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The more time you spend online, the harder it is to protect your privacy. Thankfully, making apps invisible on your phone, at least, is easy. Learn how to hide apps on Android in our guide. Then, install a trusted VPN to encrypt your connection, helping you boost your online privacy and prevent snoops from spying on your data.
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We’re going to show you five ways to hide apps on an Android, from using built-in settings to dedicated app-hider apps. If you’re on iOS, head over to our guide on how to hide apps on an iPhone.
On many Android phones, you can hide apps by opening Settings and searching for Hide apps or Hide apps on home and apps screens. The built-in setting for hiding Android apps should display automatically.
If the setting doesn’t appear in your search, hide your apps by navigating through Android’s default settings. Open Settings, tap Home screen, and scroll to Hide apps. Tap the apps you want to hide, tap Done, and they’ll move to the Hidden apps section.
You can also install app-hider software for Android phones. The best app-hider apps are available directly in Google Play. Here are a few of the best app hiders for Androids:
HideU: Calculator Lock
The HideU app is disguised as a calculator and lets you keep apps, media, and files hidden from others. Anything you store inside won’t appear anywhere else. Lock everything behind the app with a digital PIN.
Calculator Vault is also disguised as a calculator. The app name appears as Calculator+ in Settings and Calculator Vault when checking recent apps. Add a secure password to lock everything behind it.
Calculator - Hide apps, photos
As the name suggests, Calculator - Hide apps, photos, is also disguised as a calculator. You can hide and secure private apps, photos, videos, files, and notes.
Most phones have a secure folder or similar feature to hide apps on Android. The Samsung feature is called Secure Folder, where you can safely hide apps, photos, and other data.
On Xiaomi phones, a similar feature called Dual apps can clone apps. Dual apps won’t hide an app completely, but cloning an Android app can help you effectively hide valuable data or account information that you don’t want anyone to see. If you run different instances of a single app, each with a different account, you can display the less private one more prominently.
While these folders can effectively hide certain data from anyone who’s using your phone, you should also protect your Android from hackers and malware that can launch attacks from thousands of miles away. Avast Mobile Security helps detect malicious apps before you install them and secures your device from other online threats like viruses — all in real time.
The Guest Mode feature included in many Android phones lets you safely share your device with another person by hiding apps and sensitive data saved on your personal profile. You can set up a guest account and switch between your personal and guest profiles.
To enable a guest account on Samsung phones or tablets, go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Users > Guest. You can also choose to add a new user, so someone can create their own dedicated space if they’re going to use your phone regularly.
Android app permissions let you hide apps by disabling them, which is helpful if you can’t uninstall an unnecessary system app without rooting your phone (and there are significant security risks to rooting).
Disabling hides Android apps from your home screen, prevents them from using your phone’s resources, and stops apps from using excessive background data to constantly refresh. But the hidden apps will still appear in your Android settings.
Here’s how to hide apps via your Android home screen or settings:
Locate the app on your home screen, then tap and hold it.
Select Disable in the pop-up menu.
The app will be hidden and background usage restricted automatically.
Open Settings and tap Apps.
Select the Android app you want to disable, then tap Disable.
Samsung phones have multiple built-in ways to hide apps. One of the easiest methods is using Samsung’s “Hide apps” feature. To do this, go to Settings, tap Home screen, and select Hide apps on Home and Apps screen. Now you can choose which apps you want to hide.
Samsung’s built-in “Secure Folder” is another great way to hide apps that you don’t want anyone to see, or that contain sensitive information, such as banking or trading apps.
Here’s how to hide apps on Android with Samsung’s Secure Folder feature:
Go to Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder. Sign in or create a folder with your Samsung account.
Open the Secure Folder on your home screen and tap +. Select the apps you want to hide, and they’ll move to the Secure Folder.
All hidden apps now show only in your locked Secure Folder. Note that the names of hidden apps may still appear in some Android settings.
Now, we’ll show you how to hide apps on a Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, or OnePlus device.
Open Settings and tap Apps.
Select App Lock and tap Turn on.
Enter a passcode that will lock your apps.
Tap Use App Lock to confirm.
Toggle on the apps that you want to hide using App Lock.
App Lock doesn’t completely hide apps from your Android’s home screen. But, locked apps now require a passcode, effectively hiding app content from prying eyes.
Here’s how to hide apps on newer Xiaomi phones:
Open the Security app.
Scroll down and tap Hide apps.
Toggle on the apps that you want to hide.
To find your hidden apps, go back to the Security app, then Hide apps.
Go to Settings, then Security.
Tap Privacy & app encryption.
You’ll be prompted to set up a privacy password and security questions.
Tap App hiding, and toggle on the apps you want to hide.
To find your hidden apps, go back to Privacy & app encryption, then View hidden apps.
Go to Settings, then Security and privacy.
Scroll down to the bottom and tap Hide Apps.
Toggle on an app you want to hide, and you’ll be prompted to set up a privacy password (tap Settings).
You’ll be prompted to set an access code for your hidden apps (tap Settings).
Now you can go back and hide more apps.
To find your hidden apps, open your dialer keypad and enter the access code.
Open Settings and choose Privacy, then tap the Privacy tab.
Select Hide Apps.
In the pop-up box, tap Settings, then enter a password and security question to lock your hidden apps.
Toggle on the app you want to hide; you’ll be prompted to enter an access code (tap Settings).
Scroll through the list of apps and toggle on the rest of the apps you want to hide.
To bring up your hidden apps later, open your dialer keypad and enter the access code.
The Hide Apps feature hides apps from your Android’s home screen and won’t show the app in recent tasks. But, the hidden apps may still appear in some Android settings.
This will depend on the third-party app you used or, if you used a built-in feature, what type of Android you have. For most third-party apps, you tap the app (usually a calculator icon), then enter a code or password to unlock it.
If you used a built-in feature to hide your apps, you can usually find all the hidden apps in Settings, often under a Security or similar menu, labeled something like Hidden apps. On some devices, you may need to open the dialer and enter your access code instead.
Make sure to clean your Android to remove junk apps and free up valuable space. Regular cleaning can also help speed up your Android. And while you’re cleaning, if you see a suspicious app that might be tracking your activity, check out our guide to removing Android spyware.
Hiding your Android apps can help keep your private data from falling into the wrong physical hands, but what about virtual thieves? Avast SecureLine VPN encrypts your communications and network traffic, giving you an extra layer of privacy against spies and snoops lurking online — whether or not your apps are hidden.
Try Avast VPN for free today and start protecting your private information.
