How to lock and hide iPhone apps with iOS 18
Among the enhancements Apple unveiled at WWDC 2024 for iOS 18, hiding and locking apps was a notable addition.
You might say that it’s the reverse of standing out because users can conceal particular apps or make them inaccessible to others. Related features that require Face ID to open include locking and concealing apps. For those who value their privacy or who hide their app usage for more sinister motives, this upgrade is much-needed.
In fact, a Slash Gear report states that Google searches for “How to hide apps on iOS” increased by 1,250 percent. Within hours of the WWDC announcement, similar queries such as “How can I find out if my husband is cheating” spiked by 200 percent, and “How to unhide apps on iPhone” spiked by 80 percent.
Here’s how to hide and lock your apps, regardless of the cause behind it. Notably, iOS 18 is presently accessible for download as a developer beta. However, note that all betas have the potential to be unstable, so be cautious when backing up your data. Visit this tutorial for a quick overview of installing the iOS 18 developer beta.
How to get your apps locked
To lock an app, long press on it from the home screen, the same way you would for rearranging or modifying apps. The bottom of the list of options now has a new option labeled “Require Face ID.” Select this option by tapping. Then, a box appears asking whether you want to hide the app and use Face ID or require Face ID and conceal the app. Select “Require Face ID to verify your selection.”
Only now can you access your app. This will be noticeable since Face ID will now do a brief identification check before allowing access to the app the next time you open it.
How to make your apps invisible
To conceal an app, long press on it and select the “Require Face ID” option, just like you would when locking an app. Toggle between “Hide and Require Face ID” and “Require Face ID.” A notification stating that the app will no longer be shown on your home screen will be sent to you. Press “Hide App” to make sure.
And just like that, the app vanishes from your home screen. It’s not completely invisible, though. You can still access the hidden app by going to the “Hidden Apps” folder. This is located at the “Apps” page’s bottom.
In case you were wondering, the Hidden Apps folder is there on all iPhones running iOS 18—even if you haven’t hidden any apps. Any remaining doubts regarding whether or not you have hidden apps should be eliminated by doing this. Face ID is needed to access these apps and enter the Hidden Apps folder.
We’ve found that some apps can’t be hidden, thus you might not be able to hide them when you long press on them. Thus far, we have found that this is true for built-in applications, such as calculators, maps, clocks, stocks, and, most importantly, photos.
Therefore, you will need to pick and conceal certain graphic photos in the old-fashioned way if you’re attempting to keep them hidden. It’s unknown if this will remain the same or change with a future release of iOS 18. Nevertheless, the majority of third-party apps, like Spotify, Venmo, and mobile banking apps, can be hidden.
How to make your apps visible again
Just press once more and select “Don’t Require Face ID” from the app shortcuts to unlock an application.
Swipe through to the App Library, then scroll down to the Hidden Apps area to reveal an app. To open, Face ID is required. After identification verification, your hidden applications will be displayed. To unhide an app, long touch on it and select “Don’t Require Face ID.”
Sadly, you will need to manually bring the app back in as it does not immediately surface on the home screen after being unhidden. Whether this is a bug or whether un-hidden apps will come back automatically in a later version is unknown.