How do you find hidden apps on iPhone and Android?

This guide is for your own phone, or a child’s phone that you manage. It shows where iPhone and Android put apps that someone hid, and where a vault app that looks like a calculator still gives its name away. We checked each step against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 27, Google’s Android Help and Samsung’s support pages on 2026-10-09.

On iPhone: the two places Apple lists hidden apps

Apple’s Hide and Require Face ID moves an app off the Home Screen, out of search and into a locked folder. Apple says only apps from the App Store can be hidden. Built-in apps cannot.

The Hidden folder in App Library:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Swipe left past all your Home Screen pages to reach App Library.
3. Tap the Hidden folder at the bottom.
4. Unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode.

The Hidden Apps list in Settings: open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Hidden Apps. Apple calls this the place “to view a list of your hidden apps”.

Both need the iPhone’s own Face ID, Touch ID or passcode. Apple also says hiding happens per device. It does not sync with iCloud, so an app hidden on an iPad can be in plain view on the iPhone.

On iPhone: apps that look like something else

Some vault apps stay on the Home Screen with an icon that looks like a calculator, a clock or a notes app. iOS shows one name under each app, whatever icon it uses, and that name comes from the developer. So:

1. Open Settings and tap Apps to see every installed app by name.
2. Compare the list with what the Home Screen shows. Two calculator apps, or a calculator with an odd name, is the usual sign.
3. Search the name in the App Store. Calculator vaults often say what they are in the store name, for example “Calculator Lock - Secure Vault”.

The App Store also keeps a list. Tap your photo, then Apps & Purchase History, then Your Apps. Apple says a hidden purchase leaves that list but stays in the complete purchase history in Settings. See how to hide app purchases for both sides of that.

For parents: what Family Sharing shows

Apple’s guide says children under 13 in a Family Sharing group cannot lock or hide apps. A teen aged 13 to 17 can. But Apple adds that a parent or guardian in the family group can see that the app was downloaded and how much it is used, and can restrict it with Screen Time. These ages vary by country. Screen Time shows the most used apps in Settings, Screen Time, Daily Average.

If your child found something on your phone rather than the other way round, read my kid found private photos on my phone.

On Android: private space

On Android 15 and later, private space is a locked area at the bottom of All Apps. Google says that when the space is locked, its apps are hidden in All Apps and other parts of the system. Two details help you find one:

• The container. Scroll to the bottom of All Apps and look for Private space. Its owner can turn on Hide private space when it’s locked, which removes the container while it is locked.
• Search. Google says a search can show “Private space: Tap to set up or open” even on a phone with no private space, “so other users won’t know” if one exists. So that result proves nothing on its own.

Private space also appears in Settings, Security & privacy, under Privacy. Opening it needs its own lock or the screen lock. Our private space guide covers the rest.

On Android: Samsung’s hidden apps

Samsung phones can hide icons without a private space. Touch and hold an empty spot on a Home screen, tap Settings, then Hide apps on Home and Apps screens. Hidden apps show at the top, under Hidden apps. Samsung says this removes the icon but not the app. Secure Folder is a separate locked space with its own icon unless its owner hid it. See Samsung Secure Folder.

On Android: the Play Store list

Open the Play Store, tap the profile icon, then Manage apps & device and Manage. This lists installed apps by their store names. To see apps installed before on the same Google account, tap This device, then Not installed.

What these checks cannot tell you

Finding an app is not opening it. A vault app opens with its own code, and a good one shows nothing about its contents from outside. If you are checking your own phone because you think someone went through it, start with signs someone went through your phone.

Where York Vault shows up

York Vault does not hide from these lists. Its name is in Settings, App Library and the store under every icon. On iPhone the Home Screen name is “YV”, and on Android each neutral icon has its own label. Its calculator front is a working calculator, not a fake. For a phone where the app itself should not be seen, pair it with Apple’s Hidden folder or Android’s private space. See how to hide apps on iPhone and on Android.