--- title: "How to Hide Google on iPhone: 5 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide Google on iPhone in 10 seconds: Hide and Require Face ID moves it to a locked Hidden folder. Plus search in Incognito, alerts and search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/google lang: en published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Google on iPhone > Google 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 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 moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. Google also has its own option inside the app: Search in Incognito. 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:** Search in Incognito. - **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 can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and Google has 6 privacy settings of its own. Below are 5 ways, fastest first, and the places Google still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Google's settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide Google with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides Google from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find Google on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the Google 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 leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Google 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 Google from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: Google's own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Google itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Google supports. ### Search in Incognito Incognito in the Google app stops saving your searches and keeps recent searches from appearing below the search bar. ### Delete search history Go to **Profile picture or initial -> Search history -> Delete**. Choose Delete all time or Delete custom range, or delete a single day or search with Delete activity. ### Auto-delete search history Go to **Profile picture or initial -> Search history -> Controls -> Auto-delete activity older than**. Choose 3, 18, or 36 months, then tap Next. ### Delete on-device search history Go to **Profile picture -> Settings -> Privacy & security**. Search history stored on this device is separate from the history in your Google Account. Deleting it doesn't affect your other devices. ### Enable Face ID for Incognito mode Go to **Profile picture -> Settings -> Privacy & security**. Asks for Face ID when you come back to an Incognito session after 15 minutes. It protects only Incognito, not the whole app. ### Hide Google message previews Go to **Profile picture or initial -> Settings -> Notifications**. Choose which Google app notifications you get. ## Other ways to hide Google - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold Google, 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. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Google -> 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 and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding Google 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 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.** Touch and hold Google, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. Google goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide Google 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 separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Google on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Google, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. Google 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 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 keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding Google delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Google 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 account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid Google? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. Google 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 have its own lock? Yes. Google has Enable Face ID for Incognito mode, under Profile picture -> Settings -> Privacy & security. 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: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add Google'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 Search Help: Change your Google app settings (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2839743?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Search Help: Find & erase your Google Search history (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6096136?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Account Help: Delete your activity (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/465?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Search Help: Make Google Search safer with SafeSearch (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/510?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) ## More Google privacy guides - [How to lock Google on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/lock-apps/google) - [How to block Google on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/block-apps/google) - [Google privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/apps/google) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Google Chrome on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/chrome) - [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 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