How To Remove Bought Apps From the App Store Quickly
How to Hide Purchased Apps on iPhone
Honestly, this whole process can feel like hunting for a hidden Easter egg. I got stuck for a bit trying to figure out how to hide certain apps from my purchase history without deleting them outright. Apple’s interface isn’t super straightforward about it — it’s more like, hide and seek than a clean delete option. So, if you’re like me and want to keep certain apps out of sight but don’t want to lose access or mess up your account, here’s the lowdown based on my experience.
Accessing Your Purchase History in the App Store
The first thing to do is open the App Store app on your iPhone. That’s where all the magic starts. Tap on your profile icon up top right—if it’s not there or you’re not signed in, that’s your first hurdle. On iOS 15 and later, this icon is your gateway to your account info. Tap it, and you’ll see a menu with your account overview. This is where you can tweak basically everything related to your Apple ID and past purchases. Side note: if your profile picture or icon is missing, double-check that you’re signed in properly, and maybe ensure there are no pending iOS updates causing UI weirdness. Sometimes settings get cluttered after updates, so it’s worth a quick check.
Now, look for the ‘Purchases’ or ‘My Purchases’ section. This is a list of every app, song, or media you’ve ever bought or downloaded with your Apple ID. It’s often quite long, so scrolling or searching might be necessary. Finding the exact app you want to hide can be like looking for a needle in a haystack — especially if your purchase history is huge. Patience helps.
Hiding Purchased Apps: Step-by-Step
This is where the fun begins — or at least the confusing part. To hide an app, you usually swipe left on its listing. Be prepared to swipe multiple times or tap more than once—sometimes it’s finicky. When it recognizes your swipe, a ‘Hide’ button pops up, which can be faint or tucked to the side. It’s not always obvious, and occasionally it only appears after tapping on the app’s entry or after a second tap. Definitely not the most intuitive. Also, some interfaces might have a ‘More’ or ‘Actions’ menu where ‘Hide’ is hidden behind another tap. It’s buried just enough that I missed it the first few tries.
Once you confirm to hide it, that app disappears from your purchase list and isn’t so easily visible. It’s handy if you want a more private list or just tidy things up — but remember, it does not delete the app from your device or your Apple account. It’s merely hidden from view. And yep, the label for this isn’t always consistent; depending on your iOS version, it might appear in Settings > Your Apple ID > Media & Purchases > Hidden Purchases.
Managing Hidden Purchases
If you accidentally hide the wrong thing or just want to see what’s hidden, you need to go back into your account. Tap your profile icon again, then tap your name at the top if necessary. Scroll down a little — sometimes, it takes a couple of taps or a bit of scrolling — until you see ‘Hidden Purchases’. That’s where all hidden apps and media live. Once there, you can see everything you’ve hidden so far.
Want to bring an app back? Just tap on it, then look for an ‘Unhide’ or ‘Download’ option. Sometimes toggling a switch works, but other times, you might need to restart the app or even restart your phone if changes don’t seem to stick right away. Honestly, this part felt a little clunky, especially because Apple often moves the menus around with each iOS update. If hiding doesn’t work immediately, give your device a quick refresh or re-login.
Why Apple Won’t Let You Fully Delete Purchase History
This one’s the elephant in the room. Apple doesn’t allow full deletion of apps from your purchase history. The official line is that they keep a record for licensing, auditing, fraud prevention, or legal reasons. Whatever the official excuse, it means hiding is your only real option if you want to keep some purchase history out of sight. There’s no CLI command or hidden setting to purge stuff — it’s just not supported. If you’re hoping to wipe everything clean, you’re out of luck.
Things to Keep in Mind
Like I said, hidden apps still use storage, and they can show up in search results or in some parts of the Settings, like General > iPhone Storage. So, hiding isn’t a trapdoor to total privacy. Some apps might also reappear after software updates or iOS upgrades, especially if Apple changed the way those features work. And yes, I found that signing out of iCloud or the App Store sometimes cleans up the cache, but it’s not a guarantee. Also, be aware that hiding doesn’t prevent someone with access to your device from seeing what’s installed — it’s mainly about hiding from your purchase history listing.
Final Tips and Wrap-Up
If all you want is a cleaner purchase history without risking accidental deletion, hiding is probably the best workaround. Just be prepared for the process to be a bit awkward — swiping, tapping, scrolling through hidden menus. The biggest takeaway is that hiding isn’t foolproof, but it’s better than nothing for keeping certain apps out of sight. For those sharing a device or concerned about privacy, check your Restrictions or Screen Time settings — these can help prevent others from un-hiding or viewing hidden apps.
Overall, it’s a bit clunky, and I wish Apple made this more straightforward, but at least now it’s possible without jailbreaking or hacking. Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure out that hiding was the only way to go. Anyway, good luck hiding those apps, and hopefully it saves someone else a weekend of frustration!