To lock an app on iPhone, touch and hold its icon, then tap Require Face ID. To hide it too, tap Hide and Require Face ID. A locked app opens only with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. A hidden app moves to a locked Hidden folder. Both protect you when you hand your phone to someone. Neither protects you from a person who knows your passcode.
Since iOS 18, you can lock or hide an app without a separate app. Apple describes the feature for the moment when you show someone something on your iPhone and want "peace of mind that they can't get into certain apps". It is quick and free, and for that moment it works well. But many people expect more from a lock than it gives. The passcode opens every locked app, a list of hidden apps is in Settings, and the lock does not encrypt the app's data with a key of its own. So what does it hide, and when do you need something stronger?
This guide gives the steps first. It then explains what a lock and a hidden app hide, what they do not hide, and how a vault app with its own key is different.
Lock or hide an app from its icon
- On the Home Screen, touch and hold the app until the Quick Actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID, or Passcode).
- To lock the app only, tap Require Face ID again.
- To lock and hide it, tap Hide and Require Face ID, confirm with Face ID, then tap Hide App.
A hidden app moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. To open it, swipe left past your last Home Screen page, tap Hidden, then confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. To stop the lock, touch and hold the icon and tap Don't Require Face ID.
There are three limits. You can hide only apps that you downloaded from the App Store, not the apps that come with iPhone. The lock and the hidden state apply on that iPhone only and do not sync through iCloud. And in Family Sharing, children under 13 cannot lock or hide apps.
A lock hides an app's content from the rest of your iPhone
A locked app asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode each time it opens, and it locks again when you leave it. Apple says that the information inside a locked app does not appear in other places on your iPhone, for example in:
- notification previews
- search and Siri suggestions
- your call history
- CarPlay
This is the useful part. A message preview or a search result can show private content as easily as the app itself. With the lock on, a person who scrolls through your iPhone does not see it.
A hidden app is out of sight, but not secret
Hiding removes the app from the Home Screen, from the App Library and from search results. It does not remove all signs of the app:
- The App Library shows a Hidden folder, which tells anyone who looks that you have hidden apps.
- The Settings app lists your hidden apps, under Apps, then Hidden Apps.
- The app stays in your App Store purchase history.
In Family Sharing, a parent or guardian can still see that a teenager downloaded a hidden app, and how much time they use it.
Your passcode opens every locked and hidden app
A locked app uses your device passcode as its fallback. So does the Hidden folder. This is the most important limit of the feature. A partner, a family member or anyone else who knows your passcode can open every app that you locked.
The lock also does not add encryption. Your iPhone already encrypts its storage, and the lock does not give an app's data a key of its own. It decides who can open the app on this iPhone, and nothing more.
| Protection | Vault app | Hidden app | Locked app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content hidden from notifications and search | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Icon off the Home Screen | You chooseYou can hide a vault app too | Yes | No |
| Your passcode cannot open it | YesWith its own key | No | No |
| Data encrypted with its own key | YesIn a good vault app | No | No |
For the most private things, use a key that your passcode does not open
If the person you worry about knows your passcode, or can make you unlock your phone, a lock on an app is not enough. You need a separate key. A good vault app encrypts each file with a key that only you can make, so the passcode does not help.
The two can work together. DotSafe is an App Store app, so you can lock it, or hide it, with the same Quick Actions menu. The lock keeps it out of sight. The pattern keeps its content encrypted, even from someone who has your passcode. And because every pattern opens a vault, a person who makes you open DotSafe sees only the vault that you choose to open. How plausible deniability works explains why.
Questions
Can you lock apps on iPhone?
Yes, on iOS 18 and later. Touch and hold the app icon, tap Require Face ID, then tap Require Face ID again. The app then opens only with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Where do hidden apps go on iPhone?
To the Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. Swipe left past your last Home Screen page, tap Hidden, then confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Can someone see my hidden apps?
Anyone who knows your passcode can open the Hidden folder. The list of hidden apps is also in Settings, under Apps, then Hidden Apps.
Can I hide the Photos app?
No. You can lock Photos, but you can hide only apps that you downloaded from the App Store. To keep photos from a person who knows your passcode, use a vault app with its own key.
Sources
We checked this page on 8 November 2026.
