Protect your communications and data with Avast One's built-in VPN
Whether it’s an important banking app or that embarrassing game you’re addicted to, there’s always an app on your phone that you’d rather hide. We’ll guide you through five different ways to hide apps on Android, then show you how to keep all your phone data private by installing Avast One, a comprehensive security tool with a built-in VPN.
First, open Settings, tap Home screen, and scroll to Hide apps. Tap the apps you want to hide, 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 vetted and available directly in Google Play. Here are a few of the best app hiders for Androids:
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher replaces the home screen on your Android phone. It also lets you hide apps, and sort and reshuffle them, according to your needs.
App Hider
The customizable App Hider lets you hide apps on your Android and manage them from different accounts on your device. The app-hider icon is even disguised as a calculator.
Vault
Vault's purpose is to hide apps, files, photos, and videos on your Android. It includes cloud backup and the ability to lock apps behind a secure password.
Samsung Secure Folder is a hidden folder where you can safely hide apps, photos, and other data. First, enable Secure Folder by opening Settings > Biometrics and security > Secure Folder. Sign in to your Samsung account and follow the on-screen instructions.
To hide apps in Samsung’s Secure Folder, open the Secure Folder icon on your Home screen and tap Add apps.
Some Android phones have a Guest Mode feature that lets you share your device with another person. While Samsung phones don’t include this feature, you can enable a guest account on Samsung tablets.
To set up a guest account on a Samsung phone, open Settings and go to Accounts and backup. Toggle on Multiple Users and select Guest.
Now you can switch between users from the Quick Settings menu, and the apps you want to hide will stay hidden from the guest profile.
If you can’t uninstall an unnecessary system app without rooting your phone (and there are security risks to rooting), Android app permissions should let you disable the app to hide it. It will also stop the app from using excessive background data.
Here’s how to disable Android apps:
Tap and hold a system app on your home screen. Select Disable in the pop-up menu. The app will be hidden and background usage restricted automatically.
All of your previously hidden or disabled Android apps appear when you open Settings > Apps. Make sure to clean your Android to remove junk apps and to search for any apps you want to unhide and use again.
If you see a suspicious app that might be tracking your activity, check out our guide to removing Android spyware.
You should have control over what you do on your phone and who has access to your data — that’s why we created Avast One. Avast One’s built-in privacy features, including a VPN and data breach monitoring tools, help keep your communications and data private. That way, you might not even need to worry about hiding apps on your Android.
Install Avast One for free and start protecting your private information right now.