Let’s be honest. We all have some apps that we don’t want others to discover or apps that we want to keep away from our children. Fortunately, we can hide these apps on our Samsung phones or tablets to prevent others from discovering them.
Hiding apps on your Samsung phone can be a smart way to maintain your privacy. Whether it’s personal photos, financial apps, or just something you prefer to keep to yourself, this guide will show you how to hide apps on your Samsung device, keeping them discreetly tucked away from prying eyes.
Samsung offers two completely different ways to hide your private apps. Let’s explore both of them.
Remove the icons from the home and app screens on your Samsung device. This is an easy yet not-so-secure way to hide apps. Follow the steps below.
Note: Although the apps will be hidden from the home screen and the apps screen, it’s important to note that anyone with access to the unlocked phone can easily unhide the apps without additional authentication.
Since the apps are hidden from the home screen and the apps screen, you need to open them using Google Assistant or Bixby to be able to start using them.
Simply activate Google Assistant or Bixby and say, “Open AppName.” For example, if I want to open the Brave app, I would activate Google Assistant or Bixby and say, “Open Brave” or “Open the Brave app.”
You can also open the hidden apps from the system Settings. Here’s how.
If you no longer want to keep the apps hidden, you can unhide the apps by following the steps below.
A more secure approach to hiding apps on your Samsung phone or tablet is using the Secure Folder. The Secure Folder creates a clone of an app that can only be accessed by you (after going through an additional layer of authentication). Follow the steps below.
A clone of the selected apps will be created in the Secure Folder. It’s important to note that the original apps and the clones are independent of each other. So, even if you delete the original apps, the clones within the Secure Folder will remain.
Note: Secure Folder might not be available on certain Galaxy F/M series phones and Galaxy A series tablets.
Opening hidden apps using the Secure Folder is easy. Follow the steps below.
If you want to remove or uninstall an app from the Secure Folder, follow the steps below.:
The app will be removed from the Secure Folder but remain on your device’s home and app screens.
No, hiding apps does not make them slow. A hidden app will give you the same performance as a normal app would.
No, hidden apps cannot send notifications. You have to open the app to see what’s happening explicitly.
Yes, most system apps can be hidden on your Samsung device but not all are available to hide.
Yes, apps in the Secure Folder will consume additional storage space on your device. The Secure Folder creates a separate, encrypted space for these apps, which requires storage space.
No, there is currently no built-in feature on Samsung devices to hide apps from specific individuals. The hidden apps will be hidden from everyone who uses the device.
Yes, there are third-party apps available on the Google Play Store that can help you hide apps on your Samsung device. However, to ensure safety and privacy, make sure to use only trusted apps.
While hiding apps is quite easy on a Samsung phone or tablet, we do think that Samsung should allow users to authenticate the “hide apps from the home screen and apps screen” feature. This will enable users to have just one instance of the app instead of two (if they use the Secure Folder).
Nevertheless, we hope that this guide has helped you hide your private apps on your Samsung device. If you are stuck somewhere or facing any issues, let us know in the comments section below.
