If you lend your iPhone to someone to make a call in your device's Phone app, that person could accidentally see which other apps you have on your home screen. That person could also accidentally open an app like WhatsApp and call someone you went on a date with one time years ago. Luckily, Apple lets you hide and lock apps on your iPhone so you can enjoy a little more privacy.
When Apple released iOS 18 in 2024, the tech giant introduced a feature to lock and hide certain apps on your iPhone. That way you can keep others out of your apps. You can also hide certain apps in their own hidden folder so people aren't tempted to open them and invade your privacy.
Here's how to lock and hide your iPhone apps for an extra layer of security.
How to lock your iPhone apps
1. Long press an app.
2. Tap Require Face ID.
3. Tap Require Face ID again.
Now every time you try to access this app, it will need your Face ID or passcode to open. You can't lock every app on your iPhone, like Camera, Find My and Settings. 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 locking apps. Keep in mind this option isn't available for all apps. In my experience, you can only hide third-party apps, such as Instagram and Twitter.
Here's how you can hide these apps on your iPhone.
1. Long press an app.
2. Tap Require Face ID.
3. Tap Hide and Require Face ID.
Your iPhone will then ask for your Face ID or passcode, then it will ask if you're sure you want to hide the app. A new menu will appear on your phone that says hiding an app will remove its icon and name from your home screen and place it in a Hidden folder in your App Library. The menu will also say you won't receive any notifications from the app.
Tap Hide 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'll see a folder labeled Hidden with a symbol that looks like an eye with a line across it. Tap this folder and enter your Face ID or passcode. The folder will then display your hidden apps.
It's important to note that if you do 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 unhide and remove locks
If you want to unhide or remove a lock from an app, long press on the app, tap Don't Require Face ID and enter your Face ID or passcode. Your locked apps will now be unlocked and your hidden apps will be removed from the Hidden folder.
Unhiding apps doesn't automatically put them back on your home screen. To add an app back to your home screen, go to your App Library, long press on the app and tap Add to Home Screen.
For more iOS news, here's what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for our full collection of tips and tricks.
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