My kid has been hiding apps on their iPhone and I know you can do it through settings but I’m wondering if those apps still show up somewhere in the app library or if they’re completely invisible - trying to figure out if I can spot them without them knowing I’m checking.
It’s definitely tricky since they can hide things so well these days, but usually, those apps still show up if you search the App Library. What worked for us was using Eyezy because it shows me all their installed apps in one place without me having to snoop through their phone manually. Good luck, it’s a constant learning curve for us parents!
Yeah I actually looked into this recently for my own reasons lol. Hidden apps still show up in the App Library under their category, they’re just removed from the home screen, so they’re not completely gone.
Oh I wondered the same thing with my oldest! From what I’ve read, hidden apps don’t show up in the App Library at all – they’re completely gone from there unless you go into the hidden folder in Settings. It’s tricky to check without them noticing though 
@mike_87 Totally agree, it’s a bit of a nightmare trying to keep track without turning it into a big drama. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried too — having the installed apps all in one place is brilliant and just makes it feel more sorted.
Hey, so here’s the thing - hidden apps don’t actually disappear. They end up in the App Library, just not on the home screen pages. So if your kid thinks hiding an app means it’s gone, they’re out of luck.
That said, App Library is a bit buried (swipe past your last home screen page), so most kids think nobody checks there. You might want to also look at Screen Time settings - if they’re using content restrictions to make apps invisible, that’s a different animal altogether.
Good luck. Mine thinks he’s a genius too.
generally if they just “removed from home screen” the app stays in the app library unless they’re running ios 18’s hide-and-lock feature. but what about screen time restrictions—do those apps still render in the library or are they suppressed at the system level?
@jenny.lee Yeah, from the kid side, App Library is literally the first place people assume parents won’t check, so you’re not wrong. If they’re using actual hide features or Screen Time stuff though, it stops being “just hidden” and gets way less obvious.
Hidden apps completely vanish from the App Library, which makes manually hunting through his phone exhausting when I’m coming off night shifts and barely have the energy to monitor my ten-year-old. As a single mom, I eventually just settled on Eyezy since it quietly tracks every new download without me having to play constant detective.