How to Hide Apps on iPhone (iOS 18 and iOS 26)

To hide an app on iPhone running iOS 18 or iOS 26, touch and hold its icon, tap Require Face ID, then tap Hide and Require Face ID and confirm. The app disappears from the Home Screen and search, and moves into a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. If you just want the app to ask for Face ID when opened but stay visible, choose Require Face ID instead of hiding it.

Option 1: Lock an app (stays visible)

Locking keeps the app where it is but requires authentication to open it. Its content also stops appearing in search, notifications previews, and Siri suggestions.

1. Touch and hold the app icon on the Home Screen or in App Library.
2. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode).
3. Tap Require Face ID again to confirm.

To unlock: touch and hold the icon, tap Don't Require Face ID, and authenticate.

This works for most third-party apps and many Apple apps, including Photos, Messages, and Notes. A few system apps don't offer the option at all; if you don't see Require Face ID in the menu, that app can't be locked.

Option 2: Hide an app (moves to the Hidden folder)

1. Touch and hold the app icon.
2. Tap Require Face ID.
3. Tap Hide and Require Face ID.
4. Tap Hide App to confirm.

If you only see Require Face ID and no Hide option, that app can't be hidden; built-in Apple apps generally fall into this group.

Find and open a hidden app

1. Swipe left past your last Home Screen page to open App Library.
2. Scroll to the very bottom.
3. Tap the Hidden folder and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
4. Tap the app to open it.

Unhide an app

1. Open the Hidden folder in App Library and authenticate.
2. Touch and hold the app icon.
3. Tap Don't Require Face ID, and authenticate again.

The app goes back to App Library; drag it to the Home Screen if you want it there.

What hiding an app changes, and what it doesn't

Hidden apps really are less visible:

• They're removed from the Home Screen and from Spotlight search.
• Notifications are suppressed, and the app's content isn't surfaced in Siri suggestions.
• The Hidden folder itself requires authentication.

But hiding an app has limits worth knowing before you rely on it:

• The folder is visible. Anyone who scrolls App Library sees a folder named Hidden. It doesn't say what's inside, but it says something is.
• Same passcode as the phone. The Hidden folder opens with the phone passcode. Someone who knows it can open the folder and the apps in it.
• App names still appear elsewhere. Settings > Apps > Hidden Apps lists them behind authentication, and app usage can show up in places like Screen Time reports and the App Store purchase history.
• Hiding isn't encryption. Hiding an app doesn't change how that app stores its data. If the app itself doesn't encrypt, its files are as protected as anything else on the phone.
• Missed notifications. If you hide a messaging app, you may not notice new messages. That's the point, but it surprises people.
• Per device. Hiding an app on your iPhone doesn't hide it on your iPad.

Hiding apps vs. hiding what's in them

People often hide an app because of what's inside it: a photo vault, a dating app, a banking app. Hiding the icon solves "I don't want people to see I have this." It doesn't solve "I don't want people to see what's in this" if they know your passcode.

Two habits help:

• Lock rather than hide for apps you use every day. Locked apps still need authentication but don't scream "hidden folder."
• Use apps that protect their own content with a separate secret, so hiding the icon is a bonus rather than the only protection.

For photos specifically, remember that Photos itself can't be hidden. Use the Hidden album for casual privacy, or move sensitive images into an app that encrypts them.

A different approach: an app that doesn't look like one

The Hidden folder works, but it's a known place to look. Another approach is for the app to stay in plain sight while looking like something boring.

sigil. is an encrypted photo and file vault that can use a disguised icon: a neutral utility icon that doesn't say what the app is. It sits on your Home Screen like any other utility. And unlike an app that's merely hidden:

• What's inside is encrypted with a 256-bit key that only the sign you draw on a 5×5 grid can unlock. Your phone passcode doesn't open it. See pattern encryption.
• There's no list of vaults inside. Each sign opens a different vault, so nothing in the app shows how many exist. See multiple hidden vaults.
• If you're pressured to open it, a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos, and your real vault stays hidden.

You can also combine the two: give sigil. a neutral icon and lock or hide it with iOS's Require Face ID, so the phone asks for authentication before it even shows the sign grid. The vault itself still opens only with your sign: sigil. has no Face ID unlock of its own, because a face can be forced (someone can hold the phone up to you), while a sign has to be drawn.

Before you hand your phone to someone

Hiding apps is often about a moment: handing your phone to a friend, a child, or a technician. For those moments, a few extra steps go further than hiding icons:

• Guided Access (Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access) locks the phone to a single app until you enter a code. Triple-click the side button to start it.
• Lock Photos and Messages with Require Face ID, so swiping out of the current app doesn't expose them.
• See the scenarios for lending your phone, kids with your phone, and repair shops.

Quick reference