You don't have to see every app installed on your phone if you don't want to. Samsung One UI makes it easy to hide apps from your Samsung Galaxy's home screen, app tray, and search tool, whether you want to declutter, simplify things, or keep other people from seeing some of the apps you use.
If that's news to you, it's because it's not entirely obvious that you can hide apps from your Galaxy's home screen and apps list. However, the feature has been available for almost ten years now in some form since at least Samsung TouchWiz Nature UX for Android 4.
You can hide apps on many Samsung Galaxy smartphones, whether your device is running the Samsung Experience or Samsung One UI skin. So newer models like the Galaxy S22, Galaxy A52, Galaxy M33, and Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models will work, as well as many other phones in the Galaxy S, Galaxy A, Galaxy Note, Galaxy M, Galaxy F, Galaxy J, and other Galaxy series.
To hide apps, perform one of the following actions:
- Tap the vertical ellipsis in the app drawer, then choose "Home screen settings" or just "Settings."
- Long-press the background on your home screen, then choose "Home screen settings" or just "Settings."
- Navigate to Settings –> Display –> Home screen (Android 7–10)
- Navigate to Settings –> Home Screen (Android 11–12)
From home screen (left), app drawer (middle), or Settings app (right).
From home screen (left), app drawer (middle), or Settings app (right).
In the home screen settings, tap "Hide Apps." All of the apps visible in the app drawer will appear. Select each app you want to hide. Selected apps will show up in a "Hidden apps" section at the top in One UI but not in Experience. To save your selection, choose "Done" or "Apply." You can always return to this menu later to unhide apps when needed.
Hiding apps will not prevent other people from unhiding and opening the apps up. However, it will disable software updates and prevent the apps from running in the background. You can enable software updates again by tapping "Enable" on the app's Play Store page or going to Settings –> Apps –> [App Name] and tapping "Turn on." The app will still be hidden but will continue to receive updates.
To lock your apps behind a password, use Samsung's SecureFolder instead. If you just want to hide apps from your home screen but want them to still appear in your app drawer and search, long-press each app icon on the home screen, then choose "Remove" or "Remove from Home." You can also disable pre-installed apps.
Cover photo and screenshots by Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks
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