How to Hide Apps on Android

Can You Hide Apps on Android?

Hiding apps is a great way to improve your privacy and customize your phone’s appearance, but unfortunately, not all Android phones make it easy to do.

While recent versions of iOS allow users to hide apps with a few taps, only some Android phones let users do the same. Some Android phones from popular manufacturers like Samsung and LG let users hide apps from their home screens using their native launchers, but if your phone doesn’t offer this feature, you’ll have to download a third-party launcher to hide apps.

How to Hide Apps on Android

Depending on the type of phone you have, there are several different ways to hide apps on Android. Some phones have their own built-in launchers that let you hide apps, while others will require you to download a third-party launcher to hide apps.

Here’s how to hide apps on some of the most popular types of Android phones.

How to hide apps on Samsung and LG phones

Samsung and LG phones include a useful feature that lets you quickly hide any apps installed on your phone.

To use this feature, tap and hold on any empty space on your home screen, then tap the home screen settings button that appears in the bottom-right corner.

On the settings menu, scroll down and select “Hide apps.” This will bring up a menu with all the apps installed on your phone. Select the apps you want to hide, then tap “Apply.” After doing this, the apps you’ve chosen will only appear if you search for them.

How to hide apps on Huawei phones

Huawei phones include a feature called PrivateSpace that lets you download and hide specific apps you don’t want others to see. Keep in mind, though, that this method only works for apps you haven’t installed yet. If you have already installed the app you want to hide, you’ll need to delete it, follow the steps below to set up PrivateSpace, then redownload the app.

To do this, open the Settings app on your phone, then tap “Privacy & Security.”

From here, tap “PrivateSpace,” then follow the on-screen instructions to set up PrivateSpace. 

After finishing the setup process, you can download any apps you want to keep hidden to your PrivateSpace.

How to hide apps on Xiaomi MIUI phones

Xiaomi phones use an alternative version of Android called MIUI. Phones that run MIUI make it easy to hide apps with just a few taps.

To hide apps on a Xiaomi phone, start by finding and opening the Security app.

In the Security app, tap the “App Lock” icon, then select the apps you want to hide. This will remove these apps from view and make them accessible via search.

How to hide apps on OnePlus phones

If you own a OnePlus phone, you can use the Hidden Space feature to hide apps you don’t want others to see or access.

To use this feature, start by opening the app drawer, then swipe from left to right to open your Hidden Space.

From here, tap the plus (+) icon in the top-right corner, then select all the apps you want to hide.

After doing this, the apps you select will be moved to your Hidden Space. To access them, simply open your app drawer and scroll over to the Hidden Space section.

How to Hide Apps on Android Using a Third-Party Launcher

Not all Android phones come with built-in launchers that let users hide apps. If none of the above options are available on your phone, you can download a third-party Android launcher to hide apps.

One of the most popular Android launchers is Nova Launcher. Aside from hiding apps, Nova Launcher lets you customize your Android home screen with custom app icons, more flexible positioning, customizable app drawers, and more.

Nova Launcher is free, but also offers a paid version called Nova Launcher Prime — both of which make it easy to hide apps, though the steps differ between the two.

You can hide apps using the free version of Nova Launcher by changing their names and icons. This doesn’t hide them from view, but it does disguise them.

After installing and setting up Nova Launcher, open your app drawer, then tap and hold on the app you want to hide.

Tap “Edit,” then change the app’s name to whatever you want. You can also tap the app icon to change it.

With Nova Launcher Prime, you can hide apps to remove them from the app drawer without uninstalling them.

To do this, download Nova Launcher Prime and set it as your default launcher, then open the Nova Settings app.

From here, select “App & widget drawers,” then tap “Hide apps” under “Drawer groups.”

Scroll through the list of apps installed on your phone and check the box next to each app you want to hide.

How to create app drawer groups

Hiding apps with Nova Launcher is a great way to maintain your privacy and keep certain apps out of view, but if you’re more concerned with organization than privacy, you can use Nova Launcher to create groups for different app categories.

To do this, start by opening the Nova Setting app, then tapping “App & widget drawers.”

Scroll down and change the “Top bar” setting from “Search bar”’ to “Tab bar.”

Next, scroll to the bottom and tap “Drawer groups,” then “TABS” at the top of the screen.

To create a tab group, tap the plus (+) icon in the top-right corner of your screen, then enter a name for the group (e.g., “Social,” “Games”). Tap “Add” to create the group.

Now, you can go to your app drawer and drag and drop apps into this new group. This will remove them from the app drawer and make them visible only in the app drawer group you created.

How to Delete Apps on Android

Hiding apps makes it easy to prevent unauthorized users from accessing certain apps and viewing your private information, but if you want to free up storage space on your phone or reset an app to its default settings, you’ll need to completely uninstall it from your device.

With Android phones, there are three simple methods you can use to quickly delete apps and your app data. Each method is intuitive and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Here’s how to delete apps on Android via Settings, the Google Play Store, or the app drawer.

Delete apps from your home screen or app drawer

The easiest and fastest way to delete apps is to do so directly from your home screen or app drawer.

To do this, find the app you want to delete on your home screen or in your app drawer (swipe up on your home screen to open the app drawer).

Tap and hold on the app until it lets you move it, then drag it to the “Uninstall” option that appears at the top of the screen. After doing this, tap “OK” when prompted to delete the app.

Delete apps using Settings

You can also delete apps by going through your phone’s Settings app.

Start by swiping down from the top of your screen and tapping the Settings (gear) icon to open the Settings app.

Next, tap “Apps” to bring up a comprehensive list of the apps installed on your phone, then tap on the app you want to delete.

This will take you to the “App info” page. Tap the “Uninstall” button, then select “OK” to delete the app from your device.

Repeat this process as many times as necessary to delete multiple apps from your phone.

Delete apps using the Google Play Store

Android users can also delete apps by going directly through the Google Play Store.

To do this, open the Google Play Store app on your phone, then tap on your profile picture in the top-right corner of your screen to open your account settings.

From here, tap “Manage apps & device,” then tap “Manage” to see a list of the apps you’ve downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Select the apps you want to delete from this list, then tap the trash icon in the top-right corner. When prompted, tap “Uninstall” to delete the apps from your device.