Can I hide iphone apps?

QIn Issue 502’s Problems Solved, you explained to Dave Brownstone how to ‘hide’ unwanted apps on his Samsung phone. I have an Apple iphone 4s. Can I do the same?

AYes and no. Newer iphones, running IOS 10, allow users to remove most Apple apps. This is done by tapping and holding an app icon until it begins to jiggle, and then tapping the cross at the relevant app icon’s top left. To restore apps hidden in this way, launch the App Store app, search for the app’s name and then tap the download icon (a cloud with a down-pointing arrow).

Unfortunately, this won’t work with earlier versions of IOS and the latest edition available for your iphone 4s is IOS 9.3. However, there are a couple of other tricks you can use to get unwanted Apple apps out of sight.

The most effective is to create a ‘dump’ folder for everything you want to hide, and then drag that folder off your home screen. First, tap and hold an unwanted app’s icon until it jiggles and then drag and drop it on top of a second unwanted app icon. Type a name for the folder (Unwanted Apps, for example, as in our screenshot), then press the Home button. Now use the same method to drag and drop all other unwanted icons into this folder. Finally, move the folder itself off the home screen by dragging it to the far right-hand side of the screen until a second page appears, then release.

The alternative is to enable the iphone’s Restrictions mode to disable (and thus hide) certain key apps. Tap Settings, then tap General, followed by Restrictions. To disable an app, flick its switch to the Off position. However, only a handful of apps can be restricted in this way.