Why Some of Apple’s Apps Have Hidden File Sizes in the App Store

Fun fact, if you go to the App Store right now and search for a first-party Apple app and you scroll down to view its information, you’ll see there’s no information about its size. No, that’s not a glitch. It’s actually made like this by design. But why does that happen? Well, the answer is pretty simple, although you might not like it entirely.

Preinstalled Apple Apps Never Show File Sizes

Apps like Weather, Books, and most other Apple apps don’t show how much storage space they use on the App Store simply because they’re native Apple apps. What does that mean?

Well, a native app is an app that was designed for a specific operating system. This means they’re created to work for specific devices, and, more often than not, they come pre-installed on those devices.

The first time you start up your iPhone, you’ll see a bunch of apps preinstalled that you might not necessarily use or need. But what does that have to do with the file size? Well, as users from Reddit have pointed out, these apps are always on your iPhone, whether you like it or not.

Why Does Apple Hide Some File Sizes in the App Store?

Since these are native apps, you’re basically only “hiding” them instead of getting rid of them entirely. This basically means that iOS already has storage saved for these apps, whether you’re going to use them or not. 

In testing, we took Apple’s Home app and installed it, then deleted it right after. You’re only adding or deleting 0.01 GB of storage. This means either it’s one of the lightest apps in existence, or you’re not completely getting rid of it.