How to lock and hide apps on the new iPhone update – but there are two drawbacks that may surprise you

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

The feature is coming for the first time in iPhone with the upcoming iOS 18 update.

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

It’s likely to arrive in September – and The US Sun has already predicted the iOS 18 release date.

Once you have it, you will be able to lock apps so that someone using your iPhone cannot open them.

And there is an option to hide applications so that someone casually browsing your iPhone won’t even see it.

HOW TO HIDE AND LOCK APPS ON IPHONE

To do this, you will need the iOS 18 update.

This is available now in Developer Beta, but you will need a developer account and is not recommended for regular users.

We’re likely to see a public beta in July, which will allow you to receive the update sooner if you sign up.

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

Once you get the update, you can get started.

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

You will 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.

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

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It is important to note that the Hidden folder appears on the iPhone of all iOS 18 users.

So simply having the folder doesn’t mean you’re hiding any apps.

And there’s no way to tell from the outside whether the app is empty, has one app, or is full of apps.

APP HIDDEN DISCOUNTS

The first disadvantage is that hiding an app is not a complete guarantee that it will remain invisible.

Litter admits that there are a few places you might find evidence that an app is on your iPhone.

For example, activities related to hidden apps will still appear in Screen Time if you have the feature turned on.

That means it’s more of a casual privacy feature — and not something that will prevent a forensic investigation of your iPhone.

And the second disadvantage 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.