How to Hide Apps on Android Devices

May. 6, 2024

We all have a few apps on our Android phones that we would like to hide. There are many reasons to hide apps, be it due to the type of app like Banking apps, or personal apps like dating apps, which you would not want others to see. Thankfully, Android and various Android skins allow users tolock apps, but using your PIN or fingerprint to unlock each time could be a hassle. Hence, most skins also offer an option to hide apps, and we shall see exactly how to do that across different Android UIs in this article.

1. Hide Apps on OnePlus, Realme, and OPPO Devices

I recentlyswitched to a OnePlus deviceand the OnePlus launcher has to be one of the most comprehensive and feature-rich launchers out there. Here’s how to hide apps using the same.

There’s unfortunately no way to access hidden apps besides going to the Google Play Store, searching for the hidden app, and tapping open.

The Nothing launcher allows you to hide apps but there’s no way to lock the hidden apps behind a passcode. You could, however, hide the apps and lock them using the built in app locker.

If your Android smartphone’s UI lacks the feature to hide app, you will need athird-party launcher.There are many great third-party launchers, but one of the best ones is Lawnchair. That said, keep in mind that it’s not a surefire solution, as anyone can invoke the app from the Play Store app. Hence, tofully guard the hidden apps, you should also use anApp Locker on your Android device.

There’s unfortunately no way to access hidden apps without unhiding them again using the same process. If you absolutely need the feature,Niagara Launcheralso allows you to hide apps but when you want to open the app, you can search for them and they’ll appear. Another excellent app to hide apps and files isAmarok Hider. It’s open source and doesn’t need root access to hide apps.

App lock functionality on Pixel UI has been due for a long time, and it’s weird how what’s arguably one of the most popular features hasn’t made it to arguably one of the “best” Android software experiences. We hope that changes in the future with the release ofAndroid 15or 16.

And that is how you can hide apps on Android devices. The native methods are very convenient while the third-party ones are a hassle, but still handy options nonetheless. Which phone are you using right now and does it come with the App lock feature? Let us know in the comments below.