--- title: "How to Hide Gmail on iPhone: 5 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide Gmail on iPhone in 10 seconds: Hide and Require Face ID moves it to a locked Hidden folder. Plus archive, alerts and search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/gmail lang: en published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Gmail on iPhone > Gmail 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 Gmail 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. Gmail moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. Gmail also has its own option inside the app: Archive. 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:** Archive. - **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 Gmail can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and Gmail has 3 privacy settings of its own. Below are 5 ways, fastest first, and the places Gmail still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Gmail's settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide Gmail with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides Gmail from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find Gmail on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the Gmail 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** Gmail leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Gmail 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). **What this does not do:** it doesn't hide Gmail from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: Gmail's own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Gmail itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Gmail supports. ### Archive Touch and hold one or more messages, then tap Archive at the top. Archived mail leaves your inbox but stays under the All mail label. ### Confidential mode Go to **Compose -> More options -> Confidential mode**. Set an expiration date for an email you send and choose whether a passcode is needed to open it. You can remove access early, but recipients can still take screenshots. ### Hide Gmail message previews Go to **Menu -> Settings -> Email notifications**. Under Notifications, tap Email notifications and choose a level, such as High priority only. If you have more than one account, change it for each account. ## Other ways to hide Gmail - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold Gmail, 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 Gmail. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Gmail -> 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 Gmail and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding Gmail 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 Gmail 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 Gmail.** Touch and hold Gmail, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. Gmail goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide Gmail on iPad The same Require Face ID menu works on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Hiding doesn't sync through iCloud, so hide Gmail separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Gmail on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Gmail, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. Gmail 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 Gmail 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. Gmail keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding Gmail delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Gmail 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 Gmail account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid Gmail? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. Gmail 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 hiding Gmail on iPhone hide it on my iPad? No. Apple says hidden and locked apps don't sync through iCloud, so the setting only applies to the iPhone where you set it. If you use Gmail on an iPad, hide it there too with the same Require Face ID menu. ## Bottom line Hide and Require Face ID is the fastest way to hide Gmail: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add Gmail'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) - [Gmail Help: Gmail security tips (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7036019?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Gmail Help: Archive Gmail messages (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6576?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Gmail Help: Send & open confidential emails (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7674059?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Gmail Help: Change Gmail notifications (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1075549?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) ## More Gmail privacy guides - [Gmail privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/apps/gmail) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Google Photos on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/google-photos) - [How to hide Dropbox on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/dropbox) - [How to hide Google Drive on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/google-drive) - [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) - [How to hide Messages on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/messages) - [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