iOS · Engadget
How to hide and unhide an app on your iPhone or iPad (and why you may want to)
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There are a few different ways to keep apps under the radar.
Key facts
- But there are other places where "hidden" apps can appear: Settings > Screen Time > See All App & Website Activity and Settings > Battery > View All Battery Usage
- To hide these, open the App Store, then tap your profile icon at the top right and choose Apps & Purchase History
- If you change your mind later, go back to the top-level App Store menu, touch your name at the top, and choose Hidden Purchases
- You don't need to authenticate to view the Hidden Purchases list, plus your transaction history is also kept under Purchase History in the Apps & Purchase History menu
Summary
Sometimes, you don't want your iPhone or iPad to display all installed apps right on the Home screen. Maybe you want to declutter your iPhone and keep the list tidy, keep getting distracted by social media or don't want others seeing what you have installed. The team focus on iPhone and Face ID for brevity, but this works the same way on iPad and models that have Touch ID. Before iOS 18, there was no official way to hide apps on iPhone or iPad; you had to stick one inside a folder to keep it out of view. To hide an app, long-press it on your device's Home screen and choose Require Face ID.