How to Hide Apps on iPhone

This post will walk you through organizing and decluttering an iPhone’s Home screen by removing some of the apps. Here’s a quick guide to hide apps on an iPhone without totally deleting or uninstalling the app from the system.

hide apps on iphone se 3 featured

iPhone App Library

iPhone users are already able to automatically sort apps into different categories and choose which apps they would want to see from Home.

Relevant apps are grouped under a certain category like Social category for social media apps and the like. Most frequently used apps will automatically change order based on your usage. New apps that you install will also be added to your App Library.

Generally, the App Library has everything you possibly need when it comes to app access and management. 

App Library is by far one of the new most important components of the iPhone Home screen. Here, you can add new, open, remove, hide, or share any of your iPhone apps.

Hiding Apps in iOS 15.5

Normally, app icons of all installed applications will be displayed on your iPhone’s Home screen. This gives you quick and easy access to any of your apps at any time.

However, there may be some instances when you think removing some of your apps from the Home screen would be necessary. Whatever the reasons you may have, you can make a certain app on your iPhone a bit more difficult to access by simply hiding it. 

Hiding an app removes the app’s icon from the Home screen without deleting or uninstalling the application. This means that the app is still present in the system but just not visible or accessible from the Home screen. Such is a good idea especially if you allow other people like your close friends, siblings, or workmates to use your device.

Different Ways to Hide Apps on iPhone in iOS 15.5

There are different ways to hide apps on an iPhone. The methods depicted below are based on the interface of the new special edition iPhone (3rd generation). These methods are likewise applicable when hiding apps on other iPhones running on iOS 15 and later versions.

Actual screens and menu options may vary between device models and carriers so expect some slight differences on every device’s user interface.

Feel free to start whenever you’re all set to organize your iPhone’s Home screen by hiding some of the apps that you don’t want others to access when they’re using your device.

1st Method: App Library

You can use the iPhone’s App Library to hide some of your apps. This function is available on iPhones running on iOS 14 and up. And here’s how it’s done on the iPhone SE 3:

Step 1: From your iPhone’s Home screen, tap and hold the app that you’d like to hide and then let go of the app when the pop-up menu shows up.
hide apps on iphone se 3 TAPNHOLD
Step 2: Tap Remove App from the pop-up menu.
hide apps on iphone se 3 REMOVE APP
Step 3: On the succeeding menu, tap Remove from Home screen.
hide apps on iphone se 3 CONFIRM

Doing so will remove the app from the Home screen without uninstalling it. This means that you can still locate and access the app through the App Library of your iOS device.

2nd Method: Drag and Drop

You can also hide apps from your iPhone’s Home screen by simply dragging the app to another folder.

hide apps on iphone se 3 EHS

Here’s how you it on the new iPhone SE 3 device:

Step 1: Navigate to your iPhone’s Home screen and then tap and hold on the app that you’d like to hide.

Step 2: When you see a pop-up menu, let go of the app and then select Edit Home Screen from the menu options.

Step 3: Tap and hold the app icon and then drag it on top of another app. Doing so will create a new folder, which will be added to your iPhone’s Home screen.

Step 4: Open the recently created folder by tapping on the New folder icon from Home.

Step 5: Drag the app to the right edge of the folder to create a new folder window where the app is hidden.

Step 6: After hiding the app, tap on any blank portion of the screen and then tap Done on the top-right edge.

The selected app will then be removed from the Home screen.

3rd Method: Siri & Search

New iPhones allow you to launch an app straight from the Search results. This is made possible with the inbuilt Siri & Search function.

If you don’t like your iPhone to show apps through Searches, then you can hide apps from the search results.

hide apps on iphone se 3 OFF SEARCH

Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Open the Settings app.

Step 2: Find and then tap Siri & Search.

Step 3: Locate and then tap to select the app that you’d like to hide from search.

Step 4: Finally, toggle to turn the Show App in Search button OFF.

That should prevent the system from showing the app and its content in Search.

4th Method: App Store History

As the name implies, App Store history is an iOS segment that tallies all your previous App Store downloads and app purchases. Here, you can find all the apps that you’ve ever downloaded on your phone.

If you don’t want some apps to show up on your App Store History, then you can just hide them instead.

hide apps on iphone se 3 PURCHASES

Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the App Store to get started.

Step 2: Tap on your App Store profile icon.

Step 3: Navigate to the Today tab and then tap Purchased.

Step 4: On the succeeding window, swipe left on the app that you’d like to hide and then tap Hide.

Step 5: To confirm, tap Done on the top-right edge of the screen.

Hidden apps will remain in the App Library of your iPhone unless you completely uninstall them. If the app isn’t shown in the App Library, you can use the Spotlight Search to scan and search the app from the entire system.

To find hidden apps and add them back to the Home screen, simply tap and hold the app then select Add to Home Screen from the menu options. 

And that’s all about removing and hiding iPhone apps from the Home screen without deleting the app from the operating system.

Please keep posted for more comprehensive iOS tutorials and troubleshooting guides on this site. Or you can check out this YouTube channel to view more comprehensive tutorial and troubleshooting videos including recent iOS devices.

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