There are many reasons why you might want to hide an app on Android. Maybe you downloaded it by accident and don’t want your friends to see it, or perhaps a particular app is draining your phone’s battery life and you’d like to keep it out of sight. Whatever the case may be, the good news is that there’s no shortage of ways to do it. You just have to choose which method works best for your needs!
How to hide apps on Android
You can hide an app using a third-party launcher. However, there are some limitations. For example, you can’t hide apps if you’re using Google’s default launcher, or any other type of launcher that comes pre-installed on your phone. You may have to install a new launcher if you want to hide your apps.
You can also hide apps in the System Settings menu by going through Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Info and tapping the icon next to each app that you want to hide (some launchers may not offer this option).
Use a third-party launcher (this is the recommended method)
To hide apps on your Android device, you can use a third-party launcher. This is the recommended method because it’s easy and effective.
There are many great launchers to choose from, including Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher and Microsoft Launcher. When using these launchers there are several ways to hide apps:
- You can hide apps in folders by creating a folder with the app you want to hide inside it. Then use that folder as an icon on your home screen just like any other app (see image above).
- You can also add an extra layer of protection by making sure that only you have access to your device’s storage card or USB storage (if available). That way nobody else will be able to find your secret folders simply by plugging in their own SD card or thumb drive into one of these ports!
Hide apps with Nova Launcher
To start hiding apps on your phone, you’ll need to access Nova Settings. From there, go to the App & widget drawers tab. Then select the app drawer section of this tab and select Hide apps in the dropdown menu.
Here you can select any apps that need to be hidden from your home screen or app drawer by entering them into this list one-by-one. Once added here, they will no longer appear in their respective locations when using Nova Launcher. |Though they may still show up as separate entries if you long press folders or open them through Google Play Store links within other apps like YouTube or Maps.
Hide apps with Apex Launcher
To hide apps, first open the Apex Launcher app. Then, press the menu button on your device (the one with 3 lines). Next, tap Settings and scroll down to the Hide Apps section.
Tap Checkbox next to any apps that you’d like to hide from your app drawer. When an app is enabled for hiding, it will be moved into a separate folder called Hidden Apps in which you can manage all of your hidden apps. To access this folder, tap App Drawer > Hidden Apps at the bottom of your screen while still in Apex Launcher’s main view. Press and hold any icon in this folder until they start wiggling and then drag them over onto another icon or space on your device’s home screen so that they are part of a new group with their “hidden” counterpart(s).
Hide apps with Microsoft Launcher
You can hide apps on Android using Microsoft Launcher.
- Open the Microsoft Launcher app and go to Settings.
- Click on the Apps & Notifications tab, followed by App Drawer and then Hide Apps (see screenshot below).
- Select any apps that you want to hide from your home screen in the Hide Apps dialog box (see screenshot below).
- Click “OK” in the Hide Apps dialog box when finished selecting apps to hide from your home screen(s).
Use a separate app for hiding apps (this is a less secure method)
If you want to hide your apps with a third-party lock screen app, there are some options available. The most popular app for this is AppLock, which has an option called App Lock that allows you to hide any app inside of it. This method is less secure than using a third-party launcher with its own security measures in place, but it’s convenient if all of your apps are already on one device and don’t need to be accessed by anyone else. It also requires fewer steps than creating a new launcher without the ability to uninstall or disable it later on if needed.
Use the System Settings menu to hide apps
- Open the App Drawer.
- Select the app you want to hide and tap on it once, then tap on the options icon in the top right corner of your screen (three dots), then tap Hide app when that option appears at the bottom of your screen.
- The app will disappear from your phone’s home screen and all other places where it might appear in Android’s System Settings menu (like notifications). You can unhide apps by following these same steps: Select an app in your App Drawer, tap on its name, then select Show hidden apps at the bottom of your screen (you’ll only see this option if you’ve previously hidden an app).
Conclusion
You can use your phone’s system settings to hide apps. This is probably the easiest way, but it’s also less secure than using a third-party launcher. The System Settings menu works on any Android device running Marshmallow (6.0) or higher.