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How to Find Hidden Apps on Android

Find out what your teens are doing on their phones

What to Know

• In the App Drawer: Tap the three dots and select Hide Apps.
• In Settings: Tap Apps & notifications, and then See all apps.
• Double-check an app’s true identity by tapping its Info icon and selecting App details.

This article explains how to uncover hidden apps on an Android device. The information below should apply no matter who made your Android phone: Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.

How to Find Hidden Apps in the App Drawer

Viewing apps on the Android home screen is a good start, but this doesn’t show every app installed on an Android device. To see the complete list of installed apps, including vault apps, open the app drawer by tapping the icon in the lower-middle section of the screen that looks like a circle with six dots in it.

After tapping on this icon, a full list appears with the installed apps sorted alphabetically. This should show you most of the apps on the Android device, but some may be hidden. To show these hidden apps, do the following.

This method isn’t available on all Android devices by default. The launcher determines the options in the tray. If you don’t have these options, try a different launcher, like Nova Prime, which supports hiding apps.

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.

How to Find Hidden Apps in Settings

A full app list can also be accessed from the Settings app. Tap Settings (the icon looks like a gear). In Settings, tap Apps & notifications, then tap See all apps.

The app list also displays system files and apps, which make the Android operating system run correctly. To show these, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner, then tap Show system.

Check for Android Trick Apps

Looking at an app’s icon and name may not be enough to tell what’s happening on an Android phone or tablet. There are numerous apps in the Google Play app store that look like one sort of app but are designed to hide images, videos, and other data.

One popular example is the Smart Hide Calculator app that looks and works like a basic calculator app but is a file storage application. The calculator UI is fully functional, but it unlocks and reveals its real purpose when a user types in their PIN code.

To double-check the true identity of any Android app, do the following.

Press the app icon until a small menu appears.

Tap the small i in a circle next to a pencil.

A page that details everything about the app, from its storage size to its permissions, appears. Tap App details.

The app’s product page in the Google Play app store appears. From here, you can read official information about the app, including reviews by other users.

Understanding Android Folders and Screens

Like most smartphones and tablets, Android devices feature a home screen that extends horizontally beyond what you first see when you turn on the device. The other parts of the home screen are used to sort apps and widgets into groups and hide apps from prying eyes.

To view all sections of the home screen on an Android device, swipe from right to left.

There may be more than one additional screen, so continue to swipe left until the visible icons cannot move any further.

Another way to hide apps on Android is to place apps within a folder. Folders are visible on the home screen and look like a collection of four small app icons. Tap the folder to open it and view the apps.

Don’t Forget About Web Apps

More companies add full app functionality to their websites, which means that users no longer have to download and install an app to access it. Instagram is one example of a functional web app used in a web browser such as Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. Tinder is another.

To check if a user has accessed a specific site, open the web browser apps on their Android smartphone or tablet, then check its browser history. Browser history can be deleted in most browsers, though, so this isn’t a foolproof way of finding out what websites have been visited.

To find iPhone hidden apps, go to the App Store on your device and tap your profile picture, then your name. Under iTunes in the Cloud, tap Hidden Purchases. Alternatively, go Account Settings and tap Purchase History.

If you have spyware, or «hidden administrator apps,» on your Android, navigate to your list of device admin apps. Disable admin rights for the suspected culprit, then delete the app.

If you’ve noticed your camera or mic indicator lights on when you’re not using them, you may have tracking software. To find out what apps are using your microphone and camera, go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Permissions. Tap Camera or Microphone, then see what apps are accessing these tools.

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15 best Android apps available right now

Here it is ladies and gentlemen. The crème de la crème. The Android apps that stand alone at the top of the pantheon. These apps have become ubiquitous with Android and if you’re looking for good stuff it’s assumed that you have some of this stuff already. There are a ton of amazing Android apps out there. However, there are a few that stand out above the rest. These apps are useful to just about everyone no matter what their use case may be. Without further delay, here are the best Android apps currently available.

Most people should be relatively familiar with most of these apps. They are the best, and the best things are rarely anonymous. It’s difficult to get into the hall of fame, but we do have the best lists attached to each selection in case you want to see more options.

The best Android apps available right now:

1Weather

Price: Free / $1.99

1Weather is arguably the best weather app out there. It features a simple, paginated design that shows you the current weather, forecast for up to 12 weeks, a radar, and other fun stats. Along with that, you’ll get a fairly decent set of lightly customizable widgets and the standard stuff like severe weather notifications and a radar so you can see the storms approaching. The Ui is logical and reasonably easy to navigate as well.

The free version has all of the features with advertising. The $1.99 charge removes advertising. Otherwise, the two versions work the same way. Most will also likely enjoy the range of weather fun facts as well when you open the app. We have a list of the best weather apps and widgets if you want more options.

Google Drive

Price: Free / $1.99-$299.99 per month

Some of the features of these apps include live collaboration, deep sharing features, and compatibility with Microsoft Office documents. You can find more cloud storage apps here and more office apps here if you want something different.

Google Maps and Waze

Price: Free

If you add to that the Waze experience, which includes tons of its own features, and you won’t need another navigation app. Ever. Google also owns and operates Waze. It’s unique and fun in ways that Google Maps isn’t and we also highly recommend it. Of course, we have more GPS apps options as well here if you need them.

Google Search / Assistant / Feed

Price: Free

There is also a second Google Assistant app for those who want a quick launch icon on the home screen. The hardware stuff costs money, but Google Assistant is free. There are other decent personal assistants like Amazon Alexa, and you can check them out here.

LastPass

Price: Free / $12 per year

LastPass is one of those must-have Android apps. It’s a password manager that lets you save your login credentials in a safe, secure way. On top of that, it can help generate nearly impossible passwords for you to use on your accounts. It’s all controlled with a master password. It has cross-platform support (premium version only) so you can use it on computers, mobile devices, tablets, or whatever.

There are others, but LastPass always feels like it’s one step ahead. Additionally, the premium version is cheap. You can also grab LastPass Authenticator to go along with it for added security. There are other options for great password managers here and some free LastPass alternatives if the new, more restricted free version isn’t doing it for you. LastPass also has an authenticator app for additional security.

Read more:

Microsoft SwiftKey

Price: Free

Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard is one of the most powerful and customizable third-party keyboards available. It hit the market several years ago with a predictive engine unlike anything any other keyboard had and the app has grown a lot of over the years. It’s a free download and you can purchase themes for it if you want to.

Other features include a dedicated number row, SwiftKey Flow which allows for gesture typing, multiple language support, cross-device syncing of your library, and much more. It’s about as good as it gets in the keyboard space. It’s true that Microsoft now owns SwiftKey, but so far they have managed not to mess it up. Gboard, Google’s keyboard app, is also exceptionally good and we honestly could’ve listed either one. There are some other great Android keyboards here as well.

Nova Launcher

Price: Free / $4.99

You can even make it look like the Pixel Launcher if you want to. If you go premium, you can tack on gesture controls, unread count badges for apps, and icon swipe actions. Those looking for something simpler may want to try Lawnchair Launcher, Hyperion Launcher, and Rootless Launcher. Of course, we have a list of the best Android launchers with even more options as well.

Podcast Addict

Price: Free / $3.99

You can also set download rules, create playlists easily, and it supports both Chromecast and SONOS along with Android Auto and Wear OS. The UI and settings aren’t the most elegant things we’ve seen. However, the app makes up for it by hitting literally every other box we could think of. Pocket Casts and CastBox are other excellent options in this space, and we have a list of even more great podcast apps here.

Poweramp

Price: Free trial / $4.99

The UI has a tiny bit of a learning curve, but it’s one of the better-looking music players as well with optional themes in the Google Play Store. There are other great music apps here, but the top slot arguably Poweramp’s title to lose. Poweramp also has an equalizer app (Google Play link) if you want a better equalizer app.

Solid Explorer

Price: Free trial / $2.99

File browsing is something everyone inevitably has (or wants) to do, so you might as well do it with a capable, fantastic file browser. Solid Explorer is pretty much as good as it gets in the file explorer apps realm. It features Material Design, archiving support, support for the most popular cloud services, and even some more power-user stuff like FTP, SFPT, WebDav, and SMB/CIFS support.

It looks great, it’s incredibly stable, and it just works well. There is a 14-day free trial with a $2.99 price tag at the end of it. There are other file browsers with more features, but few blend together looks, ease of use, and features like Solid Explorer does. If this doesn’t work for you, here are some other outstanding file browsers.

Check out some excellent hardware as well:

Tasker and IFTTT

Price: $2.99 and Free, respectively

Tasker is a glorious application if you have the patience to learn how to use the app. What it does is allow users to create custom made commands and then use them in various places. There are many apps out there that have Tasker support and you can even use Tasker to create very complex commands for NFC tags. It’s difficult to truly explain what this app can do because it can do so many things. Between the apps supported, plugins you can add, and the sheer volume of stuff that you can do, there aren’t many apps out there as useful as this one.

IFTTT is another excellent automation app. In some cases, it may even be better than Tasker thanks to its simplicity and wide range of uses. Tasker is also available free as part of the Google Play Pass. There are some other great Android tools and utility apps, but none of them can step up to Tasker and IFTTT.

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