How To Conceal Your Purchase History on the App Store
How to Hide Purchase History on the App Store
If you’ve ever wanted to keep certain apps or purchases out of sight on your iPhone, you’re not alone. Maybe you downloaded some apps out of curiosity or just to test something quickly, and now you’d prefer they don’t show up in your regular purchase list. The good news? Apple actually lets you hide specific purchases, but the whole process is a bit… tricky. It took me some trial and error to figure out, honestly. So here’s what finally worked for me—hopefully it helps save someone else a good chunk of frustration.
Starting with the App Store and Your Profile
First off, open the App Store app—it’s the blue icon, usually front and center. When you’re in, tap on your profile picture or icon in the top right corner. That gets you into your account settings. From here, it shows your account info, purchased apps, subscriptions, etc. Keep in mind, that profile icon keeps everything personal, but that’s the starting point if you want to hide stuff. If your screen looks a little different or some options are missing, it might be because of an iOS update or regional differences, but the core idea remains the same.
Getting to Your Purchase List
Once you’re in your profile, look for “Purchased“—sometimes called My Purchases. It might be a tab, or you might need to tap your Apple ID at the top first, then select Purchased. If you’re on a shared device or have restrictions set, some options might be gray or just missing entirely. Anyway, in that list, you’ll see everything you’ve ever bought or downloaded—free or paid. Here’s the part where I got stuck for a bit: swipe left on the app you want to hide. If you’re lucky, a “Hide” button will slide out. If it doesn’t, try tapping on the app, then look for Report a Problem or a three-dot menu to see if hiding is an option there.
Hiding Apps the Right Way
Once you tap Hide, that app should disappear from your visible purchase list. It’s not gone forever; it’s just hidden from the main view. Easy enough, right? Well, yeah, until you realize that the hide button isn’t always obvious or sometimes a little buried. Keep in mind, hiding an app doesn’t delete it—just makes it less cluttered. Also, if you don’t see the option to hide immediately, make sure you’re scrolling the right way, or check if your system or region settings affect how the menu appears. It’s also worth noting that hiding impacts only the purchase history shown in the App Store; your actual Apple ID billing info or receipts can still show all those apps unless you go to your email or purchase records separately.
Unhiding or Viewing Hidden Purchases Later
Changed your mind? No stress—unhiding is straightforward but involves a few steps. Go back to your profile icon, tap your name at the top, or select View Account. Scroll down until you find Hidden Purchases; this is where Apple dumps all the stuff you hid earlier. Tap that, and you’ll see a list of apps you previously chose to hide. Just tap on any of them to unhide, and they’ll pop back into your purchase history. Sometimes, the list only shows if you toggle certain view options, or you may need to sign out and sign back in to your Apple ID from Settings > Your Name. It’s a bit unintuitive, but it works once you find it.
Other Tips and Things to Keep in Mind
Heads up: hiding apps isn’t foolproof. Sometimes, the menu options are hidden or only appear after a restart or signing out of your Apple ID. Also, the interface can change with updates, so what worked yesterday might look different today. On some devices or iOS versions, hiding is less obvious or only available in a few spots. Also, if your device has Restrictions or Screen Time limits enabled, those can prevent some options from appearing or cause other weirdness. If you’re worried about privacy, just remember that hiding only affects what shows in your purchase history—it doesn’t remove the app from your device or block it entirely. To do that, you’d need to delete the app manually or disable it in settings.
Parting Thoughts & Troubleshooting
This whole hiding thing definitely had me scratching my head at first — especially trying to find the exact menu, and trusting that it would stay hidden. Honestly, it took a few tries to get comfortable with the interface, and I ended up rechecking settings after every iOS update. If things aren’t working or the options seem grayed out, try signing out and back into your Apple ID or updating to the latest iOS version. Sometimes toggling Restrictions or Content & Privacy Restrictions under Settings > Screen Time affects what you can see or do. Also, remember: this is mostly a privacy measure, not a way to delete apps entirely. For that, deleting apps from the Home Screen or from Settings > General > iPhone Storage is still the way to go.