You can’t really hide apps on iPhone, but you can make them hard to find. If you can’t find an app on your iPhone’s home screen, it might still be available in your App Library. Also, some hidden app purchases may be revealed. Here’s how to do both.
Reveal “hidden” apps in your App Library
Starting with iOS 14, Apple introduced an App Library page on your iPhone that displays an organized list of all the apps installed on your device. An app may be installed on your iPhone that is not listed on your Home screen but is still accessible in your App Library. If so, you can easily add the app to your home screen.
To open your App Library, swipe left repeatedly on your icon home screen until you reach the last page, then swipe once more and the App Library will open. You will see a grid of icons in different categories representing the apps you have installed. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen and type in the name of the app you’re looking for.
When you find it, press and hold its icon in the list of results. In the menu that appears, select “Add to Home Screen”.
After that, you can go back to your home screen and you will see the app icon you just added to your home screen on one of the pages.
In the future, if you want all recently downloaded apps to automatically appear on your home screen, open the Settings app and tap “Home screen”. Then add a check mark next to “Add to Home Screen”.
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Reveal hidden app purchases on your iPhone
Using your Apple ID settings, it is possible to hide previous purchases of items such as apps. If you can’t find an app you want to download in your purchase history, open Settings and tap your Apple ID at the top. Then select “Media and purchases” and tap on “Hidden purchases”.
On the next screen, you will see a list of purchases that you have previously hidden. Tap “Show” behind any app you want to reveal again.
After that, the app will appear in your purchase history (Settings > Apple ID > Media & purchases > Purchase history). If the app is not already installed on your iPhone, you will need to download it again from the App Store. Good luck!
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