How to Hide Apps on Android for Bolstered Privacy

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Last Updated on May 2, 2019 by Husain Parvez

Are you looking for a way to learn how to hide apps on Android and make your phone more personal than ever? Here’s more just one way by which you can keep the prying eyes off your mobile phone for good.

Back in the day when the idea of wireless communication was envisioned, who could’ve possibly imagined that mobile phones would become so much more than just a means to connect to one another. The way the smartphone industry has rapidly developed in the past decade is an ode to how much users are engaging with their mobile phones. From catching up with old friends through social media, to speaking to your loved online through video calls, mobile phones help you do it all.

However, the more personal your smartphone has become, it has also made way for several privacy concerns as well. The idea of handing over your mobile phone to someone to make a call or send a text can be uncomfortable for many. Since you don’t appreciate having your personal space intruded and others snoop around by looking at the stuff that’s on your phone, understanding how to hide apps on Android can be a useful trick to have up your sleeve.

How to Hide Apps on Android

Since there is more than one way you can cloak the apps you don’t want prying eyes to look at, we’ve detailed all of them down below for you to try out and choose the one that suits you best.

Method 1: Switch User Profile

Since Android devices such as tablets are meant to be used by multiple people around the household, Google added a nifty feature back with the Android 5.0 Lollipop. The User Profile feature of Android allows you to set up a single device with multiple Google account and create an all-new space for each of the users which is independent of each other. The feature is included in stock Android by default and also a part of Android OEM brands such as Xiaomi under different names such as Second Space.

From the home screen of your Android device, head over to the Settings
Scroll down to find the Users & accounts tab and open it.
Press the button that reads “Add user” and press OK to confirm your action.
You will be able to add a new user with all usage rights, or create a Restricted profile which is best suited for guest users and parental control.
Press the Set Up Now button and log in using your secondary Google account to create a second User Profile.

Once you have created a second User Profile, you will be able to switch to it by swiping down and tapping on the profile icon on the top-right corner of the screen. All the third-party apps that you have installed on your phone will be hidden from view when you switch the User Profile, thus effectively hiding them from plain sight.

Method 2: Use a Third-Party Launcher

Learning how to hide apps on Android may not be an ability that may be given to most users by default, but there is a way to get it right from the Google Play Store. Thanks to a bunch of third-party launchers (where most of them are available for free), you can get the option to prevent apps from appearing in the apps list on your Android device and hide them effectively. We’ve chosen the Apex Launcher to demonstrate this particular feature, but there are others such as Nova Launcher which you can try out.

Download and install the Apex Launcher app from the Google Play Store on your Android device (Download Link).
Once you have installed the app, launch it and set things up to get started and make sure to press the Set As Default
Open the Apex Settings and scroll down to find the Hidden Apps tab from the list.
You will be able to see a list of all the apps installed on your phone, with checkboxes right next to each of them.
Check the empty box right next to the app icon to add it to the Hidden Apps list.

The apps that you choose here will be hidden from view when using the device with the Apex Launcher installed. To make the app visible again, you can head back to the Hide Apps menu screen and choose to Unhide the apps the same way.

Method 3: Use and App Lock

If you do not wish to do away with the app icon but still want to keep others from accessing it, the best option is using an App Lock. By learning how to hide apps on Android using a service such as AppLock by DoMobile Lab, you can easily keep your privacy intact and still let the app icon sit on the homescreen without the worry of anyone snooping around.

Download and install the AppLock by DoMobile on your Android device (Download Link).
Open the app and set up a default pattern which you may have to use later to access the AppLock app.
Scroll down to find the app that you want to place the lock on and tap the lock icon right next to it.
You will have to grant the AppLock app Usage Access to begin.

Now when somebody tries to access the app that you have locked, they will not be able to do so without entering the passcode first. You can head back to the AppLock and choose to turn off the lock protection whenever you wish to.

Final Words

Privacy has always been the forefront of concerns when it comes to mobile phone usage across the world. Since our apps have become an intertwined part of our social and personal lives, securing the access to these apps is crucial as well. With the help of the methods on how to hide apps on Android that have been mentioned above, you can keep others from snooping around on your phone and maintain total and complete confidentiality.

Were you able to keep those secret apps out of plain sight by learning how to hide them using the methods we’ve mentioned above? Do you have any other great trick that can be used to cloak apps that are installed on Android? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below, and if you’ve got any questions on how to hide apps on Android, just ask away!

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Husain Parvez

Editor at Whytheluckystiff

Sharing a love-hate relationship with Biotechnology in Uni, Husain moved on to his true calling of becoming a tech geek. While briefly being persuaded by the Apple clan, he made it back to Team Android, and has been a loyal comrade since, with a keen interest in IoT, Entertainment Tech, and Gaming.

How to Hide Apps on Android for Bolstered Privacy