How to hide an app in Android, and access them in need

Just like we need some personal space in our lives, our digital space also requires some sort of privacy. When it comes to privacy in our digital lives, one important aspect is to lock certain apps on our smartphones, or simply hide them, as if they don't exist at all. However, you only need to execute these steps, if you hand over your device to others in need. 

Most people want to know how to hide the Google Photos app in Android or how to hide the Play Store app in Android, to prevent their kids or other family members from downloading games or other content. But, as long as you know how to hide an app in Android mobile, you can do that with any app effortlessly.

So, without any further delay, let's get started with how to hide any app on an Android phone.

How to hide apps in Android phones without any app?

If you want to know how to hide any app in a phone that runs Android, your phone's OS must support the feature. Most modern stock Android skins these days support app hiding. 

How to hide apps on a Samsung Galaxy phone?

To hide apps on a Samsung Galaxy handset, open home screen settings by long-tapping on the empty part of the home screen, followed by tapping on 'Settings'.

In the next step, tap on 'Hide apps' button.

Now, just tap on the apps that you want to hide, and after you are done, tap on the 'Done' button. 

Well, the selected apps are now hidden. Since you know, how to hide apps on an Android by Samsung, one thing to note here is that you cannot open the hidden apps directly. As per the information provided in the official Samsung community, you need to unhide the apps to use them.

To unhide the apps, just go to 'Hide apps' section, in the same way, remove the apps from 'Hidden apps', and tap on 'Done'.

This is slightly inconvenient, but this is something you have to deal with. However, you can use the Secure Folder feature that is available on most premium midrangers to flagship models.

How to hide apps on a Realme phone?

If you are using a Realme phone, you can easily hide apps, and use them at the same time without unhiding them every single time.

Open system settings, and tap on 'Privacy'.

In the privacy menu, tap on 'Hide apps'.

Now, enter your password or pin, as per the settings on your device, and tap on the settings cog to open the settings.

In the settings menu, tap on ‘Set access code’

Now dial the secret code, which should begin and end with a ‘#’. Your code can contain one digit or a maximum of 16 digits.

After you are done, tap on the tick mark on the top right corner of the UI, and then tap on ‘Done’.

Now go back, and tap on the apps that you want to hide. You can also find all the hidden apps, in the ‘Hidden’ tab, as shown in the screenshot below. You can effortlessly remove the hidden apps, simply by tapping them.

Now, if you want to access the hidden apps, simply open the dialer, type in the access code that you set earlier, and the hidden apps will be in front of you.

How to hide app in stock Android?

Well, if you are lucky to use a stock Android phone, unfortunately, there is no native way to hide apps. You can use third-party launchers that offer the functionality to hide apps. This does not just apply to stock Android phones, but if you want to know how to hide apps in Redmi, Oppo, or any other device. As you can use any launcher, you can use the launcher’s functionality to hide or lock apps.

One of my favorite launchers is the Nova launcher which is lightweight and offers a ton of functionalities. If you want to know, how to hide apps in Nova launcher, it is simple.

After you start using Nova launcher, open ‘Nova Settings’. Tap on ‘App drawer’, and scroll down to find ‘Hide apps’. Here, choose the apps that you want to hide or unhide.

If you want to access the hidden apps, just search for the apps in the app drawer.

Now, you already know how to hide an app on your Android phone, and also how to find hidden apps on Android. Most people also want to know, how to hide a call recorder app in an Android phone! You can also hide the call recorded app exactly the same way, as long as you know, how to retrieve the recordings, in case you need them. 

What will happen with the notifications by the hidden apps?

Even if you now know, how to hide apps on Android without disabling them, one thing here is, depending upon the software, you might not get the notifications that are sent by those apps. So, you need to open the apps manually to see the notifications. This is great, as most people prefer privacy over notifications that nudge every now and then.

So, that was all about how to hide private apps on Android, and also how to unhide apps on Android. Do you have any questions? Feel free to comment on the same below.