How-to-Hide-App-Icons-iOS-9While Tim Cook has promised Apple will "figure out a way" for iPhone and iPad users to remove certain default apps, a new limited trick allows for stock icons to be temporarily hidden on devices running iOS 9.0 to iOS 9.2 without jailbreaking.

YouTube channel videosdebarraquito shared a video of his trick over the weekend, and we have confirmed the method works as shown. Follow these step-by-step instructions and watch the video below for a demonstration.

How to Hide App Icons on iOS 9

  1. Hold down on the app icon you want to hide until it starts to wiggle.

  2. Drag the app icon over any other app to create a folder.

  3. Take your finger off the icon once in the folder. Do not press the Home button.

  4. Drag the app icon to the second page of the folder. Take your finger off the icon.

  5. Drag the app icon to the third page of the folder and keep your finger on it.

  6. Drag the app icon to the edge of the folder and press the Home button simultaneously.

As long as the device remains powered on, including when the display is locked, the app icons removed with this trick will remain hidden.


Keep in mind that the hidden app icons will reappear when the iPhone and iPad is restarted, so this trick only serves as a temporarily solution.

As a boilerplate disclaimer, this is an unofficial trick and we cannot guarantee it will not cause any unforeseen problems on your iPhone or iPad.

(Thanks, Jose!)

Top Rated Comments

Adithya007 Avatar
130 months ago
Why can't Apple just make a way to hide apps of the user's choice?

And why do I need an Apple Watch app when I don't have one? Can't the Apple Watch owners just go to the App Store and download the app? :/
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdridwan47 Avatar
130 months ago
I don't want to just hide it. I want to remove it. And if necessary redownload it from the app store.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrodieApple Avatar
130 months ago
I can see why people want apps to be hidden, but I don't see whats so annoying about having it just on the last page of a folder. Or a seperate page on your home screen.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smultie Avatar
130 months ago
Lol, you iPhone users still can't do that :)

So a simple 'hide' option would solve two of them, so the third is storage space.

Are you really quibbling over 100MB?
Is Apple still selling phones with 16GB? Then yes, people will still be b*tching about 100MB.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
130 months ago
Is Apple still selling phones with 16GB? Then yes, people will still be b*tching about 100MB.
It's clear from your other post that you don't have an iPhone, but let me put 16GB devices into perspective for you. 100MB is less than 1% of available storage on a 16GB iPhone. Besides, those people bought a 16GB device.



WTH??? Are you blind?

If something is there that you don’t like/need it’s not too much of a stretch that it be described as clutter.
Personally, I’ve never gone down the space used line. But waste is waste and at the premium Apple charge for space I’d rather it was used for something I actually want or that it be free space.
The default apps that I don’t want are crap, (to me), in fact they’re not even that good. At least with the 3rd party ones I can remove them.
Like I said, a simple 'hide' option would solve two of them but as it's not an option yet, just stick them in a folder and done. This really is a non-issue.

And in terms of "premium" Apple storage, 100MB is 20 cents.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
skylerolson Avatar
130 months ago
Hold on a sec, this is becoming one very slippery slope... One minute it's about clutter, the next it's about space used and now it's about advertising?

What exactly is your problem with default iOS apps? Make your mind up!
All of the above! :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...