How To Hide and Unhide Apps on Your iPhone Using Hidden Folders

Figuring out how to keep certain apps out of sight on an iPhone isn’t exactly intuitive, especially with newer versions like iOS 18. Maybe you want to hide some personal stuff or just keep your home screen clutter-free — whatever the reason, there’s now a way to do that without messing around too much. The process involves using the Hidden Folder in the App Library, but it’s kinda hidden itself, so here’s a walkthrough that actually makes sense. Once you get it down, you can toggle apps on and off—keeping what you want discreet, or bringing things back when needed, all within a few taps.

How to Hide and Unhide Apps in iOS 18

Locating the App You Want to Hide

If you’re trying to hide an app, first find it. This part is easy — check your Home Screen for the icon, or swipe right or left to reach the App Library. Sometimes apps are hidden in folders or buried, so just make sure you’ve got the right one. On some setups, apps in the App Library are a little harder to spot, so using search can help — swipe down and type the app name in the search bar at the top of the App Library, and it should pop up if it’s not directly visible.

Hiding and Locking the App

This is the part where things get interesting. To hide an app:

Press and hold the app icon until a menu pops up (this triggers the context menu).
Tap on Require Face ID (if you set up Face ID), or Require Passcode if Face ID isn’t available.
Then, select Hide and Require Face ID (or Hide and Require Passcode) from the options that appear.

What this does: the app gets moved out of your Home Screen and ends up in the Hidden folder inside the App Library. Keep in mind — on some devices or iOS versions, the steps might be a tad different. It’s kind of weird, but on mine, it sometimes takes a reboot or re-tap to get it to actually hide properly.

Accessing Hidden Apps

To find those hidden gems later:

Swipe left on your Home Screen until you hit the App Library.
Scroll down to find the Hidden folder. It’s usually at the bottom or looks grayed out, almost like it’s not really there.
Or just use the search bar in the App Library — type the app’s name, and it should appear.

Opening or Unhiding Hidden Apps

When you’re ready to use it again:

Press and hold the app icon in the Hidden folder or search results.
Choose Add to Home Screen or drag the icon back to your main pages.

Sometimes, on certain setups, you’ll notice that the app reappears on the Home Screen but still remains in the Hidden folder in the App Library. Not sure why it works that way, but it’s a minor annoyance.

Removing the Lock (Face ID or Passcode) Requirement

If you want to make accessing the app easier later — no authentication fuss — you can toggle off those requirements:

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention (or just Settings > Face ID & Passcode).
Scroll down to Other Apps.
Find your app in the list and toggle off Require Face ID or Require Passcode.

Keep in mind — if Face ID isn’t set up correctly, or if you have battery or hardware issues, that might not work perfectly. Sometimes this step is inconsistent and feels a bit like a workaround, but hey, it’s better than nothing.

Extra Tips & Common Troubleshooting

Because of course, Apple has to make everything just a little more complicated. If the hiding isn’t working like expected:

Check if Face ID is functioning properly — sometimes, if Face ID is flaky, the app might still show up.
Make sure you’re using the latest iOS update; bugs can be fixed in newer releases.
If apps are still appearing where they shouldn’t, try toggling the hide/unhide process or rebooting your phone — sometimes it’s just the cache acting up.

Wrap-up

Hiding and unhiding apps on an iPhone running iOS 18 is kinda straightforward once you know where to look, but yeah, it’s not super obvious at first. The whole process relies on the app being smuggled into the Hidden folder, and toggling Face ID or passcode requirements adds a layer of privacy. Just a heads up — Apple’s privacy features aren’t perfect, and on some setups, you might have to repeat steps a couple of times.

Summary

Find the app on the Home Screen or in the App Library.
Use long-press and menu options to hide, requiring Face ID or passcode.
Access hidden apps via App Library or search.
Unhide apps by dragging back to Home Screen or using “Add to Home Screen”.
Toggle face or passcode locks in Settings if needed.

Fingers crossed this helps

Hopefully, this makes life a bit easier—hiding sensitive stuff or just decluttering. It’s kinda clunky, but it works, and that’s what counts. If this gets one update like, oh, Apple finally making the process more transparent, it’d be a win. Until then, just work with what we’ve got — good luck hiding your secrets!