Can apps be invisible even from the settings menu? If so, how do you even remove them?
- Thread starter jamesnyc1000
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- Feb 6, 2017
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Hi, welcome to AC!
All your apps on the phone will be displayed in settings under apps or system apps , which app your looking for ?
All your apps on the phone will be displayed in settings under apps or system apps , which app your looking for ?
Can I guess? I'm betting the answer to this question would move this thread into 'locked' status and us not really being willing to help...
- Feb 6, 2017
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- Mar 9, 2012
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I think it's more likely that the OP thinks they've been "hacked" and believe there's some piece of malware hidden somewhere.
smvim
Well-known member
- May 16, 2014
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Go into your Settings >> Apps menu and enable the 'hidden' apps option to see all the apps installed on your device. The issue being it's not always an obvious option and its naming will vary depending on what version of Android you're using and which manufacturer. So the option might show as 'System apps' or 'Hidden apps' or simply 'Show All apps', and it might be buried in a sub-menu in the Apps menu itself (a three-dot icon, or hamburger icon, or gear icon in the upper or the lower menubar).
Otherwise, if there's an 'invisible' app you're not going to be able to remove it as it doesn't really exist as an app. You can either do a combination of a Factory Reset and flash an appropriate stock ROM to do a complete restore of your phone's firmware/software, or just buy a new phone as this 'invisible' issue is apparently a fixation for you and for your own mental health it's not a good thing to use a phone every day that you don't trust.
Otherwise, if there's an 'invisible' app you're not going to be able to remove it as it doesn't really exist as an app. You can either do a combination of a Factory Reset and flash an appropriate stock ROM to do a complete restore of your phone's firmware/software, or just buy a new phone as this 'invisible' issue is apparently a fixation for you and for your own mental health it's not a good thing to use a phone every day that you don't trust.
VidJunky
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- Dec 6, 2011
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I don't believe that there is any way to completely hide an app on an Android device. What I believe smvim is eluding to are system apps that don't show up without being enabled in the App list. To see those you typically have to open the app list and then somewhere along the top there will either be sort option, which may actually say the word "sort" or will be represented by 3 or 4 lines decreasing in size, or in the drop down menu, resented by a gear icon or 3 dots, where you have to choose "display system apps".
Again back to smvim's comment, back in the day apps could ghost install "complimentary" apps. I say that in quotes because what these really were was a way to get sneaky apps on a device. They usually display ads but could also be something like an antivirus app, battery saver or other app that was intended to get the user to buy something, use a service they wouldn't otherwise or gain more access to permissions that the original app was not accessible to. This is why downloading from known safe sources is a must. The apps weren't invisible but may appear under a different name than that given. I remember having a similar issue on my Incredible or Rezound. Like I said though back in the day.
I guess the most important question to the OP would be;
Why do you think you have an invisible app installed on your device?
Other questions include;
Do you have an app name? Doing a web search for the app name will likely tell you more than we could because if it is truly a menace there will be mention of it, reviews of it and, if it is even possible, how-to uninstall. It should also tell you if it is a harmless system app.
How did you find this app? This kind of goes along with why do you feel there is something there that you cannot see but may also give us some insight as to whether or not this is a real app and not just an ad machine embedder in another app.
Again back to smvim's comment, back in the day apps could ghost install "complimentary" apps. I say that in quotes because what these really were was a way to get sneaky apps on a device. They usually display ads but could also be something like an antivirus app, battery saver or other app that was intended to get the user to buy something, use a service they wouldn't otherwise or gain more access to permissions that the original app was not accessible to. This is why downloading from known safe sources is a must. The apps weren't invisible but may appear under a different name than that given. I remember having a similar issue on my Incredible or Rezound. Like I said though back in the day.
I guess the most important question to the OP would be;
Why do you think you have an invisible app installed on your device?
Other questions include;
Do you have an app name? Doing a web search for the app name will likely tell you more than we could because if it is truly a menace there will be mention of it, reviews of it and, if it is even possible, how-to uninstall. It should also tell you if it is a harmless system app.
How did you find this app? This kind of goes along with why do you feel there is something there that you cannot see but may also give us some insight as to whether or not this is a real app and not just an ad machine embedder in another app.
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