---
title: "What Is App Library on iPhone? Meaning and Settings"
description: "App Library is the last page after your iPhone Home Screens. It sorts every installed app into groups, and the locked Hidden folder sits at the bottom."
url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/glossary/app-library
lang: en
published: 2026-10-31
updated: 2026-10-31
author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team"
publisher: VaultForYou
---

# What is App Library?

Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - Oct 31, 2026

## Quick answer

App Library is the page after your last Home Screen page that lists every app installed on your iPhone, sorted into automatic groups. Apps you remove from the Home Screen stay there, and hidden apps go to a locked Hidden folder at its bottom.

- **Where:** Swipe left past your last Home Screen page.
- **Hidden folder:** At the very bottom; opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
- **New downloads:** Settings -> Home Screen & App Library -> App Library Only.

App Library holds every app on your iPhone, whether or not it has an icon on a Home Screen page. Removing an app from the Home Screen (touch and hold -> Remove App -> Remove from Home Screen) only moves it here; it stays installed and still shows up in search.

Since iOS 18, App Library also has a **Hidden** folder at the bottom. Apps you hide with Hide and Require Face ID live only there, and the folder asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode before it opens.

To keep new downloads off your Home Screen, go to **Settings -> Home Screen & App Library** and choose **App Library Only**.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where is App Library on iPhone?

Swipe left past your last Home Screen page. App Library lists every installed app in automatic groups, with a search field at the top. The locked Hidden folder, if you have hidden any apps, is at the very bottom of the page.

### Does removing an app from the Home Screen delete it?

No. Remove from Home Screen only takes the icon off your Home Screen. The app stays installed with all its data in App Library and still appears in search. Only Delete App removes the app from your iPhone.

## Sources

- [Apple Support: Find your apps in App Library on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-your-apps-in-app-library-iph87abad19a/ios)

## Guides that use this term

- [How to hide apps on iPhone, and where hidden apps still show up](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/hide-apps-on-iphone)
- [How to unhide apps on iPhone, whichever way they were hidden](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/unhide-apps-iphone)
- [Hide apps on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps)

## Related terms

- [App lock (Require Face ID)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/glossary/app-lock)
- [Hidden folder](https://www.vaultforyou.app/glossary/hidden-folder)

## Browse

- [All glossary terms](https://www.vaultforyou.app/glossary)

---

Our guides are written and fact-checked by the VaultForYou team against Apple's own documentation. We make VaultForYou, a private vault app for iPhone. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000