back in its original Home Screen location or, if your layout has changed significantly, in the “Recently Added” section of App Library. Your app data, settings, and any accumulated progress remain intact.

The trade-off

Hiding an app keeps it ready to use privately, but you must remember it exists. If you forget about a hidden app, you’ll only rediscover it when actively looking in the Hidden folder — and there’s no notification or reminder to prompt you.

What we know and what remains uncertain

Confirmed

Apple officially supports hiding apps via the Hide and Require Face ID workflow (Apple Support)
Hidden apps are inaccessible via Spotlight, Siri, or the main App Library view
Authentication methods work interchangeably (Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode)
Pre-installed iOS apps cannot be hidden — only downloaded apps qualify
Hidden apps continue receiving software updates while concealed
Feature works identically on iPhone and iPad

Unclear

Whether hidden apps appear in App Store purchase history when browsing purchased items
Exact compatibility with all iPhone models beyond those confirmed for iOS 18
Whether third-party launchers or alternative browsers can bypass the hidden folder lock

What sources say

“Apps that come installed with iOS 18 or later can’t be hidden—only apps you download separately can be hidden.”

— Apple Support (Official documentation)

“This means that anyone accessing your unlocked phone won’t know you have that application installed on your device.”

— TechRadar (Computing security coverage)

“iOS 18 announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10 with app hiding as a headline feature.”

— iMore (Apple editorial)

Bottom line: iOS 18 gives iPhone users a genuine privacy tool that keeps apps installed, updated, and invisible to anyone who doesn’t have their face or fingerprint registered on the device. For users sharing their iPhone with family members, curious colleagues, or anyone else, the Hidden folder is the only way to keep an app genuinely private without deleting it entirely. The tradeoff is straightforward: you must remember the app exists to use it, which means hidden apps work best for seldom-used or highly private applications.

Additional sources

network1consulting.com, youtube.com, youtube.com, youtube.com

While these iOS 18 steps let you hide apps securely with Face ID, you can always unhide them from App Library through Screen Time or the App Library if needed later.

Frequently asked questions

How do you find hidden apps?

Swipe to App Library, scroll to the bottom, and open the Hidden folder after authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. All hidden apps appear there.

How do I put an app as hidden?

Long-press the app icon, tap “Require Face ID,” then “Hide and Require Face ID,” authenticate, and confirm. The app disappears from your Home Screen and all search results.

Where do I find my hide apps?

The Hidden folder sits at the bottom of App Library, behind a biometric or passcode lock. You won’t see it unless you’re looking for it.

Can you hide apps on my iPhone?

Yes, if your iPhone runs iOS 18 or later and has Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode set up. Apple officially supports this through the device settings and Home Screen long-press menu.

How to hide apps on iPhone 15?

The process works identically on iPhone 15 as on any iPhone with iOS 18. Long-press the app, select “Require Face ID,” then “Hide and Require Face ID,” authenticate, and confirm.

How to hide apps on iPhone without Face ID?

You can use Touch ID or your six-digit passcode instead of Face ID. Any of these three authentication methods works for both hiding and accessing hidden apps.