Hide or lock apps on iPhone

Require Face ID for an app, move it to the Hidden folder and learn where a hidden app's name still appears.

Apple offers two levels here. A locked app stays on your Home Screen and asks for authentication. A hidden app is locked as well, and its icon also leaves the Home Screen.

Lock an app

1. Go to the Home Screen and touch and hold the app until the menu opens.
2. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
3. Tap Require Face ID again and authenticate.

The app asks each time you open it, and locks again after you quit it. To undo this, touch and hold it and tap Don’t Require Face ID.

Apple says information inside a locked app won’t appear in other places, such as notification previews, search, Siri suggestions or your call history.

Hide an app

1. Touch and hold the app.
2. Tap Require Face ID.
3. Tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App.

To open it later, swipe left past your Home Screen pages to App Library, tap the Hidden folder at the bottom, authenticate and tap the app.

To bring it back, open the Hidden folder, touch and hold the app and tap Don’t Require Face ID. It returns near the top of App Library.

Places a hidden app can still appear

Hiding removes the icon from the Home Screen, App Library and search results. Apple lists other places you may find the name:

• Settings, under Apps, then Hidden Apps, which requires authentication
• Settings, under Screen Time
• Settings, under Battery
• Your App Store purchase history

The Hidden folder itself is visible to anyone in App Library, and they can infer that you have hidden something. Someone with your passcode can open it.

Limits to keep in mind

Passcode fallback. These locks accept your device passcode, so someone who knows the code gets through. Stolen Device Protection changes that for locked apps when the phone is away from familiar places, by requiring Face ID or Touch ID.

One device only. The status does not sync through iCloud. Lock an app on your iPad separately.

Downloaded apps only for hiding. You cannot hide built-in apps. Apps set as your default browser cannot be hidden either.

Family accounts. Children under 13 in Family Sharing cannot use these features. Parents retain visibility into apps for teens aged 13 to 17.

The data elsewhere. Locking a messaging app does nothing for photos it already saved to your library, or for the same account on another device.

Choosing a method

Locking suits apps you use often and do not mind others knowing about, such as banking or Photos. Hiding suits apps whose presence you would rather keep private, as long as you accept the places listed above.

If a person may check your phone in a controlling way, hiding an app can create its own risks. A hidden app they eventually find can cause conflict. This page on monitoring points to people who can help you plan.

For disguised vault apps, the next thing to read is calculator photo vault apps.