Hide apps It is a procedure that we can carry out on Android so that other people do not easily see what apps we use. You will be able to continue using them normally, as if you had not changed any configuration, but they will be hidden in such a way that nobody who grabs your mobile will see them with the naked eye.
Google's mobile operating system for mobile phones allows for this special configuration with different processes. Here we tell you the simplest and most effective ones so that you can choose the one that best suits your device and the way you use your mobile on a daily basis.
Use user profiles
A very simple way to hide applications is create different user profiles, and thus modify the desktops and apps available on the main screen. When setting up a user profile, each user has their own settings and apps. This allows user profiles not to share important data, including apps. The exception are apps installed by default on the mobile or downloaded by both.
To clearly exemplify the procedure, let's imagine that we have our user profile and download an app from the Play Store. In our second profile, the app that we downloaded and installed will not be visible.
How do you create a second profile?
Depending on the phone model, the procedure may change a little depending on the name of the menu or the option. But the general path is:
- Open the Settings app and select the System menu.
- Select the Multiple Users option.
- Click on the Add User button.
A window with information will open indicating that, except in specific cases, each mobile user goes separately. The most common exceptions are the WiFi connection and the updates of apps installed simultaneously. We simply accept the content and we can continue with the Configure Now button.
When creating a new profile to hide applications, we will see it completely blank. The default apps or installed simultaneously, such as Google Play or Gmail, allow different accounts.
Hide apps from an app launcher
There are some Android app launchers that include their own options to hide apps. The feature has become very popular in recent times, to the point that more and more developers are incorporating it into their app launchers. There are even mobile manufacturers that offer the option natively. But we will see that option in the next section.
Depending on the app launcher, we will find some differences when activating the option to hide apps. In the renowned Nova Launcher, you can enter the launcher settings by selecting the app drawer and enable the Hide apps option. In the list of apps, check the boxes of those you want to hide and that's it.
As a mobile user, you can continue to open the apps from the Android settings and the applications option. But they will be hidden from the naked eye so that the curious do not know what apps you use.
mobile manufacturers
Each mobile manufacturing company can incorporate, if desired, the option to hide applications on their own versions of Android. The variations in the activation of this function are many, since it is an extra function that is not incorporated by default in Android. But if you don't want to create a second profile, or download an app launcher, you can search for native options based on your manufacturer.
The Chinese manufacturer Huawei, for example, uses the name "Private Space". There, you can incorporate your apps and it works as a secondary user profile by default. It is not necessary to create a new user, simply move the apps that we want to hide there. Enter the phone Settings, select the Privacy menu and the Private Space option to enable it.
Samsung, the most popular South Korean manufacturer of Android mobiles, uses the method of hiding apps from launcher functions. Press and hold a sector on the mobile home screen and the interaction menu will appear. Select Home screen settings and activate the option to Hide applications. You can mark the ones you want to disable so that the shortcuts do not appear. To open them you will have to enter the complete list of mobile applications from Settings.
Conclusions
With more or less difficulty, mobile phone manufacturers allow us to hide applications to make our desktop more private. If you want your main apps not to be detected by prying eyes, these alternatives that we have listed help you to provide greater protection to your mobile.
Of course they will be able to see that you use WhatsApp or instagram if you open the apps in the presence of others, but at least, if you lend the phone for a call, it will not be so easy for them to spy on you. In times where privacy and intimacy are highly valued assets, the incorporation of these alternatives to hide apps on Android is appreciated.