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How to hide apps on a Samsung phone

Hiding an icon takes ten seconds. Keeping an app private takes a little longer.

Short answer

Open Settings, tap Home screen, then Hide apps on Home and Apps screens, and pick the apps. That only removes the icon, and the app still shows in Settings. To put an app behind its own lock, add it to Secure Folder, then hide the Secure Folder icon too.

1. Hide the icon

This is the quick one, and it's built into every recent Galaxy phone.

  1. Open Settings and tap Home screen. You can also long-press an empty spot on the home screen and tap Settings.
  2. Tap Hide apps on Home and Apps screens.
  3. Tap each app you want to hide, then tap Done.

To bring an app back, open the same screen, tap the minus sign on the app in the hidden list at the top, then tap Done.

What it doesn't do. The app isn't locked or removed. It still appears in Settings, under Apps, it still sends notifications, and anyone who taps one of those notifications can open it. Think of it as tidying up rather than privacy.

2. Put the app in Secure Folder

Secure Folder holds a second copy of an app, with its own data, behind its own PIN, pattern or fingerprint. Nobody can open the copy inside without that lock.

  1. Set up Secure Folder in Settings, under Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder. You'll need a Samsung account. Our Secure Folder guide walks through it.
  2. Open Secure Folder and tap the + icon, then pick the app.
  3. Open the app inside Secure Folder and sign in. It starts fresh, like a new install.
  4. If you only want the locked copy, uninstall the normal one.

Then hide Secure Folder itself. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen and tap the Secure Folder tile to turn its icon off. Tap the tile again when you want it back.

What about an app lock?

Samsung phones don't have a setting that locks a single app behind a PIN, even on One UI 8. It's one of the most requested features on Samsung's own community forum. Secure Folder is Samsung's answer. If you've used a Xiaomi or OnePlus phone before, our guide to locking apps on Android explains what's different.

Hiding an app doesn't hide your photos

Hiding the Gallery app, or locking it, leaves every photo on the phone where it was. Google Photos, the Files app and any app with photo access can still see them. To get photos out of view properly, move them somewhere with its own lock. Our guide to hiding photos on Samsung covers the built-in options, and Dobr keeps them in an encrypted vault that opens with a pattern only you know. You can hide Dobr's icon with step 1 too. The vault still needs your pattern.

Last checked 2026-11-04. Phone menus change between Android versions and brands, so labels on your phone may differ slightly.

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