[Android] 5 Best Ways to Hide Apps on Android With­out Disabling

When we think of hiding an app on Android, what we can think of is disabling or uninstalling it. But it has significant drawbacks, such as all your app data will be deleted, and you will have to set up the app from scratch. To avoid all that, you can hide apps on your Android phone or tablet without disabling them using other methods shown in the post.

Everyone has different reasons to hide apps. While some want to hide dating, VPN, or social media apps, others want work-related apps from kids. Whatever the reason, the methods mentioned below will let you hide apps on Android without rooting your device.

Without making you more curious, let’s check how to hide apps on Android phones, such as Samsung, OnePlus, Redmi, etc., without disabling the apps.

1. USE STOCK LAUNCHER

Phones from brands like Samsung, OnePlus, and Redmi offer a native feature to hide apps using their launcher. Here’s how to do it on them.

Hide Apps on Samsung One UI Launcher

On the home screen, long-tap a space and tap on Home screen settings. You can just scroll down and tap on Hide apps.

You can select the apps you want to hide and tap on Apply.

TIP: You can also use the Secure Folder in Samsung phones to hide the apps.

Hide Apps on Xiaomi Redmi Phones

On phones running MIUI, open the Security app on your app and go to App Lock. Add the apps that you want to hide.

Hide Apps Using OnePlus Launcher

In the OnePlus Launcher, open the app drawer. Swipe right from the left edge of the screen. You will see Hidden Space. Tap on the add icon (+) at the top and select the apps you want to hide.

2. USE THIRD-PARTY LAUNCHERS

If your phone’s native launcher doesn’t offer the ability to hide apps, you can download third-party launchers such as POCO and Evie. You can hide apps in these launchers using the hide apps option available in the launcher settings. Check our detailed post with the steps regarding launchers that let you hide apps.

3. CHANGE THE APP NAME AND ICON

An app is identified on your phone by its name and icon. It would be best if you changed its name and icon to something else using a launcher. We will tell you the steps for the popular Nova Launcher. The basic idea of the steps remains the same on all launchers.

Could you open the app drawer in the Nova Launcher? You can fast on the app that you want to hide. Select Edit from the menu.

Change the name of the app under App Label. Keep it something ordinary, such as a calculator. Then, tap on the app icon and change the icon on the next screen. Again, please keep it simple so that one would think it's a system app.

NOTE: Changing the app’s name and the icon isn’t a prime feature in Nova Launcher. You can do it in the free version too.

4. RENAME A FOLDER

Another simple way to hide apps is to add them to a folder. Then, name the folder so no one would be interested in tapping it. For instance, useless apps or bloatware.

This method will hide the app on either the app drawer or home screen based on where you added the app in a folder. While all launchers let you add apps to folders on the home screen, only a few launchers provide the feature of folders in the app drawer. And, if you don’t like the app drawer, check the best launchers without an app drawer.

TIP: You can also use the folder swipe feature to hide the apps. It is available on apps like Nova and Action Launcher.

5. USE MULTIPLE USERS FEATURE

You can use the multiple users feature if you want to hide apps without a launcher. Basically, you will have to create a new user and install the secret apps in that profile. Each profile is independent of the other, and the installed apps are available on the profile where they were installed.

To create a new user, open Settings on your phone and go to System. Tap on Multiple users. Then, tap on Add a user. The steps may differ for various devices. You can just look for users in the search available in Settings. Once the user is created, switch to it from the user icon in the quick panel.

BONUS TIPS FOR ANDROID USERS

Here are some tips that will help you in your daily life.

VIEW APP SHORTCUTS

On Android phones running Android Nougat 7.1+, long-tap on an icon on the home screen to reveal app shortcuts. You can tap on a shortcut to directly open an app feature.

View Notification History

To view the notification log on your Android phones, long-tap on a space on the home screen and tap on Widgets. Scroll down and look for Settings shortcuts. Drag it to the home screen. Then, select Notification log.

Tap the Notification log on the home screen to view the missed notifications.

BE CAREFUL

The above methods will only hide the apps from the app drawer and home screen. They won’t be hidden under the installed apps section in Settings. So if someone is snooping badly on your phone, be careful. You will have to uninstall the app to hide it from the settings.