4 Best Ways to Delete Hidden Apps from iPhone

After iOS 14 release, you can hide apps on your iPhone. If there are apps you don’t frequently use, you can remove them from the Home Screen without deleting. Those apps will go to the App Library and won’t be visible on your Home Screen.

You might forget hidden apps and find it difficult to delete them. Don’t worry, don’t let those apps take up space. We’ll show you the best ways to delete hidden apps from your iPhone.

1. Delete Hidden iPhone Apps Using App Library

Apple introduced the App Library to declutter iPhone’s Home Screen and provide a list of installed apps. When you remove an app from the home screen, it goes to the App Library. Here’s how you delete a hidden app on iPhone using App Library.

Step 1: Swipe left on 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 you wish to delete.

Step 3: After the app icon appears, long-press to reveal options.

Step 4: Tap Remove App.

Step 5: Tap Delete to confirm.

2. Delete Hidden iPhone Apps Using Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search is a tool that helps you find anything on your iPhone or the web. To delete a hidden app, you can use Spotlight Search.

Step 1: Swipe down on your iPhone Home Screen or tap the Search icon.

Step 2: Type the name of the hidden app in the Spotlight Search Bar.

Step 3: After the app icon appears, long-press to reveal options.

Step 4: Tap on Delete App.

Step 5: Tap Delete to confirm your choice.

Bonus Tip – Remove Spotlight Search Icon From Home Screen on iPhone

Using iOS 16, use the Spotlight Search icon on your Home Screen to delete apps. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

To make your home screen your default screen, do the following steps:

1. Scroll down & tap on Home Screen.

Step 3: Disable the feature by tapping the toggle next to ‘Show on Home Screen’ under Search.

3. Delete Hidden iPhone Apps From App Store

The App Store on your iPhone is a resource to find and delete unwanted apps. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open the App Store.

Step 2: Tap the profile icon in the top-right corner.

Step 3: Scroll down and locate the app name under Updated Recently and Available Updates.

To delete the app, swipe left on its name and tap Delete.

You can use the search function in the App Store. If it’s not working, read our guide to fixing App Store search on iPhone.

4. Delete Hidden iPhone Apps From Internal Storage on iPhone

If you cannot find the hidden app in the Recently Updated list on the App Store, delete it from your iPhone. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on General.

Step 3: Tap on iPhone Storage.

Wait for the app storage details to appear.

Step 4: Scroll down and tap on the app to delete.

Step 5: Tap on Delete App.

Step 6: Tap on Delete App at the bottom to confirm.

To delete an app that takes up a lot of storage on your iPhone, follow these steps. You can also check out our post on freeing up iCloud storage on iPhone.

Hide and Seek and Delete

Hidden apps can take up storage on your iPhone. However, you can hide distracting apps by removing them from the Home Screen. Safari, for example, lets you create website shortcuts on the Home Screen without opening the app. You can also add websites as apps on your iPhone’s Home Screen. Learn how in our guide on adding sites to the Home Screen using Safari on iPhone.