How to Unhide Apps on an iPhone

Unhide them via the App Library or from your App Store purchase history

By
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Senior News Editor, Fact Checker
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Published on July 29, 2024
iPhone & iOS

What to Know

  • To unhide a hidden app, go to App Library and find the app. Tap and hold the icon and slide it left.
  • To retrieve a deleted app, tap App Store > your profile icon > Purchased > Not on this iPhone > download icon.

This article explains how to unhide apps you hid on your iPhone and how to retrieve apps you deleted from your iPhone.

How Do I Unhide Hidden Apps?

You may have hidden apps on your iPhone in the past because you weren't using them often or you just like a few tidy Home screens.

Follow these steps to locate a hidden app in the App Library and return it to one of your Home screens.

  1. Swipe from right to left on the Home screen to Open the App Library.

    It might be a few screens over, so keep swiping until you see App Library in a search bar at the top of the screen.

    The iPhone Home screen and App Library

  2. Tap the search bar in the App Library to view an alphabetical listing of apps. Scroll to the app you want to unhide.

    Don't remember the exact name of the app you want? Not a problem. You can type one or two letters of the name in the search field and then look through the results that appear until you find what you're looking for.

  3. Tap and hold the name of the app you want to unhide.

  4. Slide your finger to the left without releasing the app to move it to your home screen, where it and all the rest of the apps on the screen will be jiggling.

  5. Continue to slide the app until it is on the Home screen where you want it. Tap Done.

    The App Library showing listing of apps

    Alternatively, once you find the app in your App Library, you can long-press it to move the app back on your Home screen,

    How Do You Find Deleted Apps on iPhone Home Screen?

    If what you want is to find an app that you deleted (not hid) on your iPhone, there's another way to go about it.

  6. Open the App Store app and tap the Account button at the top of the screen. It probably has your picture on it.

    iPhone Home screen with App Store app highlighted

  7. Select Purchased or My Purchases (if you set up Family Sharing), and tap the Not on this iPhone tab.

    If you use Family Sharing in iOS 17.4 and higher, access this area from Apps > My Apps. Or, tap a family member's name from the Apps screen to redownload apps they purchased.

  8. Scroll down and choose the app you want to retrieve. When you find it, tap the download icon next to it to add it to your iPhone.

    App Store app showing the Not on this iPhone tab

    If the app you retrieve was originally a paid app, you don't have to pay for it again.

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