--- title: "How to Hide WeChat on iPhone: 4 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide WeChat on iPhone in 10 seconds with Hide and Require Face ID (iOS 18+), then hide its alerts and search results. Where it still shows." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/wechat lang: en published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide WeChat on iPhone > WeChat 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 WeChat 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. WeChat moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. WeChat also has its own option inside the app: Hide your Moments from certain friends. 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 Moments from certain friends (Me -> Settings -> Friends' Permissions -> Moments -> Hide My Posts). - **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 WeChat can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and WeChat has 3 privacy settings of its own. Below are 4 ways, fastest first, and the places WeChat still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and WeChat's settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide WeChat with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides WeChat from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find WeChat on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the WeChat 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** WeChat leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. WeChat 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 WeChat from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: WeChat's own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. WeChat itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that WeChat supports. ### Hide your Moments from certain friends Go to **Me -> Settings -> Friends' Permissions -> Moments -> Hide My Posts**. Tap Add to choose contacts who cannot see your Moments, without unfriending them. ### Limit how far back friends can see In Moments settings, limit what friends can view to the last 3 days, last month, last 6 months, or all posts. You can also turn off Make Last 10 Moments Public so strangers cannot see them. ### Post privately Before posting a Moment, use Share With and choose Private so only you can see it, or exclude selected contacts. ## Method 3: Move WeChat 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 WeChat 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 [all WeChat's privacy settings](/apps/wechat) for the in-app options. ## Other ways to hide WeChat - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold WeChat, 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 WeChat. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> WeChat -> 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 WeChat and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding WeChat 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 WeChat 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 WeChat.** Touch and hold WeChat, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. WeChat goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide WeChat on iPad The same Require Face ID menu works on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Hiding doesn't sync through iCloud, so hide WeChat separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide WeChat on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold WeChat, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. WeChat 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 WeChat 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. WeChat keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding WeChat delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing WeChat 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 WeChat account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid WeChat? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. WeChat 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 WeChat 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 WeChat 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 WeChat: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add WeChat'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) - [WeChat Help Center: How Do I Set Privacy for Moments?](https://cs.help.wechat.com/hc/en-us/articles/11973242214543-How-Do-I-Set-Privacy-for-Moments) - [WeChat Help Center: How to Complete Your Guardian Mode Setup?](https://cs.help.wechat.com/hc/en-us/articles/13482262541839-How-to-Complete-Your-Guardian-Mode-Setup) - [WeChat Help Center: Guardian Mode FAQ](https://cs.help.wechat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14419799290383-Guardian-Mode-FAQ) ## More WeChat privacy guides - [How to block WeChat on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/block-apps/wechat) - [WeChat privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/apps/wechat) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Messages on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/messages) - [How to hide WhatsApp on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/whatsapp) - [How to hide Facebook Messenger on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/messenger) - [How to hide Signal on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/signal) - [How to hide Telegram on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/telegram) - [How to hide LINE on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/hide-apps/line) - [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