Can you download app on iphone and/hide it

Since it's easy to find hidden apps in the App Library, you can always change your mind and add it back to your Home screen later. If you're interested, here's more guidance on the App Library. If you're hiding apps you don't often use, you can check out our article on offloading unused apps to see how your iPhone can get rid of these apps for you.

Return to top. Since the App Library is meant to be an all-inclusive list of installed apps, it's not possible to hide an app from the App Library if it's installed on your device.

This means that in order to hide an app from the App Library, it would have to be deleted and then reinstalled each time the user needs it. In rare instances this may be a necessary option, but for most people this won't be practical.

If you have decided to use this option, visit our article on how to delete and uninstall apps , or follow the above step on this page and select "Delete App" when the menu appears. Even if you hide apps deep in a folder on your iPhone, someone who is determined to snoop could quickly find your hidden apps using Search.

In this section we'll use your Settings app to thoroughly hide your app, including from Search. Repeat for any other apps you want to hide from iPhone Search. If you want to keep some of your apps private, you can hide them from your App Store purchase history. Don't worry, you can always find hidden app purchases later, when you need to!

Note: This will not delete or hide the app on your iPhone or iPad. This method only hides the app within your purchase history inside the App Store. Need to find hidden App Store purchases?

To hide an app from Spotlight Search on your iPhone, move the slider beside the app so it turns from green to white. This will keep these apps from popping up in your searches. To make it so you have to enter a code in order to access your device, tap Turn Passcode On.

To get more options for the kind of passcode protecting your device, tap Passcode Options. Now you can select the type of passcode you want to add. You can use an alphanumeric code letters and numbers , a custom numeric code, or a simple 4-digit numeric code.

The iPhone comes with a bunch of apps pre-installed that many people may not find useful. These 5 methods to hiding iPhone apps are all great to use, and you can use them in combination with each other for maximum privacy if you want to. Find out how to do more with your iPhone with our iPhone texting and iPhone calling and voicemail courses.

If you have an Android device, check out this blog post to learn how to hide apps on Android. Method 1: Enable Restrictions to hide apps 1. Tap the Settings icon on your home screen to get to your device settings menus.

Tap General on the main menu. Scroll down and select Restrictions. To allow this feature, tap Enable Restrictions.

If you're worried someone snooping on your iPhone will think to check the App Library, or your iPhone isn't running iOS 14, try burying the app on the last page of a busy folder.

It's not perfect, but anyone snooping around your home screen won't be able to see these apps on the surface. And if they have access to your iPhone, they may not even bother swiping through pages in your folders. If you really want to play things safe, you can also hide the shortcut you made to make sure nobody opens it as well.

For extra security, make sure it's a different folder than the main app, or at least place it on a separate page. Of course, if you're going to go to the trouble of hiding the shortcut anyway, there's not much point of having it in the first place.

But to each their own. You should know that this method will not affect Screen Time settings. Just because you route your app through a shortcut link doesn't mean that you can get around any locks or restrictions the app may have. If the app is disallowed, you still won't be able to open it. Also, the app will still appear in your Settings app, in Search on the home screen, and in a widget if you have one activated for it.

You can even open it using Siri, so it's not a great solution if your goal is to hide the app on your iPhone completely — it's only useful for concealing it from the home screen's app grid. Get a lifetime subscription to VPN Unlimited for all your devices with a one-time purchase from the new Gadget Hacks Shop , and watch Hulu or Netflix without regional restrictions, increase security when browsing on public networks, and more. There are plenty of legit reasons to want to disguise apps on your home screen.

Don't Miss: Our Always-Updated List of Apps with Changeable Icons Introducing Shortcuts This method is entirely possible thanks to shortcuts , little tweaks you can program on the iPhone that perform various tasks for you. Subscribe Now. Share Your Thoughts Click to share your thoughts.

Hot Latest. How To : 20 Big iOS To delete an app , tap and hold its icon until a pop-up menu appears. We have a few tricks that will hide an app without removing it.

These include removing the app from Siri shortcuts and suggestions, disabling features like notifications, and burying the icon in a folder far from prying eyes. Siri Suggestions appear on the Today screen and next to the Spotlight search field on your iPhone or iPad. If you use search to find apps regularly and you should—just pull down on your home screen to reveal the search box , the app you want to hide might be suggested from time to time.

Or, it might surface when you search for other apps. If you use an app a lot, Siri will frequently recommend it. Then there are search results. Many apps allow iOS and iPadOS to index searchable databases so you can find documents or notes quickly in native searches. This could give away much more information than a simple Siri suggestion. Disable all options on this screen to see one more appear: Show App.

To find the app in the future, you have to find its icon somewhere on your home screen or in its folders, and then launch it from there. If you pull down the list of options in the Settings app, you see a search field. Here, you can search for functions and installed apps to adjust their preferences quickly.

Any app you try to hide or exclude will always appear in Settings and its search field. You can create folders on iPhone and iPad by tapping and holding an app icon until all the icons on the screen wiggle. Then, tap and hold an app and hover over another app.

A folder appears, and you can name it whatever you want. To get rid of the folder, remove all but the last app. For best results, use a folder with plenty of apps in it—ideally, enough that it spans multiple pages. If you want to hide the app from others who use your phone, pick a boring folder full of utilities, rather than a folder full of games. You can also simply choose to hide notifications from the lock screen and disable banners.

Thankfully, the one area where Apple does allow you to hide apps is in your purchase history. To see a list of previously purchased apps , first, launch the App Store and then tap your user icon in the top-right corner.