Maybe you have banking apps you don’t want visible on your home screen, dating apps you’d rather keep private, or work apps you don’t want kids tapping into. Android gives you several ways to hide apps — some built into your phone, some via a simple launcher — and none of them require rooting or technical skills.
This guide walks through every practical method, from the quickest (just removing the icon) to the most thorough (a private folder or a locked vault). I’ll also explain what each method actually protects you against, so you pick the right one for your situation.
What “Hiding” an App Actually Means
First, a quick reality check: hiding an app on Android is about visibility, not encryption. A hidden app won’t appear in your app drawer or home screen, but it isn’t deleted or encrypted. Someone with enough determination and access to your unlocked phone can still find it (for example, in Settings → Apps). For truly sensitive data, combine hiding with a locked folder or an app lock — more on that below.
With that understood, here are your options, from simplest to strongest.
Method 1: Remove the Icon from the Home Screen
The fastest option if your only goal is a cleaner home screen. This doesn’t hide the app from the app drawer — it just removes the shortcut.
Step 1. Long-press the app icon on your home screen.
Step 2. Tap Remove (not Uninstall — read carefully).
Step 3. Confirm. The icon disappears from the home screen, but the app stays installed and fully usable from the app drawer.
On Samsung phones the option may say Remove from Home instead. On Pixels it says Remove. Either way, the app itself is untouched.
Method 2: Hide Apps from the App Drawer (Samsung)
Samsung’s One UI has a built-in feature that hides apps from both the home screen and the app drawer. The apps stay installed and keep working in the background.
Step 1. Open the app drawer (swipe up from the home screen).
Step 2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
Step 3. Tap Settings (or Home screen settings, depending on your One UI version).
Step 4. Tap Hide apps on Home and Apps screens.
Step 5. Select the apps you want to hide — a checkmark appears on each.
Step 6. Tap Done.
To unhide later, repeat the steps and deselect the apps. Hidden apps still appear in Settings → Apps and can still send notifications unless you silence them separately.
Samsung Secure Folder: the stronger option
If you want hidden apps that are also locked behind authentication, use Samsung’s Secure Folder:
Step 1. Go to Settings → Security and privacy → Secure Folder.
Step 2. Sign in with your Samsung account and set it up — you’ll create a separate PIN, pattern, or fingerprint lock.
Step 3. Open Secure Folder from the app drawer.
Step 4. Tap the + icon to add apps. You can move an existing app in, or install a private copy that exists only inside the folder.
Apps in Secure Folder are invisible to the main system: they don’t appear in the regular app drawer, their notifications are silenced by default, and opening the folder requires your authentication. This is the best built-in option on any Samsung phone for genuinely private apps.
Method 3: Hide Apps Using a Third-Party Launcher (Any Phone)
If your phone doesn’t have a built-in hide feature (Pixels, Motorola, Nokia, and most stock-Android phones don’t), install a launcher with app-hiding built in. Nova Launcher is the most popular, but Microsoft Launcher and POCO Launcher offer it too.
Using Nova Launcher as the example:
Step 1. Install Nova Launcher from the Play Store and set it as your default launcher (Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app).
Step 2. Open Nova Settings.
Step 3. Tap App drawer.
Step 4. Scroll down and tap Hide apps.
Step 5. Check the apps you want to hide, then go back.
The apps vanish from the drawer. To access them again, return to the same menu — or search for them in Nova’s app search, which still finds hidden apps (convenient for you, worth knowing).
Method 4: Disable Apps You Can’t Uninstall
Some pre-installed apps (bloatware) can’t be uninstalled, but you can disable them. A disabled app disappears from the drawer, can’t run, and can’t update.
Step 1. Go to Settings → Apps (or Apps → See all apps).
Step 2. Tap the app you want to get rid of.
Step 3. Tap Disable (if the button says Uninstall instead, you can remove it completely).
Step 4. Confirm. The app icon disappears everywhere.
You can re-enable it anytime from the same screen. Note: only disable apps you’re sure you don’t need — disabling core system components can cause instability.
Method 5: Use Android’s Private Space (Android 15+)
Android 15 introduced Private Space, a built-in feature that works like Samsung’s Secure Folder but on any phone running stock Android 15 or later.
Step 1. Go to Settings → Security & privacy → Private space.
Step 2. Authenticate with your Google account and set a separate screen lock for the space.
Step 3. Install or move apps into Private Space.
Step 4. When you’re done, tap Lock — the entire space, including its apps and notifications, disappears from your phone until you unlock it again.
Private Space apps are fully separated: they pause when locked, their notifications are hidden, and they don’t appear in the share sheet or recent apps. This is the strongest hiding method available on modern Pixels and other Android 15 devices.
Method 6: Lock Individual Apps with Biometrics
Hiding isn’t locking. If you want apps to stay visible but require a fingerprint to open, Android doesn’t include this natively on most phones (Samsung has it via Secure Folder; some Xiaomi/Oppo phones have a built-in App Lock under Settings → Security). Your options:
- Use your phone maker’s built-in app lock if it has one (check Settings → Security, Privacy, or Apps).
- Install a reputable app lock from the Play Store (look for one with strong reviews and no excessive permission requests — an app lock only needs accessibility or usage-access permission, nothing more).
For a full walkthrough of locking apps with your fingerprint, see our separate guide on app locking.
Combining Methods for Real Privacy
No single method is perfect, but layering them covers each one’s blind spots:
- Hide the app from the drawer (Method 2 or 3) so it isn’t visible at a glance.
- Lock it with a fingerprint (Method 1’s Secure Folder, Method 5’s Private Space, or a built-in app lock) so opening it requires you.
- Mute its notifications so nothing leaks onto the lock screen.
With all three in place, a casual snooper sees nothing, finds nothing by tapping around, and gets no notification hints. That’s about as private as an app can get without encrypting the whole phone.
Hiding Notifications from Hidden Apps
Hiding an app is pointless if its notifications keep popping up with its name on the lock screen. Fix this:
Step 1. Go to Settings → Notifications → App notifications.
Step 2. Find the app and turn off its notifications entirely — or tap the app and disable sensitive notification content.
Step 3. Also check Settings → Notifications → Notifications on lock screen and set it to Don’t show notifications for maximum privacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hiding an app stop it from running in the background? No. Hiding only removes the icon. The app still runs, syncs, and uses battery exactly as before. If you want it fully stopped, Force stop it in Settings → Apps, or disable it (Method 4).
Can I hide apps on a child’s phone to control what they see? You can, but a determined kid will find workarounds quickly. For children, Google Family Link is the proper tool — it lets you approve installs, set screen-time limits, and filter content, rather than relying on hidden icons.
Will hidden apps appear in the Play Store’s “Manage apps” list? Yes. The Play Store shows every installed app regardless of launcher hiding. Same for Settings → Apps. Hiding is a launcher-level trick, not a system-level one.
Do hidden apps still get updated? Yes, normally. Hidden apps update through the Play Store like any other app. Disabled apps (Method 4) do not update until re-enabled. If you disabled auto-updates globally (see our guide on Play Store auto-updates), hidden apps follow the same manual-update rules as everything else.
Troubleshooting
Hidden apps still appear in search results
Most launchers’ home-screen search still indexes hidden apps. In Nova, this is intentional (so you can open them). If your launcher offers a “hide from search” toggle, enable it. System-level search (Settings search bar) may also surface them — there’s no way to remove an installed app from Settings → Apps.
Secure Folder / Private Space option is missing
Secure Folder is Samsung-only. Private Space requires Android 15+. If neither is available and you’re on an older version, a third-party launcher (Method 3) or a vault app is your best bet — or consider updating your phone’s software.
A hidden app still sends notifications
Hiding and muting are separate steps. Follow the notification section above. For Secure Folder apps, notifications are blocked by default while the folder is locked.
Hidden apps reappear after a launcher update
Third-party launchers occasionally reset their hidden-apps list after a major update. If apps suddenly reappear, reopen the launcher’s Hide apps menu and re-check them. Built-in methods (Samsung’s hider, Secure Folder, Private Space) don’t have this problem since they’re part of the system.
Someone found the hidden app in Settings → Apps
That’s expected — hiding is not encryption. If the threat model is a snooping partner or a curious kid with your unlocked phone, combine hiding with a strong lock screen and keep sensitive apps inside Secure Folder or Private Space.
Bottom line
For a quick tidy-up, just remove icons from the home screen. To truly hide apps, Samsung users should use Hide apps or the stronger Secure Folder; everyone else should grab a launcher with hiding built in or use Private Space on Android 15. And remember: hiding controls what people see, while locking controls what they can open — use both for anything genuinely sensitive.
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