To ensure your Android device’s safety and security, you should always utilize a screen lock in conjunction with some type of biometric authentication to prevent unauthorized access. However, there are times when you may wish to beef up security and conceal an installed program from inquisitive eyes.
Perhaps you’d like to conceal banking apps on your phone as an added layer of security in case someone manages to bypass the screen lock. Or you want to conceal from your parents the games you spend hours playing on your phone.
In any event, here’s how you can effortlessly hide installed apps on your Android device, ensuring that no one else has access to them.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiding Android App
On an Android device, hiding an app prevents it from appearing in the app drawer. In some circumstances, you’ll need to unlock another hidden app drawer to access the hidden apps.
Some phones just allow you to conceal apps and do not allow you to re-access them, while others allow you to lock hidden apps to prevent them from being accessed easily.
If your Android device was pre-installed with a large amount of bloatware that cannot be disabled, you can hide it from your app drawer to help keep it clean. Additionally, you can conceal banking apps, password managers, and other applications that contain critical information for added security.
Certain Android phones allow you to hide installed apps natively. If your phone lacks this capability, you can use a third-party launcher such as Nova or Microsoft Launcher. If you’re not sure which Android launcher to try, we’ve compiled a list of the best minimalist Android launchers.
Apart from hiding apps, these third-party launchers add a slew of new functionality and customization choices, such as the ability to use third-party icon packs, maximize the number of apps on your home screen, and more.
How to Hide Apps on Samsung Phones
Samsung phones include the ability to hide installed apps from the app drawer on all models. Additionally, the procedure is quite basic.
- Long press on an empty place on your Samsung device’s home screen. From the pop-up menu at the bottom, select Settings.
- When you see the Hide applications option, scroll down and tap it. Now, pick the apps you wish to hide.
- When you’re finished selecting all of the apps you wish to hide, tap Done.
That is all. You’ve successfully hidden all of the apps you selected. One advantage of Samsung’s design is that hidden apps will not appear in search results in the app drawer. They will, however, appear in the search results of other third-party universal search apps and in the Apps section of Settings > Apps.
Samsung does not have a hidden app drawer, which implies that accessing hidden apps will be a pain. You can always work around this issue by using Google search or another universal search tool.
How to Use Nova Launcher to Hide Apps on Android
If your Android device’s default launcher does not have the option to conceal installed apps, you’ll need to utilize a third-party launcher such as Nova. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the free Nova Launcher from Google Play, make it your Android device’s default launcher. Then follow the procedures below to conceal any installed application.
- Utilize a two-finger swipe-up gesture on the home screen to access the Nova Launcher settings. Alternatively, you can long-press on a blank area of the home screen and then select Settings.
- Navigate to the App drawer menu from the Nova Settings menu. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find the Hide apps option under Apps. It should be tapped.
- This will provide a list of all the apps installed on your Android device. Select the apps from the app drawer that you want to hide. Simply return to the previous page to save the changes.
Now, the app drawer will be cleared of all the apps you chose. Regrettably, this strategy has a number of drawbacks. If you use a universal search app or the built-in app search in Nova, the hidden app will appear in the search results.
Additionally, you can locate the hidden app’s listing in your Android device’s Settings > Apps.
How to Use Microsoft Launcher to Hide Apps on Android
If you want to utilize Microsoft Launcher, you can hide apps on your Android device by following the steps below. None of the hidden apps will appear in the app drawer search in Microsoft Launcher.
- Press and hold on an empty region of your home screen for an extended period of time. Then, from the menu that appears, tap on Launcher Settings.
- Navigate to the Home screen > Hidden Apps.
- Select Hide apps and then select the apps you wish to hide. Following that, tap on Done in the top-right corner.
Summary
You should always hide apps that contain critical and sensitive data if you wish to prevent unwanted access. While not infallible, the implementation is sufficient to prevent someone without the necessary technical know-how from quickly accessing it.
If your Android smartphone does not natively support app hiding, you can use one of the alternate techniques listed above.
