You Can Hide or Lock Your Apps Now

Apple has always said how important privacy is for the company, but iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 brought it to another level. And that’s because you can now lock or hide any app you want.

With iOS 17, only a handful of apps can be locked behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. The app’s developer must enable this feature for it to work. However, with iOS 18, you can lock any app on your iPhone.

The best part is that with Stolen Device Protection, you can ensure these apps can only be unlocked with Face ID or Touch ID. That way, even if the person snooping through your iPhone knows your passcode, they won’t be able to unlock it without your face or fingerprint.

Further, if you don’t want people to even know you have certain apps installed on your iPhone, you can now hide them as well. When you hide them, these apps will disappear from your iPhone’s Home Screen and App Library. Additionally, you won’t be able to find them with the iPhone’s Search feature or see their notifications in the Notification Center.

They’ll be stored in a special Hidden folder in your App Library that won’t show which or how many apps you have stored there. The only way to access them is with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode — and like locking apps, this follows the Stolen Device Protection rules to determine whether your passcode can be used.