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iOS 7.1 glitch allows stock apps to be hidden on the Home Screen

In what feels like an annual affair, somebody has once again found a glitch with the iOS Home Screen. The bug allows users to place folders inside folders on the iOS 7 Springboard, which is normally not possible. With a certain configuration of steps, the bug can also make apps disappear from the Home Screen entirely. For instance, you could hide some of the stock Apple apps (like Compass or Voice Memos) that normally can’t be removed.

The apps aren’t actually deleted from your iPhone or iPad; it’s merely a visual display glitch that hides them. This means the apps will return when you reboot your iOS device. The steps to hide some apps are below, but the video demo above by iDeviceHelpus demonstrates how to do it more clearly.

  1. Put the apps you want to hide in a folder.
  2. Put this folder on a page of your Home Screen that is full. This means that you need both a full grid of icons as well as a full dock (the dock stretches to 6 apps on the iPad).
  3. You then drag any app on top of another one to create a folder. As the folder animation begins, quickly drag the folder you want to hide inside the newly created folder. You have to be fast here; watch the video to get a better idea of the timing.
  4. Remove the two apps in the folder first. Then drag out the subfolder and it will vanish completely. The apps have now been hidden.

As said above, the apps will return after a device reboot when Springboard resets itself. This glitch has been confirmed to work on iOS 7.1. In future iOS 7 updates, Apple is likely to fix the underlying issue which means the loophole will likely stop working in future releases.

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Comments

  1. James Smith - 10 years ago

    Apples feelings just got hurt ;-(

  2. Joe Public - 10 years ago

    That ought to be called a “Feature”.

    Why should Arrogant Apple be allowed to dictate what Apps “I” prefer to be visible?

    • rogifan - 10 years ago

      I’m confused. I can stick all stock Apple apps in a folder if I want. How is Apple dictating which apps are visible on the home screen?

      • OneOkami (@OneOkami) - 10 years ago

        Yes, you can stick stock Apple apps in a folder (and by folder I’m assuming mean a group) if you want.

        They’re still there, they’re still visible, they still take up space, and if you don’t use them they’re just an unnecessary waste of space.

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        These people who complain about wasted space amuse me… as if putting the unused icons on the last page of a folder, where you don’t have to swipe to ever, makes any difference LOL. It’s wasting space which isn’t ever seen or used anyway. Funny.

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      As opposed to all the carrier bloatware garbage you can’t get rid of on most Android phones….

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      It’s not arrogance silly, they are part of the OS. You can’t delete the phone app off a Windows or Android phone. Most included apps are just part of the OS distribution and are not available on the app store, get over it. Arrogance, lol, you must be a Samsung troll.

  3. secdj - 10 years ago

    What about the removal of the Full screen Caller ID. Address that issue people. Many visually impaired people counted on that.

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      Completely agree, this should not have been removed, OR should have simply been modified. They obviously wanted a way to display the buttons more clearly, but could have solved this very easily by making the tiny circle picture bigger (say 1 to 1.5″ in diameter) and centering that on the screen under the name. I’ve already sent them this suggestion, maybe someone will read it.

      • Benjamin Mayo - 10 years ago

        I agree. The caller’s image is too small to be useful in its current presentation. It was better in iOS 7.0 when it became the background image — this let the text fill the full width of the screen.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.