Apple's iOS and iPadOS let users hide apps from the Home screen and lock them behind Face ID or Touch ID, offering a built-in way to keep certain apps out of view or protected from prying eyes. This is useful for decluttering a device, avoiding distraction from apps like social media, or preventing others—including strangers borrowing a phone in an "emergency"—from accessing sensitive apps such as banking or payment tools.

To lock an app, users long-press its icon and choose "Require Face ID," which demands authentication to open it and hides its content from notifications, Spotlight and CarPlay; choosing "Hide and Require Face ID" additionally removes it from the Home screen and search results, placing it in a dedicated "Hidden" folder in the App Library. This feature, introduced with iOS 18, replaces the old workaround of burying apps in folders, though it only works for user-installed apps and does not sync across devices. The article also notes that hiding isn't foolproof: anyone with the device passcode can still view the Hidden folder via Settings, and hidden apps can still appear in Screen Time activity logs and Battery usage statistics.