How to find hidden apps on iPhone
·Written by the developer of Stash
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To find hidden apps on iPhone with iOS 18 or later, open App Library (swipe left past your last Home Screen page) and scroll to the very bottom: hidden apps sit in the Hidden folder, which opens with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode. To see every installed app at once, including hidden ones, open Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Apps that were only removed from the Home Screen show up in App Library and in Search.
Some apps are not hidden at all but disguised: a vault app can look and work like a calculator. The steps below cover all three cases, from the quickest check to the most thorough.
Watch Stash in 20 seconds
1. The Hidden folder in App Library (iOS 18 and later)
- On the Home Screen, swipe left until you pass the last page. App Library opens.
- Scroll to the bottom. The last item is a folder called Hidden.
- Tap it and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode. The hidden apps appear.
Apple's "Hide and Require Face ID" option moves a third-party app here. Apple says a hidden app does not show notification previews and does not appear in search or Siri suggestions. Apps that come with iOS cannot be hidden, only locked.
To unhide one: touch and hold the app inside the folder and tap Don't Require Face ID. Steps for hiding apps yourself are in how to hide apps on iPhone.
The folder is always there in iOS 18, even when it is empty, so its presence alone says nothing. It opens with the same Face ID or passcode as the iPhone.
2. Search with Spotlight
Swipe down from the middle of the Home Screen and type the app's name.
- An app that was only removed from the Home Screen (Remove App > Remove from Home Screen) appears in the results and opens.
- An app hidden with iOS 18 does not appear in search, per Apple. If you know an app is installed and Search does not find it, check the Hidden folder.
In App Library you can also tap the search field at the top for an alphabetical list of every app that is not in the Hidden folder.
3. iPhone Storage and Settings > Apps: the full list
Settings > General > iPhone Storage lists installed apps with the space each one uses, sorted by size. This is the most complete check, because an app that is installed takes storage, wherever its icon is.
Tap an app in the list to see its size and its data (Documents & Data). A small utility, such as a calculator, that holds hundreds of megabytes of data is worth a second look; see section 7.
In iOS 18, Settings > Apps also lists your apps alphabetically. Hidden apps are not in that main list; they sit behind a Hidden Apps entry at the bottom, which opens with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode.
4. Screen Time: which apps are used
If Screen Time is on, Settings > Screen Time > See All App & Website Activity shows how long each app was used per day or week. An app you did not notice on the Home Screen but that shows up here is installed and in use.
5. App Store purchases and hidden purchases
- Open the App Store and tap your account picture.
- Tap Apps (on older iOS: Purchased). Every app downloaded with this Apple Account is listed, installed or not.
- Purchases can be hidden from this list. To see them, tap your account picture, then your name, and look for Hidden Purchases.
Hiding a purchase only tidies the list; it does not hide the installed app.
6. Hidden Home Screen pages (any recent iOS)
A whole Home Screen page can be switched off. Touch and hold an empty area until the icons jiggle, then tap the page dots at the bottom. Pages with an empty circle are hidden; tick one to bring it back, then tap Done. Apps on hidden pages stay in App Library the whole time.
On older iOS without the Hidden folder, these pages and App Library are the only places an app can be "hidden", so App Library's alphabetical list shows everything.
7. Disguised apps: when an app looks like something else
Some apps do not need to hide, because they look harmless. Calculator vault apps are the most common example: the first screen is a working calculator, and typing a PIN followed by = opens a private vault of photos and files. Others look like a step tracker, a game or a notes app.
Signs that an ordinary-looking app is a vault:
| Sign | Where it shows |
|---|---|
| Two calculator icons | Home Screen or App Library (Apple's Calculator is usually installed already) |
| A calculator or tool with a large Documents & Data size | Settings > General > iPhone Storage |
| A developer name you do not recognise | The app's page in the App Store, or the purchase list above |
| Long use time on a simple tool | Settings > Screen Time > See All App & Website Activity |
| A calculator that asked for Face ID or the camera | Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Other Apps and Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera |
None of these proves anything about the content, and a vault's files are not readable without its PIN. How these apps work in detail: calculator vault apps. An overview of the kinds of privacy apps people install, ranked: privacy apps by kind.
Where Stash fits
Stash: Calculator Photo Vault is one of the disguised apps from section 7, and this page shows how to find it, just as it shows how to find any other app. It is a working calculator; your PIN followed by = opens an encrypted vault for photos, videos, PDFs, documents and audio. It can also take a step-tracker or puzzle-game look with a matching icon.
Like any app, Stash appears in iPhone Storage, in Screen Time and in your purchase list. What it protects is the content: files are encrypted on the device with AES-256, the key stays in the iOS Keychain, and the vault opens only with your PIN. Stash on the App Store.
FAQ
How do I see hidden apps on iPhone?
Open App Library, scroll to the bottom and tap the Hidden folder, then authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode. This applies to iOS 18 and later. For a full list of installed apps, open Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
Why can't I find an app in Search?
In iOS 18 and later, apps hidden with "Hide and Require Face ID" do not appear in search. Check the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library.
Can built-in apps like Photos or Messages be hidden?
No. Apple says apps that come with iOS can be locked with Face ID but not hidden. A Hidden folder only ever contains apps downloaded from the App Store.
Can you see hidden apps without the passcode?
You can see that the Hidden folder exists, but opening it needs Face ID, Touch ID or the iPhone passcode. iPhone Storage, which needs an unlocked phone, lists hidden apps by name.
How do I know if a calculator app is a vault?
Look at its size in Settings > General > iPhone Storage and its developer in the App Store. A second calculator with a large data size is very likely a vault app.