The iPhone has a number of built-in features, but it also comes with several third-party apps that can be added to enhance the user experience. In some cases, these apps might not be used as often, and if you’re not using them for anything else, you might want to hide them from your home screen, in order to declutter your phone.
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably used your iPhone to download apps from the Apple App Store at one point or another. But what happens when you no longer want to use that app? You can’t delete them, because they’re automatically stored on your device. Luckily, there are ways to hide the apps on your iPhone. So, keep reading this blog post to learn more!
Methods to Hide Apps on iPhone
Hide apps on your iPhone for whatever reason you like. If you want to conceal multiple applications instead of just one, you have a few alternatives.
With the release of iOS 14, Apple introduced the “App Library” as a central location for all installed apps, regardless of whether or not they are currently displayed on the device’s home screen. This handy function makes it simple to find apps and does an excellent job of automatically categorizing them.
There’s no need to worry if you misplace a secret app because you can always look for it in the App Library. The various ways to hide apps on an iPhone are outlined in the guides below.
Step-By-Step Guide to Hide a Single App on iPhone
- First, press and hold on to the application simultaneously, until a context or dropdown menu appears on your screen.
- Next, tap on the option labeled “Remove App”.

- After that, a prompt will be displayed. Inside it, tap on the option named “Remove from Home Screen”.
Now, the selected app will be hidden from the home screen. However, if you want to access it at a later time, then you can easily do this by navigating to the App Library. Swipe all the way to the right through your home screens to access the App Library. Here, you can use the top search bar to expose any hidden apps.
Step-By-Step Guide to Hide a Whole Screen on iPhone
- To begin, tap and hold anywhere on the screen. Make sure, to do it in an empty area without any application.
- Next, your iPhone will reach an “edit screen” state after a few seconds, at which point the icons on the screen will begin to wobble, and you’ll be able to make changes to the layout.
- At this point, you must tap the dots along the screen’s edge (or in the middle, at the bottom). The number of dots will be proportional to the number of app screens you have on your iPhone.
- Reduced-size previews of all your app screens are now available. There will be a checkbox below each one. To hide a screen, simply deselect its checkbox.

- A button labeled “Done” will appear in the upper right-hand corner of your iPhone screen. The app(s) whose screen(s) you deselected, will no longer be visible.
Follow the same procedure as above, but this time make the screen visible or unhide it by checking the box below the preview image. That’s all there is to it!
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Step-By-Step Guide to Hide Apps in a Folder on iPhone
- The iPhone’s folder feature also allows you to hide apps from view. To temporarily hide an app, press and hold its icon until it flutters. We’re looking at a three-second timeframe for this.
- To make a folder, just hold down on the app and drag it on top of another one. You can put down or release the app, now that the folder has been made. Simply click the text bar at the top of the folder, to give it a new name.

- To hide an application, simply access the folder’s contents and look for it. To move an app to the next page in a folder, press and hold it until it jiggles again, and then release your finger, when required.
To truly bury the app, you can create a folder with up to fifteen screens at once. With this, you will be able to completely conceal your app, and this will make it much more difficult for curious passersby and parking lot snoops to find it.
Step-By-Step Guide to Hide Apps From App Store Purchase History on iPhone
- First, launch the Apple App Store app, and then tap on your profile icon appearing in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
- Next, proceed with tapping on the option labeled “All Purchases”, to see a whole catalog of all App Store purchases you have made up to this point.
- After that, swipe left on the app icon for the one you wish to hide.
- Now, tap on “Hide” to take the app off your App Store purchases.

- Keep doing this for each additional app you wish to conceal. When you are finished placing apps in the shadows, tap on the option i.e., “Done”, in the top right-hand corner.
That’s it! You have successfully hidden apps from the App Store purchase history on your iPhone.
Related: How to Save Instagram Reels to Camera Roll on iPhone
Step-By-Step Guide to Hide Apps From Search & Smart Suggestions on iPhone
- First, launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
- Next, tap on the option labeled “Siri & Search”.

- After that, get in touch with the app section and choose the app you wish to hide.
- Now, turn off the toggles for “Show App in Search” and “Show Content in Search”, to keep an app and its contents out of the search results.
- Finally, to prevent an app from being suggested by Smart Suggestions, turn off “Learn from this App”, “Show on Home Screen”, “Suggest App”, and “Suggestion Notifications”.
When you turn off the toggles, the app and its content will no longer show up in your Search Results or Smart Suggestions. In the event that you change your mind and decide to reveal the app in iPhone Search or Smart Suggestions, you can do so by repeating the procedures outlined above, and toggling the appropriate buttons back on.
See Also: How to Activate iMessage With Phone Number?
Conclusion
Hiding apps on your iPhone can be a useful way to declutter your home screen or keep prying eyes from seeing certain apps, or what you’re up to. Whether you want to hide sensitive information or just clean up your mobile device’s appearance, there are a few different ways to go about it. In this article, I have shown you how to hide apps on your iPhone using multiple methods hassle-freely. Give these techniques a try today, and see which one works best for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I unhide apps on my iPhone home screen?
To reveal a hidden app, press and hold its icon. To transfer an app to your home screen, hold down its icon and drag it to the left; once there, it will jiggle with the rest of your apps. Keep dragging the app until it reaches the position on the home screen, where you want it to be. Choose the “Done” option, and you are good to go.
Can you hide messages on your iPhone?
Message filtering on the iPhone allows you to conceal sensitive correspondence. You can also hide a conversation by turning off notifications in the Messages app. Disabling iPhone notifications is another option for keeping messages secret.
So, if you’re looking for hidden iPhone apps or content, try this: Navigate to App Store -> Your Profile Name -> Tap Apple ID > Verify Face ID or Passcode -> Locate Hidden Purchases. Now, you’ll have access to every hidden app. Finally, tap on the “Unhide” button.
Can you hide Snapchat or WhatsApp on your iPhone?
Moving Snapchat or WhatsApp to a folder and then adding other apps to that folder is the simplest way to hide them on an iPhone. By doing so, these social media applications will no longer appear on your home screen, but rather on page#2 of your created folder. The bright side is that you can still utilize them at your convenience.