how to unhide apps on iphone Ever install an app on your iPhone: Instagram, Safari, even Notes, and just can’t anywhere locate it? You swipe across your Home Screen, search for it in your App Library, and even tap inside Spotlight Search… and zip. Don’t worry! Your app hasn’t disappeared. It’s simply in stealth mode. The secret? Easy to get back.
Even if it has removed itself from your Home Screen, you implemented the restrictions to disable such apps, the configuration for hiding it in the Screen Time, or lost it in some folder, this step-by-step tutorial will guide you through the steps to locate apps on iPhone. Regardless of the reason behind your missing app, we will guide you home.
From App Library revamps to App Store revamps, Settings updates, and family settings, you’ll discover all the means of finding deleted or hidden apps, so you can get work done on them immediately.
Begin at the beginning.
Apps Go Missing or Get Hid on iPhone: Why
iOS provides the user with multiple means of controlling which apps appear on the screen in App Library control, or are removed from existence altogether on privacy or restriction grounds. Apps become uninstalled for an astronomically enormous multitude of reasons:
- You removed it from the Home Screen (but did not remove it)
- You screened it out with Screen Time or parent controls
- You stashed it in a folder and out of view
- It gets dumped to clear up some room
- You’ve stashed away your App Store purchase record out of mind
- It’s locked because it’s underage or contains forbidden content
Having an idea where the app has disappeared to will make you think about how to retrieve it.
Unhide Apps from the App Library on to the Home Screen
Beginning with iOS 14, Apple added the App Library, where all your apps live. Whether or not they’re on your Home Screen. If you had previously taken an app off the Home Screen. Then chances are it’s still there in the App Library.
To get it to come back on your Home Screen, do the following:
- Step 1: Swipe all the way to the far right of your Home Screen – the App Library
- Step 2: Use the search field at the top to type in the name of the app (“Spotify” or “Calendar”)
- Step 3: When the app appears in the search results, tap and hold the icon
- Step 4: Tap Add to Home Screen
- Or, drag it directly from the App Library to your Home Screen.
This trick will have the app come back in terms of looks but will refuse to reinstall it. You are only summoning it out from its hidden App Library design.
Also Read: When Calls the Heart Season 11
Locate the Hidden Apps through Spotlight Search
You may not even know where the app has gone missing from, but if actually a download on the iPhone, iOS can locate it through Spotlight Search.
Here’s how you can:
- Step 1: Swipe down from the middle of any Home Screen to activate Spotlight Search
- Step 2: Enter the name of the app
- Step 3: Open it by tapping if you find it under “Applications”
- Step 4: And to get it to come back to the Home Screen, follow steps in the App Library to move it there
If you can’t find it here, then it’s probably uninstalled, forbidden, or buried deeper.
Re-download Apps from App Store
If you just can’t find your app and it is nowhere to be found in the App Library or Spotlight, then you probably deleted it or iOS has deleted it for you for some space rescue mission.
To reinstall, do this:
- Step 1: Open App Store
- Step 2: Tap top right profile icon
- Step 3: Tap Purchased
- Step 4: Tap My Purchases > Not on this iPhone
- Step 5: Look for the app and tap on the cloud icon to download again
This redownloads apps you’ve downloaded previously, though perhaps no longer on your device.
Show Hidden App Store Purchases
There is a feature by Apple as well, where it hides the app purchases in your purchase history. It does not remove the app, but you cannot easily get it or download it again if you are logged in from another device.
You can have the hidden purchases appear as apps like this:
- Step 1: Open the App Store
- Step 2: Tap your profile picture
- Step 3: Tap Your Name > Media & Purchases > View Account
- Step 4: Scroll down and tap Hidden Purchases
- Step 5: Find the app and tap the cloud icon to reinstall it
This is useful if you have hidden apps intentionally (personal diary apps, money apps) and need to reinstall them later.
Also Read: When Calls the Heart Season 11
Unhide Apps Hidden due to Screen Time or Content Restrictions
If you are not able to use an app and it doesn’t appear when you try to search for it, then it is due to Screen Time restrictions.
How to restore it:
- Step 1: Open Settings app
- Step 2: Tap on Screen Time
- Step 3: Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions
- Step 4: If there are restrictions, enter your Screen Time passcode
- Step 5: Tap on Allowed Apps
Let apps such as Safari, Mail, FaceTime, etc., if not permitted
- Step 6: Content Restrictions > Apps
Select Allow All Apps or a previous age rating
There are certain apps such as TikTok or Snapchat which can be restricted by age-content blocking.
Turn Off Offloading for Auto App Deletion
Apple also dumps apps to provide space for you sometimes. Offloading removes the app but not data and nothing will be lost on reinstall.
Preventing or reversing this:
- Step 1: Open Settings app
- Step 2: Tap App Store
- Step 3: Turn OffOffload Unused Apps
Restoring an offloaded app: go to your Home Screen and locate dimmed app icons. Tap to download.
If you can’t locate the icon, attempt to use the App Store hack to restore it.
Reveal Hidden Apps That Have Been Moved Inside Folders or Other Home Screens
We have all inadvertently hidden apps page by page or folder by folder. You could be swiping page after page and never even notice.
This is how you can restore them:
- Step 1: Slower swipe through all Home Screen pages
- Step 2: Swipe from one folder to another second page or bottom page of any folder
- Step 3: Drag out which app you want from a folder by hold and then drag out
- Step 4: If you’ve been hiding Home Screens entirely (new in iOS 14), long press anywhere in available space, tap dots along the bottom and go back over any hidden pages again
Not all of your checkings, and that should be able to find apps you didn’t intend to hide-but somehow misplaced
Reset Home Screen Layout to Re-Show All Apps
When you’re on the losing end with no means of finding apps anywhere, you can reset Home Screen layout to re-find all default locations.
Warning: This will re-show folder and app configurations.
Here’s how:
- Step 1: Open the Settings app
- Step 2: General > Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Step 3: Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout
- Step 4: Agree
Home screen apps pre-installed on your phone will all go back to home screens. Downloaded apps will be on subsequent screens.
Open or Find Apps Using Siri
You can have Siri open apps, even stealth mode apps.
Say something like:
- “Hey Siri, open Notes”
- “Hey Siri, open Instagram”
- “Hey Siri, where’s my Clock app?”
If you have already installed it, Siri will open it. You can proceed to the App Library or Spotlight so that you can put it on the Home Screen.
What About Default Apps Like Safari, Mail, or Messages
System apps such as Safari or Mail will seemingly disappear in accordance with a few. These can’t be uninstalled in the regular way (at least iOS 16+), but could be concealed off of the Home Screen or even restricted from opening up via Screen Time.
To reinstall them:
- Get to the App Store
- Search for the app (e.g., “Safari”)
- Tap the cloud icon to reinstall it
- Or go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy > Allowed Apps and switch them back on.
Troubleshooting: Why You Still Can’t Find the App
Below are some of the most frequent explanations of why apps disappear and how to resolve them:
- App never installed on device – Go to App Store > Purchased
- App is turned off due to age limits – Modify Screen Time content limits
- You forgot Screen Time passcode – Restore with Apple ID
- App region-restricted – Apps are rolled out in some nations alone
- App was offloaded – Tap on the grayed-out app icon or re-install via App Store
- App hidden in purchase history – Go to App Store > Account > Hidden Purchases
Bonus: How to Hide Apps Again (On Purpose)
Now that you are a master of hiding, you may have to hide apps yourself from time to time for privacy or cleaning-up.
How to do it:
To delete from Home Screen
Touch and hold on app > Touch “Remove App” > Touch “Remove from Home Screen”
To delete Home Screen pages completely
Go to edit mode (touch on blank space) > Touch dots > Deselect page
To remove purchases
App Store > Account > Purchased > Swipe left on app > Tap Hide
To restrict with Screen Time
Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy > Limit access or turn off app
iPhone Apps are Easy to Unhide If You Know What You’re Doing
If your app has gone missing from the Home Screen, removed by restrictions, or accidentally deleted from folders, then it’s not gone to join its maker. Apple gives you a great list of ways of deciding which apps to make visible, but sometimes they become hidden under so many controls that they get lost accidentally.
The following time you can’t find an app, you can retrieve it quickly through the App Library, Spotlight, App Store, Screen Time settings, or even Siri.
With all this insider information on unseen apps, you can clean up your iPhone, rediscover your favorite old ones that you had been storing out of sight, or help a friend retrieve his or hers and have your phone finetuned.
