How to find hidden apps on a phone

Hiding an app on your phone has some interesting benefits. You can keep sensitive apps away from prying eyes, declutter your phone more efficiently, and prevent these apps from becoming a daily distraction that hurts your productivity. But while this iPhone and Android feature can be useful in many situations, it can also be a headache in some cases. This is especially true if you’re a parent who wants to make sure your kids only use age-appropriate apps on their devices. If you suspect that malicious apps have been installed on your phone without your permission, the ability to hide them will also be a major inconvenience for you.

The good news is that it’s actually quick and easy to find a phone’s hidden apps. There are two effective ways to do this: using either the App Store or your device settings. We will guide you through the exact steps to locate hidden apps on your device with both methods.

One way to find hidden apps on a phone is to check the Play Store (on Android) or the App Store (on iPhone). Even if an app is hidden from the app drawer/home screen, it will still appear on those platforms unless the app is sideloaded. To view the list of apps installed on your Android phone, follow these steps:

1. In the Play Store, tap your profile picture in the upper right corner.
2. Select Manage apps and devices.
3. Go to the Manage tab.
4. Make sure “This device” is set at the top.

Here’s what you need to do on your iPhone:

1. In the App Store, tap your profile photo at the top right of the screen.
2. Tap Apps & Purchase History.
3. Choose your apps.

From here, you can now scroll through the list of apps and compare it with what you see in the app drawer, to see which apps have been hidden. But keep in mind that on the App Store, only apps with the Open button are currently installed on the phone. Those that only have the download button have already been uninstalled.

Another thing to watch out for is disguised apps. For example, there is a calculator app that doubles as a vault to hide apps on the device. Some app caches may also look like a phone dialer or a clock. That said, if you spot an unknown app icon in the apps list, it’s best to open its details page to see what it actually is.

Once you find the hidden apps, you can launch them freely from the Play Store on Android. On iPhones, however, you will still need the Face ID or passcode before you can open the hidden app.

Besides the official app stores, an easy way to find a phone’s hidden apps is to browse the apps list in Settings. It will show you all the apps currently installed on the device, even those that were intentionally deleted.

However, access to the list of applications may vary depending on the manufacturer of your Android. On Google Pixel and Motorola devices, you first need to launch Settings, open apps, and tap See all (number) apps at the top of the page. On Samsung, simply go to Apps in Settings, then tap the filter icon and select “Installed by you”. This will only show the apps you have installed. If you can’t find these options on your Android phone, try typing “apps”, “all apps” or “manage apps” in the search bar.

Once you have your list of installed apps, start comparing it to the app drawer. Unfortunately, this is the only way to find hidden apps on the phone, as there is no label that immediately tells you if an app has been hidden from the home screen or app drawer. But on the bright side, when you find the app you are interested in, you can easily open it directly from Settings.

Meanwhile, on iOS, your hidden apps won’t be immediately visible on the Apps page. Instead, they are tucked away in a hidden apps menu. These apps are also located in the Hidden Apps folder at the bottom of the App Library. However, you will still need Face ID or a password to access these apps.