You can lock or hide apps on an iPhone running iOS 18 or later or an iPad running iPadOS 18 or later. But there’s more than one way to hide an app, and each comes with trade-offs. Here’s a breakdown of how the new app-hiding features work, when to use each, and a few important caveats to keep in mind. I mostly mention Face ID because most devices now have Face ID, but supported devices can also use Touch ID. A passcode normally provides a fallback, with an important exception for Stolen Device Protection on iPhone, explained below.
Two ways to protect or hide apps
On an iPhone running iOS 18 or later or an iPad running iPadOS 18 or later, you have two levels of privacy control:
Require Face ID (without hiding the icon)
This adds a biometric layer to opening the app. The icon stays on your Home Screen or App Library, but trying to open it prompts Face ID. If someone else picks up your phone, they’ll see the app, but they won’t be able to open it without your face (or a passcode, when that fallback is available). You’ll still get notifications (though the content of the notifications will be hidden), and the app is still accessible by search.
Use case: Great for sensitive apps you use often, such as banking, health records, dating, or even journaling, where you don’t mind if someone sees the app’s existence but shouldn’t be able to access it.
Hide and Require Face ID (hides the app)
This completely removes the app from both the Home Screen and App Library. It only appears in a hidden folder behind a Face ID wall. You can’t summon it via Search or Siri. Notifications, calls, and badges are suppressed. The app remains on your device and will still get software updates.
Use case: Ideal for apps you rarely use or want to keep totally private, like secure file vaults or anything you’d rather not have visible to others under any circumstances. Or even to temporarily hide an app to prevent an embarrassing situation.
How to enable these features
To set either option:
Tap and hold the app until the menu appears.
Choose Require Face ID or Hide and Require Face ID.
Authenticate with Face ID to confirm.
If you choose the “Hide” option, you’ll find the app later by tapping the “Hidden” folder in the App Library (the last screen of your apps).
To return it to normal, do the same thing. Tap and hold the icon until the menu appears, then choose Don’t Require Face ID.
Caveats and limitations
Hidden apps don’t show up in search, Siri suggestions, or recent apps. That’s great for privacy, but inconvenient if you forget it’s hidden.
Hiding doesn’t delete data. The app remains fully installed and functional and backed up; it’s just obscured.
You can’t hide some of Apple’s built-in apps like Messages, Mail, or Safari. You can remove them from the Home Screen or protect them with Face ID, but they’ll still be searchable unless restricted via Screen Time.
Even when hidden, some traces of the app may be found in Settings, such as in Security & Privacy and Battery Health.
A passcode can usually unlock a protected app, but Stolen Device Protection on iPhone adds an exception. When it is enabled, opening a locked app away from familiar locations requires Face ID or Touch ID, with no passcode fallback. Choosing Always under Require Security Delay applies the additional protection even in familiar locations. Stolen Device Protection must be enabled before the phone is lost or stolen; it requires iOS 17.3 or later, two-factor authentication, a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, Significant Locations, and Find My. It does not provide this exception on iPad.
It’s not foolproof. There are small traces of the app in Settings and the App Store, and a known passcode can bypass app locking when the Stolen Device Protection exception does not apply. If having an app on your device can be a threat to your physical safety, this feature may not be the answer.
Not on Mac yet. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now it’s iPhone and iPad only.
