How to camouflage your embarrassing iPhone apps — hide them in plain sight

iPhone
(Image credit: Getty Images/Nikiteev_Konstantin /Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash)

Some of us have apps on our iPhone that we don't want others knowing about. If the thought of someone snatching your phone and scrolling through your apps makes you cringe, I've got the perfect iPhone trick for you.

Apple hasn't created an easy pipeline for users to make apps invisible, but there is still a way to camouflage them if you're willing to take the time to follow a few easy steps. The trick involves changing your iPhone background to a color that matches your folders, allowing you to hide your apps in said folders (in plain sight). 

iPhone 12 mini

(Image credit: Future)

Follow the instructions below to figure out how you can hide your iPhone apps from prying nosybodies.

How to hide iPhone apps by making invisible folders

In order for this trick to work, you must to have two offending apps that you'd like to hide. Without further ado, here's how you hide apps in plain sight your iPhone.

Hidden folder in iOS

Hidden folder in iOS (Image credit: Future)

1. Searching for a solid wallpaper with hex color 1F1F1F on Google. This is the same hue as an iPhone folder.

hex color 1f1f1f

hex color 1f1f1f (Image credit: Future)

2. Download this solid wallpaper.

3. Next, set it as your wallpaper by navigating to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper > All Photos and selecting the 1F1F1F wallpaper.

4. Now, for the fun part! It’s time to camouflage the apps. Open Shortcuts and tap on the plus button (+). 

Shortcuts on iOS

Shortcuts on iOS (Image credit: Future)

5.Tap “Add action” 

Add Action in iOS

Add Action in iOS (Image credit: Future)

6. Search for “Open app.” 

Open App option in iOS

Open App option in iOS (Image credit: Future)

7. In the Open App page, tap “App."

Open app in iOS

Open app in iOS (Image credit: Future)

8. Scroll for one of the two apps you want to hide. In this case, we're hiding the Hinge app first.

Hinge app on iOS

In this example, Hinge will be hidden. (Image credit: Future)

6. Next, tap on Open App and tap on “Add to Home Screen,”

Add to Home Screen in iOS

Add to Home Screen in iOS (Image credit: Future)

7. Press and hold the icon next to “New Shortcut,” and tap “Choose Photo.” 

Choose a Photo on iOS

Choose a Photo on iOS (Image credit: Future)

8. Select the 1F1F1F photo (the same one that’s currently your wallpaper). Now, the offending app is the same color as the wallpaper and iPhone folder.

1F1F1F wallpaper in iOS

1F1F1F wallpaper in iOS (Image credit: Future)

7. Repeat steps 4 to 8 for a second app (there must be more than one app for this to work).

8. The newly tweaked apps can be found on your home screen with the names “New Shortcut.” Now, drag one app into the other to create a new folder named "Bookmarks."

9. The next thing you need to do is to remove the "Bookmarks" name. If you try to simply erase it, it will not work. What you need to do is copy a blank space like this one (do not copy the brackets):  [⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀]

Erasing folder name in iOS

Erasing folder name in iOS (Image credit: Future)

9. Next, tap Rename, erase "Bookmark," and paste the blank space you copied.

iPhone invisible app

(Image credit: Future)

10. Now, you'll have an empty, invisible folder hiding at least two apps. Win!

Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!