How to Find Hidden Apps on Android. Guide for Parents Included

To find hidden apps on Android, you can use the phone’s Android settings to find all installed apps on the device. In addition, you can look for apps with special access or search in the App drawer.

Android phones have different ways of hiding apps, including vault apps, but you can uncover them with phone trackers like mSpy and our guide.

Why is it important to know?

• To be able to find out spyware on your phone (pay attention when it’s overheated or behaves erratically);
• For parental control, especially if you are a parent of a teenager who is suddenly hiding their screen, turning off their phone whenever you come near.

You should know that teenagers often use dedicated vault applications to hide everything they want to keep secret on their phone.

In this guide, we will explore all the ways to discover hidden apps on the phone, even if you don’t have access to your teen’s Android device.

Check Android Settings

Most people access apps directly through the app drawer. However, the app drawer does not show apps hidden through different app launchers and app lockers. This is why you will want to check your Android settings, which will show you the full list of installed apps on your Android device.

I’ll show you how to do this with my Samsung A33 phone with the Android 14 operating system.

To find hidden apps using Android settings, open the Settings Menu and tap on Apps.

You will see a list of all the apps installed on the phone, even if they are hidden. If you see an unfamiliar app, tap on it to see the app details. You can then scroll down to find out where the app was downloaded from to see its features. For example, the App Android Auto was downloaded from the Google Play Store, and it controls media, messaging, and maps, using Google Assistant.

Special Access

Apps with special access can access certain features, functions, and data from the device. You can see apps with special access and look through apps that have access to various features like Wi-Fi, usage data access, VR helper services, or appear on top of other apps.

The Special Access feature can help you find hidden spy apps on Android that can access usage data. Secret messaging apps can also be found on Android since they can access functions like Wi-Fi, contacts, and camera.

To find hidden apps using the Special Access feature:

1. Open Settings and go to Apps.
2. Tap on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
   
3. Tap Special Access. You can filter the apps by going to various features such as Appear on top, Usage data access, Camera, and Wi-Fi.
   

This will allow you to quickly scan through all the apps, especially if the phone has hundreds of apps.

Check App Drawer

The app drawer is where apps show up when you install them on Android devices. It is different from the home screen, but you can launch apps from both. Android phones have a Hide Apps feature that hides apps from both the home screen and the app drawer.

If your child has hidden apps from the app drawer, you will need to access the Hide feature.

1. Open the Settings menu.
2. Go to Home Screen. Tap Hide Apps on Home and Apps Screens.
   
3. You will see the list of hidden apps under the Hide Apps menu.
4. Tap on the red minus sign to unhide an app.
5. Doing this will allow you to see the app on both the home screen and the app drawer.
   

Use the File Manager

The file storage application gives you a view of the files on your Android phone. It is the default file manager on Android devices. Thus, it can help you find hidden stuff on Android, such as recordings, videos, images, downloads, and documents.

To see hidden apps using the file manager:

1. Go to the App drawer and search for an icon labeled [My Files] or [File Manager].
2. You will see different categories: images, videos, audio files, documents, installation files, and downloads.
   
3. Tap on a category like Installation files to see secret apps on Android. For example, in my APK Installed files folder, you can see apps like SpyX and Overwatch are installed on the device, but they do not show up on the installed apps list.
   

How to Find Vault and Hidden Apps on a Child’s Phone

If you have already gone through the settings to find hidden apps but haven’t found them, it could be time to look for vault and trick apps that hide apps within Android devices.

What is a Vault App

Vault apps, also known as secret or ghost apps, help hide apps on Android devices. They look like harmless applications like basic calculators or note-taking apps, but they need to be accessed through a special code to allow users to access hidden apps.

There are many vault apps available through the Google Play Store, and they are continually evolving to elude parents. We have researched various vault apps and can now reveal the ones to be aware of.

What Apps You Should Be Aware of?

These are the vault apps to be aware of when searching for trick apps on your child’s Android phone.

Vault Hide

Vault Hide has over 100 million users who use the app to hide apps, photos, and videos. The app also gives users cloud backup, an incognito browser, and a private bookmark to protect mobile privacy.

Secure Folder for Samsung Galaxy

Samsung has the Secure Folder feature for hiding photos, videos, files, and apps. If your teen has a Samsung Galaxy, check if they have stored any apps in this folder.

Go to Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings, then tap Secure Folder to see the apps hidden in it.

Hide It Pro

Hide It Pro has a music icon, making it look like a regular music application. However, this app can hide and lock apps, music, photos, and videos using your fingerprint or a PIN code.

HideU

HideU can hide photos, videos, apps, and files that are only accessible using a password. It looks like a basic calculator app, which makes it hard to detect. Because of its well-designed disguise, the app has over 100 million downloads from the Google Play Store.

Find Hidden Apps Using Phone Tracker Apps

Phone tracker apps can show parents all the apps installed on their child’s device without them knowing, even when you can’t access the kid’s phone. These apps are compatible with the Android operating system and reveal hidden apps even if they are not listed in the apps drawer.

You only need to access the kid’s Android phone once during the app installation, and then you can see and open hidden apps using an online dashboard.

Based on our research, the best parental control apps for finding hidden apps on Android are mSpy, uMobix, and Eyezy. These apps have full access to a phone’s activities, which makes it easy to detect hidden apps and also get passwords to locked trick apps.

How to use mSpy to Find Hidden Apps

1. Go to mspy.com to subscribe for an account. You will get a QR code allowing you to download the app on the target phone.
   
2. Scan the QR code and download the app on the target Android device.
3. Configure the app by allowing the requested permissions. After you finish configuring the app, you will get access to the online dashboard.
   
4. Open the online dashboard and go to Installed Apps. You will see the complete list of apps on the target device. In addition, mSpy will show you the app’s activities. If you want to access the passwords for various apps, the keylogger feature allows you to see the typed words for various apps to see the passwords used to unlock various apps.
   
   

mSpy allows you to find hidden message apps on Android and monitor text messages, calls logs, and browser history. As one of the most comprehensive parental control apps for Android, mSpy gives you peace of mind by letting you know what your child has been up to on the device.

Try mSpy

Conclusion

Finding hidden apps on Android is possible using various settings, such as the Hide Apps in the Android drawer and Special Access features.

Nonetheless, kids can use vault apps, which makes it crucial to identify them and use third-party apps to discover them. You can now rest assured that you know how to dig for hidden apps, so you are always in the know.