Hiding apps from the kids

**Kevlarr** · 01-21-2013, 08:08 AM

Hi all, first post here. Have a question on hiding apps. I have placed several apps under one folder in my samsung galaxy s3 (jelly bean). How do i hide this folder (that contains multiple apps) inside them? I don't need a sophisticated encryption or anything like that, as long as kids can't access them. I've looked at google play store, and most are for hiding photos and videos, but not folders that contain multiple apps. Does anyone know how to do this?

**MrHost** · 01-21-2013, 08:24 AM

You could get app lock, so it requires a passcode to open the app..but won't hide the folder or the apps themselves.

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**croppz** · 01-21-2013, 08:27 AM

In nova launcher prime there is an option to hide certain apps. I used it to hide all the bloatware. Doesnt show up in the app drawer.

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**Tunnelrunner** · 01-21-2013, 08:28 AM

Agree with MrHost: "App Lock" is a Godsend. You can lock photos, web browsers, settings, etc. but unfortunately, you can't really "hide" them per se; you can only prevent kids from getting into them.

**Kevlarr** · 01-21-2013, 05:57 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I have downloaded app lock, but this will only password-protect the app. The app is still visible and the kids will know the app is there. I'm looking for something that will hide the app thumbnails completely. Is using launcher the only way to do this? Using a launcher, will it slow down the phone's performance? And will it replace samsung s3's default skin (touchwizz or something)? I kinda like touchwizz and not keen on replacing it. Maybe if there is an app that can that can password protect a folder (that contains multiple apps in the app drawer), that will work as well. Does anyone know such app?

**MobileMadness002** · 01-21-2013, 06:23 PM

Can we ask what the overall desire of this is. Just to hide the apps or to hide to a point that the kids cannot uninstall said apps? Sounds like your wanting to track or monitor your kids without them knowing? Or am I just reading too much into this?

**Kevlarr** · 01-22-2013, 02:38 AM

I have some games which I don't want the kids to have access to (in fact, I don't even want then to know it's there), plus some "adult" apps. They won't know how to uninstall, just want to hide them so they won't know it's there.

**meyerweb** · 01-24-2013, 04:37 PM

You might want to look at an alternate launcher, like Nova Prime.
It apparently lets you create hidden app drawers, so you could put all the app you don't want the kids to see in a hidden drawer. I'm not sure how you access it once it's hidden, so you might want to reach out to the developer.