Sometimes you come across a situation when you need to hide apps like Snapchat, Instagram,
WhatsApp, Tinder and many more including the system apps like iMessages, Photos, and more.
But when we are talking about hiding apps on iPhone , unfortunately, even after iOS 12,
Apple doesn’t provide you with any direct settings in iOS to hide apps on iPhone or iPad.
But wait, there is a workaround, and with a simple trick, you can hide apps on iPhone
or iPad without jailbreaking your device.
Hey everyone, I’m Rahul from TechReviewPro.com and welcome back to another episode where
you’ll learn the various ways to hide apps on iPhone.
First, I’ll show you how to hide and lock apps on iPhones with Touch ID, and later, you’ll
also learn how to do the same on the latest iPhones with no Touch ID.
So keep watching this video!
And with that being said, let’s get started!
After the introduction of iOS 10, iOS allows you to hide or delete system apps on your iPhone.
So if you need to hand over your iPhone to anyone, the quickest way to hide your private
data from any app would be: simply delete that app, and you can always install later
by searching the app in the App Store and then tapping the cloud icon.
But obviously, deleting apps is not always the best solution.
So here is the trick I would recommend for hiding apps on iPhone and iPad.
First of all, go to your home screen, and empty your dock by removing these apps
one by one.
Once you have removed everything from your dock, drag one app to another and that way,
you can create a folder of apps you want to hide.
For example, I’m going to hide phone call app and Home app from my iPhone, that’s
why I have created a folder which contains these two apps.
Now we are ready to hide apps on iPhone but wait, we need to fill out all these spaces
on the home screen by apps.
Remember, no space for new apps should remain empty.
Alright, now, we have an empty dock and home screen filled with apps.
So, I’ll simply drag this folder to the dock.
Great!
Here is the important one.
Now, pay close attention to what I’m doing.
Because if you do it wrong, the trick won’t work and you won’t be able to hide system
apps on iPhone.
I’ll hold this app folder for few seconds until the cross sign comes to other apps,
and then while holding this folder I’ll press the home button twice, to open app stacks.
Then I’ll drag this and release here.
Did you see that animation?
If you can see that, you have done it right.
If not, try again.
Now both of the apps are hidden.
There is no call app, no Home app.
Can you see that?
So that’s how you can hide any app on iPhone or iPad having a Touch ID.
And when I say any app, I mean any app even the system apps.
And if you need to unhide them, simply go to Settings, then General Settings, then scroll
all the down to Reset.
From various Reset options, choose Reset Home Screen Layout and the hidden apps will be back.
You may also, restart your device and the hidden apps will be back.
And I highly recommend restarting the device because that way you don’t need to rearrange
apps if you have previously arranged them according to your needs.
Another way to hide apps on iPhone or iPad is: using the restriction feature of iOS.
If you go to settings, then General Settings, and scroll down, you’ll see Restrictions.
By default, it’ll be turned off.
So if you have never used it before, you need to enable Restrictions.
Enter a passcode, re-enter the passcode and there you go.
Now, Restrictions is enabled, and you can hide apps like Safari, camera app,
Siri and Dictation etc.
And if you need to hide specific apps on your iPhone, scroll down.
Under the allowed content, you’ll see Apps.
Tap on that and here you can choose to hide all apps based upon age rating.
Age rating is basically a rating based upon the age which states if any app is suitable
for which age of people.
For example, if you want to hide apps like Tinder or Snapchat which are not suitable
for people under 12 age, you can simply allow apps that are suitable for only these group
of people.
Now if I go to home screen again, you’ll see there is no Snapchat, no Tinder or any
other apps which are not suitable for people above 9 years old age rating.
And if you want to hide all third-party apps on your iPhone, you can do that as well.
Simply go to restrictions again, and this time, choose Don’t Allow Apps.
And that’s it!
Now if you press the home button, there are no third party apps.
If you want to get them back, go to Restrictions again and simply disable the Restrictions.
But unfortunately, this is only applicable for iPhones running on iOS 11 or older.
So, if you have an iPhone running on iOS 12 or later, the same Restrictions functionality
can be found under screen time.
I’ll come to that in the later part of this video.
So stay tuned!
What you learned just now was a quick way to hide apps on iPhone or iPad having Touch ID.
But as you know, since Apple introduced Face ID during the launching of iPhone X in 2017,
the latest iPhones don’t have Touch ID.
So how will you hide apps on the latest iPhone or iPad without Touch ID?
Thankfully you can do that as well.
I’ll show you how in a moment.
Simply go to Settings then Screen Time.
By default, it would be turned Off.
So if you have never used Screen Time feature on iOS 12, you need to turn it on.
For those who don’t know what is Screen Time, let me tell you, Screen Time is a handy
feature to track the time you are spending on your iPhone, iPad or better say, iDevices.
Once you have enabled Screen Time, your iPhone will track how much time you spend on which apps
- whether on entertainment, social media, productivity, creativity etc. and based on
that you can take action for fighting with smartphone addiction.
More on that in some other video, so make sure you subscribe to TechReviewPro channel.
Alright, now we need to tap on Content and Privacy Restriction and turn this settings ON.
If you go to Allowed Apps, you can disable these system apps to hide them from your iPhone.
For example, I’ll hide Mail app and Safari browser.
Now if I go back, you can see, there is neither Safari nor Mail app - both apps are hidden now.
And, unlike the previous methods, you don’t even need to turn OFF Siri and Search for
these apps individually, because if you search Safari in the Spotlight search, you can’t find it.
Even you may try saying, “Hey Siri! Open Safari!
I couldn't open 'Safari'. Sorry about that!
And Siri can’t open it which means the App is completely hidden in your iPhone.
Similarly, apart from the system apps, you can also hide other third-party apps using
the functionality to Block inappropriate content.
For this, go to Content & Privacy Restrictions, then Content Restriction.
From allowed store content options, choose and tap on Apps.
Again, here you get the same settings for blocking apps based upon age ratings
or even all third-party apps at once.
So that’s how you can hide apps on the latest iPhones with no Touch ID
and running on iOS 12 or later.
And earlier you also learned how to hide apps on the older iPhone with touch ID
or not having the latest iOS version.
But what if your iPhone or iPad falls in a category not mentioned here?
Thankfully, I have another method for you and this works for everyone - no matter which
iPhone you are using or which iOS version you are running on your iDevice.
If you go to Settings, then General Settings, then Accessibility,
you’ll get various accessibility options.
Scroll all the way down and you’ll find Guided Access which will be OFF by default.
Tap on it and Turn it ON.
If you are wondering How does Guided Access feature work, let me tell you, it basically
helps you lock your iPhone access to a single app and allows you to control what features
you want to let the other people use.
Thus, if someone asks for your phone to make a call, you may provide the Guided Access
for Calling, so that, the person can only make a call and nothing else.
All other apps will be locked and his access will be restricted to a single app.
To enable this, you just need to press the power button 3 times.
For example, I want to give my phone to someone who wants to listen to Music,
So I'll open the Apple Music app and triple click the power button
and this will ask me what access I want to grant that person.
For example, if I want to allow the person to listen to this song and don’t want to
let him play next song or previous song, then I’ll simply circle both buttons
- or even these two.
I can also disable other options like Side button, volume buttons or even can set time
limits so that the person can only use my iPhone for 5 minutes.
Once everything has been set up, tap Start, then enter the passcode.
Now as you can see, the person can’t play next song or previous song
or even these options.
If he tries to exit the app and open a new app, unfortunate for him, he can’t do that.
And if he tries to press the power button, he’ll get this message.
And once the time expires, he can not do anything unless or until he knows the passcode.
So that’s how you can hide apps on iPhone or iPad without jailbreaking your device.
And if you need to unlock this app, simply press the power button 3-times
and then enter the passcode.
After that tap End and That’s it!
Now guided access has been disabled and you can use all apps like usual.
So now, you know the various ways to hide apps on iPhone.
While the other methods only allow you to hide apps on your iPhone, with the Guided
Access method you can even lock the app on iPhone.
So, I highly recommend this.
I hope you found this video helpful.
If you enjoyed watching this video, please hit the like button and share with your friends.
And don’t forget to check out the description below for more information about the giveaway
running on this channel where you can participate to win free gifts.
Thanks for watching!
This is Rahul signing off and I’ll see you in the next video.