--- title: "How to Hide Instagram on iPhone: 5 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide Instagram on iPhone in 10 seconds: Hide and Require Face ID moves it to a locked Hidden folder. Plus hide your story from someone, alerts and search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/instagram lang: en published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Instagram on iPhone > Instagram 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 Instagram 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. Instagram moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. Instagram also has its own option inside the app: Hide your story from someone. 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:** Hide your story from someone. - **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 Instagram can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and Instagram has 5 privacy settings of its own. Below are 5 ways, fastest first, and the places Instagram still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Instagram's settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide Instagram with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides Instagram from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find Instagram on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the Instagram 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** Instagram leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Instagram 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 Instagram from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: Instagram's own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Instagram itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Instagram supports. ### Hide your story from someone Pick specific people who won't see your story. They can still see your profile and posts, and the change applies to stories you post after that. ### Share a story with Close Friends only Make a Close Friends list, then share a story only with the people on it. ### Make your account private Turn on Private account. After that, people have to send a follow request before they can see your posts, followers, or following list. Business accounts can't be private. ### Clear your search history Delete your recent searches in Instagram. Clearing is temporary, so a search can show up again if you search for it again. ### Hide Instagram message previews Instagram's Notifications settings let you mute push notifications or choose which activity sends alerts. You can also turn off post notifications for one account from that person's profile. ## Method 3: Move Instagram photos into a vault Hiding the app doesn't hide photos you've saved from it. Those sit in your camera roll, where anyone scrolling Photos can see them. Move them into a vault, then delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted. > **Lock this in VaultForYou.** Keep Instagram photos in an encrypted vault that opens only with a pattern you draw. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000) See [how to hide photos in Instagram](/hide-photos/instagram) for the in-app options. ## Other ways to hide Instagram - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold Instagram, 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 Instagram. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Instagram -> 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 Instagram and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding Instagram 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 Instagram 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 Instagram.** Touch and hold Instagram, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. Instagram goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide Instagram on iPad The same Require Face ID menu works on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Hiding doesn't sync through iCloud, so hide Instagram separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Instagram on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Instagram, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. Instagram 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 Instagram 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. Instagram keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding Instagram delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Instagram 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 Instagram account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid Instagram? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. Instagram 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 Instagram 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 Instagram 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 Instagram: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add Instagram's own settings to hide what's inside it. For photos, a vault is the only option that takes them out of Photos. ## 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) - [Instagram Help Center: Hide your Instagram story from someone](https://help.instagram.com/1177797265575168) - [Instagram Help Center: Make your Instagram account private](https://help.instagram.com/448523408565555) - [Instagram Help Center: Archive Instagram Stories or turn off Stories Archive](https://help.instagram.com/1935507879999791) - [Instagram Help Center: Set a daily time limit on Instagram](https://help.instagram.com/2049425491975359) ## More Instagram privacy guides - [How to block Instagram on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/block-apps/instagram) - [How to hide photos in Instagram](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-photos/instagram) - [Instagram privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/apps/instagram) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide YouTube on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/youtube) - [How to hide Snapchat on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/snapchat) - [How to hide TikTok on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/tiktok) - [How to hide Facebook on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/facebook) - [How to hide Reddit on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/reddit) - [How to hide Discord on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/discord) - [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