Don’t Tell Anyone, but Here’s How to Lock and Hide Apps on Your iPhone
Sometimes my nephew wants to watch Monster Truck videos on my iPhone, so I put a video on YouTube and hand him my phone. But if I’m distracted by something else, he suddenly checks my Amazon app and is about to buy a monster truck toy – or five. Luckily, Apple lets you lock and hide apps so I can keep my nephew out of my shopping apps so I don’t suddenly have to pay $500 for various Monster Truck memorabilia.
When Apple released iOS 18 In 2024, the tech giant introduced a feature to lock certain apps on your iPhone. This way you can keep children and other people out of your apps. You can also hide certain apps in their own hidden folder so that others aren’t tempted to open them and invade your privacy. So now I can hand my iPhone to my nephew without worrying about him getting into something he shouldn’t be into.
Here’s how to lock and hide your iPhone apps for an extra layer of security.
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How to lock your iPhone apps
1. Long press on an app.
2. Faucet Require facial identification.
3. Faucet Require facial identification Again.
Now, every time you try to access this app, it will need your Face ID or password to open. You can’t lock all the apps on your iPhone. Some apps, like Camera, Find My, and Settings, can’t be locked. But you can lock most apps, such as App Store, Messages, and third-party apps.
How to hide your iPhone apps
Hiding apps on your iPhone also locks them. It follows the same process as app locking. Keep in mind that this option is not available for all applications. In my experience, you can only hide third-party apps, such as Instagram and Twitter.
Here’s how to hide these apps on your iPhone.
1. Long press on an app.
2. Faucet Require facial identification.
3. Faucet Hide and require Face ID.
Your iPhone will then ask you for your Face ID or password, then it will ask you if you are sure you want to hide the app. A new menu will appear on your phone stating that hiding an app will remove its icon and name from your home screen and place them in a hidden folder in your app library. The menu will also indicate that you will not receive any notifications from the app.
Faucet Hide the app at the bottom of the menu and your iPhone will hide the app. To see your hidden apps, swipe right until you’re in your App Library. Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see a folder titled Hidden with a symbol that looks like an eye with a line through it. Tap on this folder and enter your Face ID or password. The folder will then display your hidden applications.
It’s important to note that if you hide apps in the Hidden folder, you can still see those apps in other places on your iPhone, like in the Battery Usage menu in Settings.
How to view and remove locks
If you want to view or remove a lock from an app, long press the app, tap Does not require facial ID and enter your Face ID or password. Your locked apps will now be unlocked and your hidden apps will be removed from the Hidden folder.
Showing apps doesn’t automatically put them back on your home screen. To add an app to your home screen, go to your app library, long-press the app and tap Add to Home Screen.
For more iOS news, here my opinion on iOS 26as well as how to reduce the effects of liquid glass and how block unwanted calls in the update. You can also view our iOS 26 Cheat Sheet.
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