--- title: "How to Hide Google Chrome on iPhone: 4 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide Google Chrome on iPhone in 10 seconds: Hide and Require Face ID moves it to a locked Hidden folder. Plus incognito tab, alerts and search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/chrome lang: en published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Google Chrome on iPhone > Google Chrome can disappear from your Home Screen and search in 10 seconds. Its name still turns up in a few places, listed below. Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - Oct 31, 2026 ## Quick answer Touch and hold the Google Chrome icon, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, and tap Hide App. It takes about 10 seconds on iOS 18 or later. Google Chrome moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. Google Chrome also has its own option inside the app: Incognito tab. Its name can still appear in Screen Time. - **Fastest way:** Hide and Require Face ID (iOS 18 or later). - **Can it be hidden?:** Yes. It moves to the locked Hidden folder in App Library. - **Own privacy setting:** Incognito tab (More -> New Incognito Tab). - **Still visible in:** Screen Time, Battery and your App Store purchases. - **iOS version:** iOS 18 or later - **Time needed:** About 10 seconds - **Difficulty:** Easy - **Needs an app?:** No - **Reversible?:** Yes - **Changes backups?:** No Google Chrome can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and Google Chrome has 4 privacy settings of its own. Below are 4 ways, fastest first, and the places Google Chrome still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Google Chrome's settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide Google Chrome with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides Google Chrome from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find Google Chrome on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the Google Chrome icon until the quick actions menu opens. 2. **Tap Require Face ID** On iPhones with Touch ID it says Require Touch ID. You can also choose Require Passcode. 3. **Tap Hide and Require Face ID** Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. 4. **Tap Hide App** Google Chrome leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Google Chrome keeps working, and its data is untouched. Open it from the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. On iOS 17 or earlier, remove it from the Home Screen instead (see below). **If Google Chrome is your default browser:** Apple won't let you hide it. Choose a different default browser in Settings first. **What this does not do:** it doesn't hide Google Chrome from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: Google Chrome's own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Google Chrome itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Google Chrome supports. ### Incognito tab Go to **More -> New Incognito Tab**. After you close all Incognito tabs, Chrome doesn't keep the sites you visited or their site data. Bookmarks and downloads are kept. ### Blur Incognito tabs Go to **More -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Hide Incognito tabs**. Hide after a few minutes blurs your Incognito tabs until you tap to continue. It does not require Face ID. ### Delete browsing data Go to **More -> Delete Browsing Data**. Pick a time range (15 minutes by default) and the data types, then tap Delete Browsing Data to remove history and other data. ### Hide Incognito tabs Go to **More -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Hide Incognito tabs**. Choose Lock immediately with device authentication so your Incognito tabs stay locked until you use Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. It locks only Incognito tabs, not the whole app. ## Other ways to hide Google Chrome - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold Google Chrome, tap **Remove App**, then **Remove from Home Screen**. It moves to App Library and still shows in search. - **Keep it out of Siri and search.** Go to **Settings -> Siri -> Excluded Apps**, tap **Add Apps** and select Google Chrome. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Google Chrome -> Show Previews** and choose **Never** or **When Unlocked**. - **Hide it from your App Store purchases.** In the App Store, tap your photo, tap **Apps & Purchase History**, then swipe left on Google Chrome and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding Google Chrome hide its notifications, Siri suggestions, Spotlight and backups? | Where | Hidden with Face ID | Removed from Home Screen | |---|---|---| | Notification previews | Content hidden | Still shown | | Siri suggestions | Not shown | Still shown | | Spotlight search | App hidden from results | Still shown | | iCloud backup | Unchanged | Unchanged | Apple says information inside a locked or hidden app doesn't appear in places like notification previews, search and Siri suggestions. Hiding never changes what your iPhone backs up. ## How to unhide Google Chrome 1. **Open App Library.** Swipe left past your last Home Screen page. 2. **Open the Hidden folder.** Scroll to the bottom, tap Hidden and authenticate. 3. **Unhide Google Chrome.** Touch and hold Google Chrome, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. Google Chrome goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide Google Chrome on iPad The same Require Face ID menu works on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Hiding doesn't sync through iCloud, so hide Google Chrome separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Google Chrome on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Google Chrome, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. Google Chrome moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and disappears from search. On older iOS versions you can only remove it from the Home Screen, which leaves it in App Library. ### Where does Google Chrome go when you hide it? It goes to the Hidden folder at the very bottom of App Library. Swipe left past your last Home Screen page, scroll down and tap Hidden. The folder opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Google Chrome keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding Google Chrome delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Google Chrome from the Home Screen doesn't delete the app or anything in it. Only Delete App removes it from your iPhone. Even then, data stored in your Google Chrome account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid Google Chrome? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. Google Chrome can also still appear in Screen Time, the Battery list and your App Store purchase history. Anyone who knows your passcode can open everything. ### Does Google Chrome have its own lock? Yes. Google Chrome has Hide Incognito tabs, under More -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Hide Incognito tabs. It works alongside the iOS lock. It uses the same Face ID or passcode as your iPhone, so it adds a second prompt but no separate secret. ## Bottom line Hide and Require Face ID is the fastest way to hide Google Chrome: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add Google Chrome's own settings to hide what's inside it. ## Sources - [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) - [Apple Personal Safety User Guide: Lock or hide apps on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/ipsd0be4c185/web) - [Apple Support: Change Siri settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-siri-settings-iphc28624b81abc/ios) - [Apple Support: Change notification settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notification-settings-iph7c3d96bab/ios) - [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPad](https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/lock-or-hide-an-app-ipad4026f2de/ipados) - [Google Chrome Help: Browse in Incognito mode (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Chrome Help: Delete browsing data in Chrome (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2392709?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Chrome Help: Make Chrome your default browser (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95417?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) ## More Google Chrome privacy guides - [How to lock Google Chrome on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/lock-apps/chrome) - [Google Chrome privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/apps/chrome) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Brave on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/brave) - [How to hide DuckDuckGo on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/duckduckgo) - [How to hide Firefox on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/firefox) - [How to hide Google on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/google) - [How to hide YouTube on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/youtube) - [How to hide Instagram on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/instagram) - [All hide-app guides](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps) ## The full guide - [How to hide apps on iPhone, and where hidden apps still show up](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/hide-apps-on-iphone) --- 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