How to hide apps on Android
Phones have become one of the most important possessions we own. They not only allow us to stay in touch with friends and family, but also serve as the hub of our financial world, not to mention where we store important data about our health. Naturally, we make sure our devices are locked so that no one can see this sensitive information, but if you regularly let your children, partner or friends use your phone to look things up or take pictures, there is a risk that this data could be exposed.
Fortunately, there is an easy way to reduce the chance of this happening – hiding apps. This is how you protect your private information the simple way.
Hide apps via Android settings
Many versions of Android can hide apps via their settings. However, keep in mind that these things change all the time, as newer iterations of Android appear and the software interfaces used by manufacturers also change. At the time of writing, here’s how to hide apps on some of the most popular Android phone brands.
How to hide apps on a Samsung phone
Open the app drawer (the page that shows all your apps) by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
Tap the three dots at the top right, then select Settings.
Select Hide apps from the menu that appears.
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You will see a list of all your apps, scroll through and select the ones you want to hide.
When you’re done, press “Done” at the bottom of the page.
Now all the apps you selected will no longer appear in the app drawer.
To find the apps, just use the Google Search widget (bar) or open the Google app and enter the name. You’ll see the app listed in the From Your Apps section of the search results. Tap it and it will open as normal.
How to hide apps on OnePlus phones
Open the app drawer (the page that shows all your apps) and then swipe right.
You will now see a page called Hidden Space. It should show the message No hidden applications in the middle of the screen.
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Tap the + icon at the top right.
Select the apps you want to hide, then tap the checkmark icon at the top right.
Now you will see the hidden apps listed on the Hidden Space page.
To view apps, return to the Hidden Space page and long press the app you want to restore.
How to hide apps on a Xiaomi phone
With MIUI 13, Xiaomi seems to have removed the Hidden Apps feature, but you can still protect yourself via App Lock. This password protects certain apps so that no one can easily open them, and gives you the option to hide any notifications related to that particular app. Here’s how to set it up.
Open Settings and tap Apps.
Select App Lock and press the Turn On button.
You need to set up a Mi (Xiaomi) account if you haven’t already, as the feature needs it to work. It’s free and only takes a moment.
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Once this is done, you will now see the App Lock page with some suggested apps you might want to secure. Uncheck all the ones you don’t want, then tap Use App Lock.
Now select apps you want to lock. Each will show a login screen when someone taps them from now on (you can unlock them with your fingerprint).
You can also tap “Would you like to hide sensitive notifications?” the option to stop any private messages.
To unlock apps, just go back to the App Lock page and uncheck them.
How to hide apps on Android with a new launcher
If you can’t hide apps via the settings in Android, then another option is to use a different launcher that will give you more control over how the interface works. Nova launcher is one of our all-time favorites because it gives you so many choices when it comes to customizing the interface of your device.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed Nova launcher (others are also available that offer similar features), you can quickly sort out the errant apps.
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Launch Nova and then tap the Nova Settings icon.
Tap on the App drawer option.
Scroll down until you find the Apps section, then select Hide apps.
Choose which apps you want to hide, then tap the back arrow in the top left when you’re done.
That’s it. The apps should no longer appear in your app drawer. To restore them, just repeat the steps above, but deselect the app from the list.
How to disable apps on Android
One last option, if you can’t get rid of pre-installed apps or just don’t want them running in the background at any point, you might be able to disable them. This won’t work on all apps or versions of the Android interface, but it’s worth a try.
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Open settings.
Tap Apps & notifications, then select the app you want to stop.
If it has the option, select Disable.
Now, if things go well, the app won’t show up in the app drawer or at least won’t start running by itself. If you want to restore the permissions, just repeat the steps above, but this time select Enable.
There you have it, a few different ways to hide apps on an Android phone. For more ways to keep your device safe, check out our roundups of the best antivirus software and the best cloud storage services.
