How to Unhide Apps on iPhone
Find a missing iPhone app and put it back on your Home Screen, whether it sits in the App Library, on a hidden page, behind a Screen Time restriction, or in the Hidden folder behind Face ID.
You will end up with your missing app back on the Home Screen, whether it was removed from a page, sits on a hidden page, was switched off by Screen Time, or was moved into the Hidden folder behind Face ID.
None of these delete the app or its data. The hide feature Apple added in iOS 18 goes furthest, because it pulls an app out of the Home Screen, the App Library, and search all at once, so the steps start with the quick checks and end with it. We checked these steps against Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and Apple's missing-apps article in September 2026.
Search for the app with Spotlight
Swipe down from the middle of any Home Screen page, not from the top edge, which opens Notification Center instead. This opens Spotlight search. Type the name of the app in the search field. If the app is installed, it will show up in the results even if it has been removed from your Home Screen. Tap it to open it right away. To put it back on your Home Screen for good, find it in the App Library and drag it onto a page, as step 2 shows. Apps in the Hidden folder (step 5) and apps Screen Time has switched off (step 4) do not appear in Spotlight search at all. If you cannot find an app this way, go to step 2.
Good to know: In iOS 16 and later, you can also tap the Search button at the bottom of the Home Screen instead of swiping down, as Apple's missing-apps article notes.
Check the App Library
Swipe left past all of your Home Screen pages until you reach the very last screen. That is the App Library. It organizes every installed app into automatic categories like Social, Entertainment, and Utilities. If you cannot spot the app in the category folders, tap the search bar at the top of the App Library and type the name. Every installed app shows up here, even ones you have removed from the Home Screen, unless it sits in the Hidden folder or Screen Time has switched it off. To add the app back, touch and hold its icon in the App Library and, still holding, swipe left and drop it on the Home Screen page you want, which is Apple's method. If the app is in neither the App Library nor Spotlight, check Screen Time (step 4) and the Hidden folder (step 5). If it is in none of those, it is no longer installed, so download it again from the App Store.
Unhide a hidden Home Screen page
Starting with iOS 14, you can hide entire Home Screen pages. If you accidentally toggled one off, every app on that page disappears from view. The apps are still installed in the App Library, just not visible on your Home Screen. Touch and hold an empty area on your Home Screen, tap Edit, then tap Edit Pages. You can also tap the row of dots near the bottom of the screen. You will see thumbnail previews of all your Home Screen pages. Hidden pages have an unchecked circle below them. Tap the circle under any page you want to bring back. A checkmark appears and the page becomes visible again. Tap Done in the upper right corner. All the apps on that page come back exactly where they were. Nothing is deleted or rearranged.
Restore apps hidden by Screen Time
Screen Time can hide built-in Apple apps entirely. If Safari, Camera, FaceTime, or another Apple app has disappeared from your Home Screen, App Library, and search results, Screen Time is the first thing to check. If the app's own toggle in the list below is already on, Screen Time is not what hid it. Many of Apple's own apps can be deleted, so search the App Store for the app and download it again, which is what Apple's missing-apps page advises. Open Settings and tap Screen Time. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If the toggle at the top is turned off, restrictions are not active and this step does not apply. If it is turned on, tap Other Features (called Allowed Apps & Features before iOS 27). You will see a list of built-in apps with toggles next to each one. Any app that is toggled off is completely hidden. Toggle it back on and the app reappears. If Screen Time is protected by a passcode, you will need to enter it before making changes. If a parent set the restriction, you will need their Screen Time passcode.
Heads up: Turning off the main Content & Privacy Restrictions toggle will also restore all hidden apps, but it removes every other restriction too. If you only want to bring back specific apps, toggle them on individually in the Other Features list (Allowed Apps & Features before iOS 27).
Unhide an app from the Hidden folder
Since iOS 18, iPhone lets you hide an app behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Hidden apps are removed from the Home Screen, the App Library, and even Spotlight search. They are stored in a Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. Swipe left past all Home Screen pages to reach the App Library. Scroll to the very bottom and tap the Hidden folder. Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Touch and hold the app you want to unhide and tap "Don't Require Face ID" (or "Don't Require Touch ID" or "Don't Require Passcode," depending on your device). The app appears near the top of the App Library. To also put it back on your Home Screen, touch and hold it and swipe left onto a Home Screen page, as in step 2. You can also manage hidden apps through Settings. Go to Settings, tap Apps, then tap Hidden Apps. Authenticate to see the full list. Hiding an app only hides it on that device. The setting does not sync through iCloud, so an app you hid on your iPhone is still sitting in plain sight on your iPad.
Good to know: Only apps downloaded from the App Store can be hidden with this feature. Built-in apps like Messages, Phone, and Safari can be locked so they need Face ID to open, but never fully hidden. Apple's guide for iOS 18 and iOS 26 also lists built-in apps that cannot even be locked, including Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts, and Settings. Its iOS 27 page no longer carries that list.
Unhide purchased apps in the App Store
Hiding a purchase in the App Store does not remove the app from your phone or affect how it works. It only hides the app from your list of purchases in the App Store, which is useful if you share purchases through Family Sharing. It still appears in your complete purchase history in Settings. Open the App Store and tap your photo or initials in the upper right corner. Tap your name on the page that appears, and sign in to your Apple Account if asked. Then tap Hidden Purchases. Find the app you want to unhide and tap Unhide. The app reappears in your list of purchases in the App Store. If you previously deleted the app and want to reinstall it, you still need to search for it in the App Store and download it again. Unhiding a purchase does not reinstall the app, but Apple says you do not have to buy it again.
If new apps you download keep skipping the Home Screen, open Settings, tap Home Screen & App Library, and choose Add to Home Screen, which Apple's Home Screen article names as the setting that decides where new apps go. Apple's support page on finding missing apps covers a few additional edge cases if your app is still not showing up after trying everything above. If you are sorting out other iPhone settings while you are at it, our guide on how to turn off Find My iPhone walks through disabling Find My and removing Activation Lock.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
An app leaves the Home Screen without being deleted in five ways. Someone tapped Remove from Home Screen, a whole page was hidden, Screen Time switched off a built-in app, the app went into the Hidden folder, or new downloads are set to go to the App Library only (Settings, then Home Screen & App Library). When you touch and hold an app and tap "Remove from Home Screen," the app stays installed but only appears in the App Library. In all of these cases the app is still on your phone and your data is intact. If none of them turns it up, the app is no longer installed, so download it again from the App Store.
No. Removing an app from the Home Screen only removes its icon from that page. The app remains fully installed in the App Library with all of its data. To actually delete an app and free up storage, you need to choose "Delete App" instead of "Remove from Home Screen" in the menu that opens when you touch and hold the icon.
If someone used the Hidden folder, you will see it at the bottom of the App Library, though opening it needs Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode. Hiding is not as complete as it looks. Apple's guide for iOS 18 and iOS 26 notes that a hidden app's name still shows up in Screen Time, in Battery Usage By App in Settings, and in your App Store purchase history, so check those three places. Its iOS 27 page no longer carries that note. For apps switched off through Screen Time restrictions, go to Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions, and read the Other Features list (Allowed Apps & Features before iOS 27).
Removing an app from the Home Screen keeps it visible in the App Library and Spotlight search. Hiding an app with the "Hide and Require Face ID" option goes much further. It removes the app from the Home Screen, the App Library's main view, and Spotlight search, and because a hidden app is also locked, Apple keeps its information out of notification previews. The app is only accessible through the Hidden folder, which requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to open.
Touch and hold app icons only when you mean to change the Home Screen. If you hit "Remove from Home Screen" by mistake, the app moves to the App Library, and you can drag it back as step 2 shows. If a whole page is missing, tap the page dots in edit mode and look for an unchecked page (step 3).
Only apps you downloaded from the App Store can be hidden. The apps that ship with iPhone cannot be, and neither can whichever app you have set as your default web browser, or an alternative app marketplace if you are in the EU. There are age rules too. In a Family Sharing group, children under 13 cannot lock or hide apps at all, and anyone aged 13 to 17 can, but a parent or guardian still sees that the app was downloaded and how much it is used. Those age thresholds vary by country.
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