During teenage, teenagers are extremely into their privacy, and they want to keep everything to themselves. This is one reason teenagers hide their installed apps, phone calls, text messages on their phones.
To hide installed apps, kids are using hidden apps. With hidden apps, hiding apps from third parties have been much more accessible. Even small kids with little technological knowledge can hide their apps installed on their cell phones. How to find hidden apps on Android and iOS?
Hidden apps provide freedom among teenagers to hide any apps, images, text messages and maintain their privacy. There may be a lot of private photos that your teenagers might be hiding. But do you think it is suitable for kids to hide everything from you?
Sometimes, kids might get involved in inappropriate activities or install problematic apps. And to hide such apps, kids install secret apps.
Why Your Kids Hide Apps?
Kids usually feel mature enough to keep their information to themselves. To act mature, they keep their information secret. Kids start to hide things from their parents once they are tweens.
Kids feel that parents will interfere in their life once they start to share their information. However, there are ways to find hidden apps on Android and iOS. At first, let's learn some of the reasons why kids hide apps on their devices.
i.Explicit Apps
Teenage is the age where kids love to experiment. During this age, some kids even get exposed to inappropriate content. Due to peer pressure or out of curiosity, kids may download apps that you do not want them to use.
For instance, your kids may download porn apps accidentally or due to curiosity. If your kids get addicted to these apps, they will hide them from you.
You do not want your kids to use apps that can affect a kid's mental health. Hence, to hide such apps from you, your kids may use apps that help them hide such apps from you.
ii. Inappropriate Images and Videos
You do not want your kids to take an inappropriate picture of themselves and regret it later on in their life. There are many consequences of sharing indecent images of oneself that young ones do not realize.
The digital world is such a world where you can find anything and everything. Kids may download explicit images and videos as internet's undesirable content. Or they may even take inappropriate pictures and videos of themselves.
They feel uncomfortable if they see those pictures, which is another reason kids hide their photos, apps, and images from their devices.
iii. Dating Apps
Every parent feels that their kids are too young to date. But kids, on the other hand, want to experiment with love life. Teenagers experiment with dating apps that they do not want their kids to do during their teenage years.
Many dating apps are available, and most of these apps are above 18. Teenagers use these apps that are not appropriate according to their age.
Also, parents are skeptical about finding love or meeting someone online because parents restrict using such apps. And this is the reason teenagers hide dating apps on their devices.
iv. Gaming Apps
Once kids are into playing games, there is no way of looking back. Kids these days are obsessed with online games like and addicted to Fortnite, Pubg, Minecraft, Stardew Valley, etc. If kids are left alone with their phones with gaming apps, they can play it all day and night.
Since gaming apps can be addictive, many parents don't want their kids to download them. Once they start to play mobile games, they may not focus on other essential aspects of their life.
Sometimes, even when you ask your kids to uninstall their gaming apps, they may install it again and hide the app on their mobile phones.
v. Live Streaming Apps
Going live on social media or any other apps is quite popular. Teenagers love to go live most of the time to keep their friends and followers updated about doing. But, before parents should know about live streaming apps.
Most parents feel that going live every day can invade their child's privacy. If people with lousy intentions follow their lives every day, then they can gain a lot of information about your kid and use it against them.
Hence parents do not want kids to install any live-streaming apps. While kids, on the other hand, feel that it is fantastic to go live and interact. Therefore, kids hide their live streaming apps on their devices.
vi. Just for Fun
Teenagers also like to hide apps and pictures on their devices even if there is nothing to hide from others. They usually show this type of behavior to feel like a mature person.
During teenage years, kids want their privacy; they try to hide many things from their parents as they feel shy to tell every detail about their lives. Thereby they hide all the data in their phone.
vii. To Hide Online Activities
Smartphones have made managing online life much easier. You can get online whenever you want with the help of your smartphone. With the smartphone, you can go shopping anytime you want or talk with your friends and relatives from anywhere worldwide.
However, there are lots of drawbacks to smartphones. Kids and teenagers can visit any websites they want. Or they can talk with anyone they like using digital devices.
Many parents are worried about their kid’s online activities. While kids are hiding their online activities from their parents by hiding apps and deleting their activities history.
Are Vault Apps Similar To Hidden Apps?
Vault apps help you keep their images, apps, and other data in your phone private. If you do not want parties to see messages, images, or other data on your device, you can use vault apps.
Many vault apps provide similar features. Some popular vault apps are Secret Phone Vault, AppLock, Best Secret Folder, Gallery Lock, etc. Vault apps are available on both IOS and Android.
Vault apps are hidden apps as they help hide apps and data in your device. Vault apps are complicated for new users to recognize as it looks like cover pages or fake icons, and new users will not know it's a vault app, and there are apps inside it.
But one thing that you should know is all the hidden apps are not vaulted even though vault apps are hidden apps.
How to Find Hidden Apps on Android
These are some ways to find hidden apps on Android.
1.How To Find Hidden Apps in the App Drawer
If you are an IOS user, you might not be familiar with the term App Drawer. But for an android user, it is not a new term. The app drawer is where you can find all the apps you have installed on your device.
When you open your android device, it can take you to the home screen to find only some installed apps. To see all the installed apps, you need to click on the middle part of the screen. Some android devices have a circle, while some might have a home icon.
If your kids have secret apps, then you can find such apps in the app drawer by following the steps given below:
Step 1: Click on the three dots, i.e., more options in the upper-right corner of your android device.
Step 2: Click on the Hide apps option. If you cannot find the option, there are no secret apps.
Step 3: Once you click on the Hide app option, you will list apps hidden in the device. Then tap the desired app you want to open.
2. How to Find Hidden Apps from Setting
You can even find hidden apps from the setting of your android device. To find out the list of installed apps on your android device, here are the steps you need to follow:
Step 1: Go to Setting
Step 2: Tap on the Apps option
Step 3: You will find an option where you need to select "all apps."
Step 4: Finally, you will see a list of all the installed apps on the device.
3. Android Folders and Screens
The android device allows its users to manage their apps using folders or files. You can find all the folders made by users to store their apps by swiping right on their home screen. To view all the apps inside the folder, all you need to do is tap on the folder icon.
4. Using File Explorer/ File Manager
Here's how you can view the list of all the installed and hidden apps on your android devices by using file manager:
Step 1: First, you need to download "ES File Explorer" from the Play Store.
Step 2: Open the "ES File Explorer."
Step 3: Open the menu drawer, swipe right, and select the tool.
Step 4: Enable "Show Hidden Option" after scrolling down.
Step 5: Finally, you can view all the hidden apps on the device.
How to Find Hidden Apps on iOS
Hiding apps on IOS is straightforward; you can hide apps on your iPhone in a few steps. The fun thing about the iPhone is that it even allows its users to hide their apps from the search suggestion lists.
Finding hidden apps on IOS is slightly different from finding hidden apps on Android. Here are tricks for finding discreet apps on IOS devices:
1.How to Find Hidden Apps through Search
One of the simple ways to find secret apps on an IOS device is through searching apps. To search apps, you can use a search tool that you can find on the top section of your home page. Here's the step to search for apps on an IOS device:
Step 1: Go to the home screen.
Step 2: Click on the search menu at the top of the screen.
Step 3: Search for the apps by typing the apps' name.
Step 4: You can see the app if it is installed on the device.
2. How to Find Hidden Apps Using Siri
Sometimes, you cannot find the app using the search method, even if the app is installed on your IOS device. In such cases, you can use Siri to search the app. For that, you need to do:
Step 1: Go to setting
Step 2: Tap on "Siri and Search"
Step 3: Now, you can see a list of apps, click on the hidden app and enable "show in search."
Another method that you can use to find a hidden method using Siri is:
Step 1: Press long on the Touch ID to open Siri.
Step 2: Command “Open [app name]”
Step 3: If someone has installed the app on the device, Siri will open the app.
3. App Library
The following method that you can use to open secret apps on your IOS 14 is:
Step 1: Go to the last home screen page and swipe right.
Step 2: Here, you can view the app library.
Step 3: Go to the categories related to the secret app.
4. Use App Store Page
The tricky yet easy method of finding hidden apps on your IOS device is jiggle mode. In this method, all you need to do is
Step 1: Long press on the home screen's vacant area to enter your device into jiggle mode.
Step 2: Now tap on the three dots that you will see on the net. Now you can see all the apps on the home page.
Step 3: Now, if you want to unhide apps, you should enable them.
5. Use App Store
Hidden apps can also be shown by using the App Store. Here are steps you can follow to unhide discreet apps:
Step 1: Go to App Store
Step 2: Go to the app store's search bar and search for the app.
Step 3: If the app is on the device, the app will show up.
Use Parental Controls to Find Hidden Apps on Android and iOS
This method works for Android and iOS to find hidden apps on your kid's device. Some parental control apps will notify you if your kids install apps that you restrict them from using.
Many parental control apps like fenced.ai, Qustodio, Bark, Net Nanny, etc., provide various features for monitoring device activities. Fenced.ai is a parental control app that helps you provide safety for your kids when they’re online. It lets you monitor the apps that your kids are using.
The best part of parental control apps is restricting your kids from downloading inappropriate apps. You can also see the history of downloaded, purchased and hidden apps using such parental controls.
Conclusion
You never know what your kids are up to on their devices. They might be installing inappropriate apps or viewing inappropriate content on their device. It is your responsibility to protect your kids from doing improper activities.
The technology has now risen up where you can hide and unhide your apps on your own device. You need to be aware of what your kids are hiding.
I hope this article will help you to know how to find hidden apps on Android and iOS that your kids might hide on their devices. If you have some more methods of unhiding hidden apps on Android and IOS, please feel free to mention them in the comment section below.
FAQs
How To Find Hidden Apps On Android And iOS | Tech Addiction? ›
Step 1: Click on the three dots, i.e., more options in the upper-right corner of your android device. Step 2: Click on the Hide apps option. If you cannot find the option, there are no secret apps. Step 3: Once you click on the Hide app option, you will list apps hidden in the device.
How can you tell if someone has a hidden app? ›Click on the home screen settings. It will navigate you to the Hide apps menu; tap on it. Here, you will see the hidden apps that are not showing in the app list. If the hidden screen doesn't show any apps or the Hide apps menu is missing, it means no apps are hidden in your device.
How do I know if my husband has hidden apps on his phone? ›- From the app drawer, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Tap Hide apps.
- The list of apps that are hidden from the app list displays. If this screen is blank or the Hide apps option is missing, no apps are hidden.
A decoy app is a sneaky on-device tool that lets anybody hide secret photos, videos and messages, under the cover of an innocent-looking icon.
Can you tell if someone is using a spy app on your phone? ›Signs that spyware is on your phone
You may experience unexpected handset battery drain, overheating, and strange behavior from the device's operating system or apps. Settings such as GPS and location functions may unexpectedly turn on or you may see random reboots.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap on Biometrics and security.
- Tap Install unknown apps.
- Check if any toggle switch button is enabled.
Step 1: Go to Settings. Select Private mode or click on the option from the notification panel. Step 2: Turn on the private mode & Enter your security pin. View your hidden texts in the private folder or browse the gallery for other content.
Is there an app to hide texts? ›Vault – Hide SMS, Pics & Videos (Android) Vault – Hide SMS, Pics & Videos is a very popular free app to hide text messages for Android users. It is designed to hide not only private SMS, but also contacts and images, videos on your phone. All of these need to be accessed via the password.
What is hidden menu app? ›It's called the System UI Tuner and it can be used for customizing an Android gadget's status bar, clock and app notification settings. Introduced in Android Marshmallow, this experimental menu is hidden but it's not difficult to find. Once you get to it, you'll wish you knew about it sooner.
Can you unhide hidden apps? ›5. How Do I Unhide a Hidden App? You can go to your Samsung secure folder, long press the screen, and you can see more options, click on the settings icon, then you will go to Home screen settings, tap on Hide Apps, and you can see all hidden apps on your Samsung, and you can remove them to unhide. 6.
How do I find hidden deleted apps? ›
Find Hidden Apps Through Your Settings
First, tap on your Settings icon and choose Apps from the menu. If things look different on your device, just go for the tab that deals with your phone's apps. From there, you should have access to a See all apps option. Tap it and you'll see all your available apps.
Cinnamon is a multi-level engagement video platform allowing users to view and create videos, and to enjoy the freedom of native cross-app sharing and ad-free monetization.
What app hides apps and itself? ›Cloak allows you to make selected apps hidden from your device, including the home screen, app library, notifications, and more. This feature is great for protecting your privacy or reducing distractions. With Safe Zones, you can automatically hide selected apps when you leave your home or work place.
What do fake apps look like on Android? ›The App Has a Generic Icon
Another thing to look for is the app icon. A fake app will often have a generic or unprofessional-looking icon. If the icon looks like it was made in a hurry or doesn't fit with the rest of the app, it's probably not a legitimate app.
Fake apps may display an icon that looks similar to the icon of a real app it is copying. This is often the case with game imitators that mimic popular games. Look closely and don't be deceived by distorted, lower-quality versions of the real icons.
What is the 3 digit number to see if your phone is tapped? ›Press *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#197328640#*#* to see if anyone is watching your movements. These are Utility Net Monitor Codes. Dialing these codes can tell you if you're being tracked or monitored through your mobile phone.
Is my phone being remotely accessed? ›- Monitor the applications running in the background of your device and check whether there are any unknown applications.
- Notice significant increases in device temperature and decreases in battery life. ...
- Take note of unfamiliar noises and voices during calls.
Remote Access
The most common ways people accidentally infect their phones with a hacker's spyware are through shady links, third-party apps, and malicious email attachments. Government agencies and cybercriminals can also install spyware remotely by exploiting software vulnerabilities.
You'll see a small teardrop symbol in your phone's notification bar when an app is using your device location. If you see this appear when you're not using apps allowed to access location data, this could indicate spyware is running and tracking your location.
What are spy apps disguised as on iPhone? ›In this case, a spyware program can pretend to be an update for a reputable app you have previously installed on your iPhone. For example, it can be disguised as a banking app update; therefore the hacker can steal the user's banking credentials and other personal data that might be on the app.
Can someone mirror my phone? ›
Can someone mirror my phone and see what I'm doing? Technically, screen sharing software does exist for Android and iOS devices, but you'll need to grant permission before any mirroring occurs. Also, most applications of this type make it fairly obvious when you're sharing your screen.
Which command shows hidden text? ›Click File > Options > Display, and then under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, select the Hidden text check box.
How do I open hidden text? ›View Hidden Text on Windows
To view hidden text, go to the Home tab and click the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph section of the ribbon. This action displays your hidden text as well as formatting symbols.
A hidden message is information that is not immediately noticeable, and that must be discovered or uncovered and interpreted before it can be known. Hidden messages include backwards audio messages, hidden visual messages and symbolic or cryptic codes such as a crossword or cipher.
How do you see hidden messages on messenger? ›Click on the three dots at the screen's top right side just above the Facebook Messenger menu. After clicking the three dots, choose the Message Requests option from the menu. From the list of hidden messages, you can click on any messages and decide whether to reply or delete the message.
What does * * 4636 * * mean? ›*#*#4636#*#* – Phone information, usage statistics and battery. *#*#273282*255*663282*#*#* – Immediate backup of all media files. *#9090# – Diagnostic configuration. *2767*3855# – Format device to factory state (will delete everything on phone) *#*#232339#*#* – Wireless LAN tests.
What does *# 0 *# do? ›When you enter *#0*# into the phone's dialer, the device enters service mode and brings up a diagnostics menu. From this screen, you can view and run multiple diagnostics to test device hardware like buttons, sensors, and cameras.
How do I pull up the hidden menu? ›Open the dialing pad as if you were making a phone call. Type *#0*#. The menu will appear automatically.
How do I find hidden contacts on Android? ›To view contacts in Secure Folder, tap the Secure Folder icon on your Home screen or apps menu. Authenticate your account, and then tap Contacts in Secure Folder to view your hidden contacts.
Can you see recently deleted apps somewhere? ›Navigate to the green dropdown menu at the top left of the screen and tap it. This will bring up two options, installed and uninstalled. Tap uninstalled. This will bring up a list of every app you've ever installed, including those you've deleted.
How do I find recently deleted text messages? ›
Tap the triple-dot menu icon, visible in the upper-right corner of the messages screen. Select the trash bin icon. Choose the conversation you want to recover and select “Restore.”
Can deleted apps be tracked? ›Turns out, your data doesn't magically disappear when you delete an app. Apps are often part of an intricate web of interconnected tools, products, and sites that track and share your information, likely without you even realizing it.
What is Mdmapp Android? ›The MDM App is an agent app used to establish communication between the managed Android device and the MDM server. The device configurations, location tracking policies, remote actions, network configurations, and device restrictions can be installed and applied on the managed Android device through the MDM app.
What is CnE app used for? ›CnE autonomously estimates the performance of each of the available links on a real-time basis, without any user intervention, and selects the best possible link for the type of application the user is trying to use.
What is a third party app on phone? ›Third-party apps and services are created by companies or developers that aren't Google. For example, you may download an app that helps you schedule workouts with friends. This app may request access to your Google Calendar and Contacts to suggest times and friends for you to meet up with.
How do I secretly hide apps on Android? ›- Open your App drawer.
- Tap the three dots in the top right.
- Open Home Screen Settings (or just Settings).
- Select the Hide apps option.
- Choose the app(s) you want to conceal.
- Confirm via the Apply button (or press Done).
FaceMagic is one more AI-based face-swapping app that allows you to create deep fakes when used wisely. You can use faces of your selection on videos and images using this app. It has a highly user-friendly interface that provides prompts to perform face swaps.
How do I find suspicious apps? ›- Open the Settings app and tap on Apps.
- From the hamburger icon, tap on Special Access.
- Tap on Install Unknown Apps.
- Check to ensure that no apps or web browsers have permission to install apps on your phone.
What is Unknown Sources? Unknown sources define places outside the Google Play Store from which you downloaded an apk app. Google considers its own Play Store as the only trusted source for apps to be installed on Android.
How are random apps appearing on my phone? ›It might be also possible that your Google account has been compromised which is leading to the problem of random apps keep installing by themselves in the background without your knowledge. As a safe practice, sign out of Google Account on your Android devices and then change the password.
What apps do fraudsters use? ›
The top 10 apps were led by Facebook with 152 victims, Google Hangouts with 99 victims, Instagram with 80, WhatsApp and Plenty of Fish had 50 each. Match, OurTime, Zoosk, Words With Friends and Tinder round out the top 10.
How do I get rid of fake system apps? ›Tap the questionable app you want to get rid of and this will open up the App info screen. First remove the app's date cache by hitting “Clear Cache”. Next, delete the app's data by tapping “Clear Data”. Once these steps are done, click on the “Uninstall” button to remove the app.
How do you find out if someone put a hidden app on your iPhone? ›- On your iPhone, swipe your screen to the left.
- In the upper portion of the screen, select the search bar.
- Type the name of the hidden app into the search bar.
- Check to see if the app will appear.
- Long-press the background of your Home Screen until the icons jiggle.
- Tap the dots at the bottom of the screen.
- View all visible and hidden Home Screen pages.
- Unhide Home Screens by tapping the empty circle next to it.
- Tap Done.
Hiding an app won't remove it from your device, a family member's device, or other devices that are signed in with your Apple ID.
How do you see if there are hidden apps on iPhone? ›Press and hold on an empty area of your Home screen until the icons start to wiggle. Tap the page dots at the bottom of the screen. All of your Home screen pages will open in a zoomed-out view. If any pages are hidden, they will have a checkmark below the page thumbnail.
Is there a secret folder on iPhone? ›On an iPhone or iPad, the Hidden album is on and visible by default. When you turn off the Hidden album, any photos or videos that you've hidden won't be visible in the Photos app.
Can I scan my iPhone for spyware? ›If you're concerned that someone may have installed spyware on your iPhone, run a quick scan with the award-winning Certo AntiSpy. This industry-leading spyware detection tool finds threats and helps you to remove suspicious apps and spyware from your iPhone.
How do I find hidden or deleted messages on my iPhone? ›- In Messages, tap Edit on the conversations page. If you previously turned Message Filtering on, the Edit button doesn't appear. Instead, tap Filters on the conversations page.
- Tap Show Recently Deleted .
Cloak allows you to make selected apps hidden from your device, including the home screen, app library, notifications, and more. This feature is great for protecting your privacy or reducing distractions. With Safe Zones, you can automatically hide selected apps when you leave your home or work place.
How to unhide apps? ›
5. How Do I Unhide a Hidden App? You can go to your Samsung secure folder, long press the screen, and you can see more options, click on the settings icon, then you will go to Home screen settings, tap on Hide Apps, and you can see all hidden apps on your Samsung, and you can remove them to unhide.
How do I hide apps on my iPhone from my wife? ›Open your iOS Settings, tap on Siri & Search, and select the app that you want to hide. Toggle off Show App in Search so it turns gray.