When iOS 14 came out, you could choose to hide apps on your iPhone. So, if you don’t use some of the apps on your iPhone very often, you can take them off the Home Screen without deleting them. Those apps will go to the App Library instead of your Home Screen.
You might forget about those apps that are hidden, making it hard to get rid of them from your iPhone. Don’t worry, don’t let those apps take up too much space on your iPhone. We’ll show you how to delete hidden apps from your iPhone in the best way possible.
1. DELETE HIDDEN IPHONE APPS USING APP LIBRARY
Apple made the App Library so that you could organise the apps on your iPhone’s Home Screen and see a list of all the apps you have installed. When you take an app off the home screen, it goes straight to the App Library. So here’s how to use App Library on your iPhone to delete a hidden app.
Step 1: Swipe left on your iPhone Home Screen till you reach the App Library.
Step 2: Tap the Search Bar in the App Library and type the name of the app that you wish to delete.
Step 3: After the app icon appears, long-press on it to reveal options.
Step 4: Tap on Remove App.
Step 5: Tap on Delete to confirm your choice.
2. DELETE HIDDEN IPHONE APPS USING SPOTLIGHT SEARCH
Spotlight Search is a quick tool that lets you find anything on your iPhone or on the web. You can use Spotlight Search to find and delete a hidden app on your iPhone.
Step 1: Swipe down on your iPhone Home Screen or tap the Search icon at the bottom.
Step 2: Type the name of the hidden app in the Spotlight Search Bar on top.
Step 3: After the app icon appears, long-press on it to reveal options.
Step 4: Tap on Delete App.
Step 5: Tap on Delete to confirm your choice.
Bonus Tip – Remove Spotlight Search Icon From Home Screen on iPhone
With iOS 16, you can use the Spotlight Search icon from your Home Screen to remove apps. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Home Screen.
Step 3: Tap the toggle next to ‘Show on Home Screen’ under Search to disable the feature.
3. DELETE HIDDEN IPHONE APPS FROM APP STORE
The App Store on your iPhone is a good place to find all the apps you’ve downloaded and get rid of the ones you don’t want. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Open the App Store on your iPhone.
Step 2: Tap the profile icon in the top-right corner.
Step 3: Scroll down and look the app name under Updated Recently and Available Updates.
Step 4: If the app is available under the two lists, swipe left on its name.
Step 5: Tap on Delete to remove the app.
4. DELETE HIDDEN IPHONE APPS FROM INTERNAL STORAGE ON IPHONE
If you can’t find the hidden app in the App Store’s “Recently Updated” list, you can delete it from your iPhone’s internal storage. This is how.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and tap on General.
Step 3: Tap on iPhone Storage.
You might have to wait until all the app storage details appear on the screen.
Step 4: Scroll down and tap on the app you want to delete.
Step 5: Tap on Delete App.
Step 6: Tap on Delete App at the bottom to confirm your choice.
You can use the same steps to get rid of an app on your iPhone that takes up a lot of space. You can also read our post on how to free up space on your iPhone’s iCloud storage.
HIDE AND SEEK AND DELETE
Hidden apps on your iPhone can sometimes take up a lot of space. But you can hide apps that are too distracting to leave on the Home Screen. You can create shortcuts to websites on your Home Screen with apps like Safari, so you don’t have to open the app every time. You can also add websites to the Home Screen of your iPhone as apps. Want to find out? Check out our guide to find out why you should add sites to your iPhone’s Home Screen using Safari.