How to Find Hidden Apps on iPhone & Unhide: 6 Methods

Apple’s iPhone has a feature that lets you hide your apps. With this option, you can even hide the whole menu page. However, the problem arises when it comes to locating hidden apps. Some fail to find all the secret apps due to multiple hiding methods.

Not everybody is familiar with all the places on their iPhones where they can look for screened apps. If you are one of those, in this tutorial, you will learn all the possible ways to find hidden apps on the iPhone.

Method 1: How to Find Hidden Apps on iPhone With App Store

The App Store Purchased page is where you will find every single app you have on your iPhone. It lets you learn whether any dubious apps have been downloaded on your iPhone or any iOS devices linked to your Apple id. It also includes apps that are deleted.

Here are steps to check the App Store Purchased page to find all apps:

Step 1) Open your iPhone, then go to App Store.

Step 2) In the top right corner, tap on Avatar.

Step 3) Here, look for the Purchased page and open it.

💡 Note: Two tabs list the apps you downloaded on this iPhone and other devices. If you see one or more apps that are not present on the menu pages, that may be because they are hidden.

Step 4) Click on Open next to the app to expand it.

Here are steps to find secret apps on iPhone:

Step 1) Expand the App Store on your iPhone.

Step 2) Go to the Account setting by tapping the profile picture.

Step 3) Locate Hidden Purchases and open it.

💡 Note: If you have any private purchases with your Apple account, they will show up here.

Method 2: How to Unhide Hidden Pages on the iPhone

Suppose you open your iPhone but notice that several apps are missing. It could be because you have intentionally or unintentionally hidden the whole menu page.

Here are steps to unhide hidden pages on the iPhone:

Step 1) Press the blank area on your iPhone until your apps jiggle.

Step 2) Tap on the dots at the lower end of the screen.

Step 3) See all the menu pages.

Step 4) Checkbox under each page will indicate if the page is visible. Unchecked pages are hidden.

Step 5) Check all the pages to unhide.

💡 Note: When you return to the home page, you will see all the pages and apps on the iPhone.

Method 3: Show/Unhide Apps on iPhone with iOS App Library

To make app access easy, Apple brought the App library to the iPhone with iOS 14. App library organizes all the applications of your iPhone in groups. These groups are based on categories. For instance, all your social apps go in one folder and games in other.

It is an automatic process. Sometimes an app only appears in the library and vanishes from the home screen.

Here are steps to find hidden apps ios App Library on iPhone:

Step 1) Keep swiping to the left on your iPhone’s Home Screen until you reach App Library.

Step 2) Look for the App or search by its name.

Step 3) Long-press on the App to reveal options and add them to the home screen.

💡 Tip: Later if you decide to hide the App again from Home Screen. Tap and hold it until the menu appears. Hit Remove App and select Remove from Home Screen.

Method 4: How to Utilize Screen Time Settings on iPhone to Unhide Apps

Utilize Screen time is also good method to hide apps on iPhones is by restricting them through screen time settings. This feature comes in iOS 12 and later versions. Screen Time lets you monitor your app usage on your iPhone. It enables you to manage the availability of apps during specific times and set usage limitations for individual apps.

With Screen Time, you can hide and unhide apps on your iPhone. In iOS, there are separate settings for social apps and pre-installed apps.

Here are steps to show hidden apps on iPhone with content restriction settings:

Step 1) Go to Settings on your iPhone.

Step 2) Scroll down and tap on Screen Time.

Step 3) Find Content & Privacy Restrictions, then hit it.

Step 4) Locate Content Restrictions and open it.

Step 5) Here, under ALLOWED STORE CONTENT, click on Apps.

Step 6) Select the Allow All Apps option and come back.

Here are steps to see pre-installed hidden apps on iPhone with Allowed Apps settings:

Step 1) Open Settings and go to Screen Time.

Step 2) Locate Content & Privacy Restrictions and tap on it.

Step 3) Hit on the Allowed Apps option.

💡 Note: Here, you will find all the pre-installed apps. If the toggle in front of any app is grey, that app is invisible. Tap it and turn it green to access that particular app.

Method 5: Restore iPhone Backup to Find Hidden Apps

A great way to secure your data on your iPhone is back up. As apple allows you to create a backup on iCloud and iTunes. With these two ways, you can access lost data and hidden apps whenever you want.

However, restoring the iPhone backup to iCloud requires you first reset the phone. This method is only valid when you have made the backup.

Here are steps to restore iPhone backup from iCould to unhide apps:

Step 1) Expand the Settings on your iPhone.

Step 2) Tap on the first option with your Apple id.

Step 3) Locate iCloud and hit on it.

Step 4) Navigate to the iCloud Backup option.

Step 5) Make sure it is active, and tap on Back Up Now.

Second, restore the backup:

Step 6) Reset iPhone before restoring the data and apps.

Step 7) Navigate to Apps & Data and choose to Restore from the iCloud Backup option.

Step 8) Sign into the Apple account using your id.

Step 9) Choose the last Backup you want to restore by date and time.

Note: After the process, all the data will be restored, and hidden apps will now be visible.

Here are steps to restore iPhone backup from iTunes:

Step 1) Connect your iPhone to the PC

Step 2) Launch the iTunes program on the computer.

Step 3) Select your iPhone from the list of devices.

Step 4) Click on the Restore Backup button next to Back Up Now.

💡 Note: Keep your iPhone connected until the recovery process is finished; all hidden apps will then reveal/uncover.

Method 6: Shortcuts to Access Apps on iPhone

In case you are still unable to figure out if there are hidden apps on your iPhone. Then with these quick shortcuts, you will be able to unhide them.

Use Siri to Find and Open Hidden Apps on iPhone:

Using Siri to find and open hidden apps on iPhone is fast and convenient. Siri does not require you to navigate through the settings on your phone. For that, you just need to do is use the voice command.

Here are steps to find and open hidden apps with Siri on iPhone:

Step 1) To activate the voice assistant, tap the Side or Home button or say, “Hey Siri.”

Step 2) Say, “Open [Hidden app’s name].”

💡 Note: If the app exists on your iPhone, Siri will expand it on your phone screen.

Use iPhone’s Spotlight Search to Find Hidden Apps:

iPhone spotlight search is the quickest way to access anything on your iPhone. If you have deleted apps from the Home Screen, you can get them back using this search feature.

Here are steps to open hidden apps with the iPhone Search feature:

Step 1) Unlock your phone and navigate to the Home Screen of your iPhone.

Step 2) Swipe down and get to the Spotlight.

Step 3) Type down the app’s name and tap on it.

Look For Hidden Apps in iPhone App Folders:

Smartphones, including iPhones, let you create groups of apps to organize. Your hidden app could be in any of these folders. Find hidden apps on iPhone home screen by looking in each group.

Here are steps to show hidden apps in iPhone Folders:

Step 1) Check the app folders by scrolling through your Home Screens.

Step 2) Open the folder; if there are dots at the bottom, it has more than one page.

Step 3) Swipe to see if it contains the app you want. Tap on it to open.

Reset iPhone Home Screen Layout to Reveal Hidden Apps:

Resetting the home screen of your iPhone could be a little compromising. You might have organized your home screen according to your convenience, but it will return to default after resetting the layout. App folders get discarded, but the apps hidden on your iPhone become visible.

Here are steps to reset Home Screen to unhide apps on iPhone:

Step 1) Go to the Settings app on iPhone.

Step 2) Scroll and hit on the General option.

Step 3) The Transfer & Reset iPhone is at the bottom. Open it.

Step 4) Tap on the Reset option.

Step 5) Pick the Reset Home Screen Layout from the list.

Step 6) Hit on Reset Home Screen to complete the process.

💡 Note: Come back to the Home Screen of your iPhone. Check for any app that was not there before. If there is no new app, you should try another solution.

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