Can You Hide an App From Screen Time on iPhone?
No. iPhone can hide an app's icon behind Face ID, but Screen Time still lists the app by name. Here is what a hidden app still shows, what a parent can see, and how to hide apps anyway.
No. iPhone has no setting that removes one app from Screen Time. Apple says that when you hide an app, "its name is still visible in some places, such as Screen Time, Battery Usage By App (in Settings), and your App Store purchase history." Hiding moves the icon into a locked Hidden folder. It does not erase the app's usage record. To keep what an app holds private, encrypt the content itself.
What a hidden app still shows on iPhone
When you hide an app, it leaves the Home Screen and moves to a Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. That folder opens only with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Apple also keeps information from inside a locked or hidden app out of notification previews, search, Siri suggestions, CarPlay, and call history.
The app's name still shows in Screen Time, in Battery Usage By App in Settings, and in your App Store purchase history. Settings, Apps, Hidden Apps also lists every app you have hidden. Hidden status is set per device and does not sync through iCloud, so you have to hide the app on each device separately.
Can parents see hidden apps in Screen Time?
Yes. Apple says: "Children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can't lock or hide apps. Anyone aged 13 to 17 ... can lock or hide an app, but a parent or guardian in the family group can see that the app was downloaded and how much time it's used, and restrict access to it using Screen Time." Apple adds that these ages vary by country or region.
So for a teen in a family group, hiding an app does not take it out of a parent's Screen Time view. For a parent, a hidden app on a child's iPhone still appears in the reports, and you can still set a limit on it.
How to hide an app on iPhone
Touch and hold the app icon on the Home Screen, then tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode). Tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App. The app moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library, and opening it asks for Face ID each time.
This works only for apps you downloaded from the App Store. Apple does not let you hide built-in apps, your default web browser, or an alternative app marketplace. For built-in apps, use Screen Time restrictions instead.
Hide built-in apps with Screen Time restrictions
Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Content and Privacy Restrictions, and turn that switch on. Under Allowed Apps you can turn off built-in apps like Safari, Camera, or others, and they vanish from the Home Screen and from search until you turn them back on. This is the firmest built-in way to hide an Apple app, because the change is a restriction rather than a layout tweak.
To stop someone from simply reversing it, set a Screen Time passcode under the Screen Time settings, and make it different from your device unlock code. Without that passcode, the restrictions cannot be changed. This method covers built-in apps. For an App Store app, use Hide and Require Face ID, or remove it from the Home Screen so it lives only in App Library.
What hiding an app does and does not do
Hiding an app changes where the icon lives and who can open it, not what is inside it. The app is still installed, its account is still signed in, and every photo, message, or file it holds is exactly where it was. Anyone who knows your passcode can open the Hidden folder, and Screen Time shows the app's name to whoever reads the report.
That is the gap people miss. If you hide an app because it holds private photos, the photos are not any safer, they are just one step less obvious. A determined person who has your phone and your passcode will find the app and its contents. Hiding the icon raises the effort for a casual glance and nothing more.
Lock the content, not just the icon
If the goal is to protect what an app holds rather than where its icon sits, you need the content itself to be encrypted. An encrypted vault stores each photo or file as scrambled data that is unreadable without your key, so finding the app does an intruder no good. The protection lives in the data, not in the position of an icon.
Vaultaire works this way. You draw a pattern on a five by five grid, and PBKDF2 derives a vault key that authenticates the encrypted index and unwraps a random AES-256 master key. Move the sensitive photos and files in, and accept Vaultaire's offer to delete the originals. There is no identity account, and the only app-managed CloudKit copies are the encrypted iCloud backup, which is on by default and can be turned off, plus sync or sharing if you use them. System device backups may still include encrypted local files. Unhiding the app does not decrypt a locked vault, though a compromised device or already-open vault remains outside that protection.
Related reading:
- Apps to hide photos on iPhone
- How to make a secret folder on iPhone
- How to hide photos on iPhone
- Vault app for iPhone: which ones actually encrypt
Sources
- Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPhone
- Apple Support: Remove or delete apps on iPhone
- Apple Support: Use Screen Time on iPhone
- Apple Support: Find your apps in App Library
Frequently asked questions
Can you hide an app from Screen Time on iPhone?
No. Apple says a hidden app's name is still visible in Screen Time, in Battery Usage By App in Settings, and in your App Store purchase history. Apple documents no setting that removes one app from Screen Time reports.
Can parents see hidden apps in Screen Time?
Yes, for a teen in a Family Sharing group. Apple says anyone aged 13 to 17 can lock or hide an app, but a parent or guardian in the family group can see that the app was downloaded and how much time it is used, and can restrict it with Screen Time. Children under 13 cannot lock or hide apps.
How do I hide an app on iPhone?
Touch and hold the app icon, tap Require Face ID, then tap Hide and Require Face ID and confirm. The app moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Built-in apps cannot be hidden this way, but Screen Time restrictions can turn many of them off.
Does hiding an app hide the photos inside it?
No. Hiding an app moves its icon into the Hidden folder in App Library and puts Face ID in front of it. The app is still installed, and every photo and file inside it is unchanged and readable once someone opens the app. To protect the contents you need the data itself encrypted, not just the icon hidden.
How do I keep the contents of an app private?
Use an encrypted vault. Move sensitive photos and files into it and delete the originals, so the content is stored as encrypted data. Vaultaire uses AES 256 with a pattern you draw on the device, so the files stay unreadable even to someone holding your unlocked phone.
