Want to use a downloaded app but can’t find it? In this tutorial, we go over all the ways to find, open, and unhide hidden apps on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Check the Hidden folder
iOS 18 offers a built-in way to hide apps from prying eyes, making them invisible on the Home Screen, Spotlight, App Library, and several other places.
If you used this method to hide apps, go to App Library, and you will see a Hidden section at the bottom. Tap it and then authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID to see your hidden apps and open the one you need. You can also touch and hold the app icon in the Hidden section and select Don’t Require Face ID to unhide it.
In case you have not used iOS 18’s method to hide an app but still can’t find it, the following tips will help you locate and use it.
Use Spotlight Search
All installed apps show up in Spotlight Search, provided you have not prevented them from appearing in Search or hidden them.
1) Swipe down on a Home Screen to get to Spotlight Search.
2) Type the app name and it should appear. Just tap the app icon to open it.
3) Since you can’t find this app easily, touch and hold its app icon and drag it down onto the Home Screen. Now, you know where the app is and can open it easily in the future.
Unhide Home Screens
You can hide Home Screen pages, which also hides all the apps on it. If you did that, follow the same steps to reveal the Home Screen pages, which will automatically unhide all the apps on it.
Find apps in the App Library
iPhone and iPad have an App Library, which shows every app installed on your device.
1) Swipe left on the last Home Screen to see App Library.
2) Go inside the folders to find an app. You can also tap the search bar or swipe down the App Library screen to see all apps in alphabetical order. If you like, you can move the app out of the App Library onto the Home Screen.
Unhide apps from folders
It’s possible that you accidentally hid an app inside a folder or layers of folder pages. If so, it’s simple to unhide it.
1) Swipe through your Home Screens to see app folders. App folders are always on the Home Screen and not in the App Library.
2) Tap to open a folder.
3) If you find your hidden app here, touch and hold its icon and drag it out on the Home Screen. If you don’t find it in this folder, try other folders.
Use App Store to open a hidden app
1) Touch and hold the App Store icon on iOS Home Screen and tap Search.
2) Type the app name you are looking for.
3) Tap Open to launch the app. If the app isn’t updated, it will say Update instead of Open. In either case, you know this app is on your iPhone. So, either tap Update and then tap Open when you see it. Or, follow the other methods listed here to add it to the Home Screen or open it.
Please note that this is not the same as hiding and unhiding apps from your purchase list.
Use Siri to open hidden apps
Invoke Siri and say, “Open [app name].” If the app is installed on your iPhone and not hidden, Siri should be able to open it. If Siri is not able to understand the app name correctly, you can use Type to Siri and spell out the name.
Unhide apps by resetting the Home Screen layout
If you go ahead with this method and reset the Home Screen layout, you’ll lose all app arrangements and folders. Their layout will reset and resemble a newly set up iPhone. Don’t worry, as this won’t delete apps or their data but just reset the screen and Dock layout to default.
Prevent apps from hiding on iPhone
Set your iPhone to download apps straight onto the Home Screen and not only to the App Library.
Still can’t unhide the app?
If you still cannot find the app, that means you or your parents restricted it via Screen Time behind the Screen Time passcode. But, it’s easy to revert this change.
1) Open iPhone or iPad Settings and tap Screen Time.
2) Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
3) Tap Allowed Apps & Features and make sure the toggle for the app is green.
If your parents restricted an app like YouTube based on age limit, ask them to re-allow it by going to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content > Apps > 17+ or Allow All Apps.
Unhide apps on Apple Watch
If you’ve downloaded an app that supports Apple Watch, but it isn’t showing on the watch, then it could be because you have not installed the app on your wearable. Go through these steps to fix it and show apps on Apple Watch.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2) Scroll to the bottom of the My Watch tab and tap Install next to an app under “Available Apps.” Once it completes, the app will move under “Installed On Apple Watch” and show on your watch.
There is one more thing you can do to ensure new apps are installed automatically on your watch:
1) Go inside the Watch app and tap General.
2) Turn on Automatic App Install. From now on, if you download an app on your iPhone that also works with your Apple Watch, it will automatically install on the watch, too.
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