How to lock and hide apps in new iPhone update – but there are two downsides that might catch you out

ONE of Apple's biggest updates coming to your iPhone lets you lock and even hide apps.

The feature is arriving for the first time on with the upcoming iOS 18 update.

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This major upgrade was announced on Monday, June 10 at Apple's annual WWDC event.

It's likely to land in September – and The U.S. Sun has already predicted the iOS 18 release date.

Once you get it, you'll be able to lock apps so that someone using your iPhone can't open them.

And there's an option to hide apps so that someone casually browsing your iPhone won't even see it.

HOW TO HIDE AND LOCK APPS ON IPHONE

To do this, you'll need the iOS 18 update.

That's available right now in Developer Beta, but you'll need a developer account and it's not recommended for regular users.

We're likely to see a public beta in July that will let you get the update early if you enrol.

But regular users won't get the general release until September.

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Once you've got the update, you'll be able to get started.

To lock an app, simply press and hold on it until a pop-up menu appears.

You'll then be able to choose Require Face ID, which means only you can unlock the app.

If you want to go further, you can choose Hide and Require Face ID.

This will be inside a Hidden folder in the App Library, with the contents kept invisible until you unlock it.

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Importantly, the Hidden folder appears on every iOS 18 user's iPhone.

So simply having the folder doesn't mean you're hiding any apps at all.

And there's no way to tell from the outside whether the app is empty, has one app in, or is filled to the brim with apps.

APP HIDING DOWNSIDES

The first downside is that hiding an app isn't a total guarantee that it will stay invisible.

Apple admits that there are some places where you'll be able to find evidence that an app is on your iPhone.

For instance, activity related to hidden apps will still appear in Screen Time if you have the feature active.

This means that it's more of a casual privacy feature – and not something that will prevent a forensic probing of your iPhone.

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And the second downside is that if you've hidden an app, you won't be able to open it via Siri.

But it's a small price to pay for your privacy.