How to find hidden apps on a Mac.

The short answer: most "hidden" apps on a Mac are only out of one view. An app removed from the Dock still shows up in Finder, in Spotlight and in Launchpad (the Apps view in macOS Tahoe). Five quick checks find nearly all of them.

5 places to check for hidden apps

1. The Applications folder in Finder. Open Finder and choose Go, then Applications (Shift-Command-A). Switch to list view and sort by Date Added to see what was installed recently. Some apps install into the Applications folder inside your home folder, so check that one too.
2. Spotlight. Press Command-Space and type the app's name, or part of it. Spotlight finds apps anywhere on your Mac, not only in the Applications folder, unless they were added to its Search Privacy list.
3. Launchpad or the Apps view. On macOS Sonoma and Sequoia, open Launchpad and swipe through every page and every folder. On macOS Tahoe, open the Apps view and switch to the list to see every app at once.
4. Apps that are running. Press Command-Tab to see every open app, including ones whose windows are hidden. Option-Command-Esc opens Force Quit, which lists them too.
5. Activity Monitor and System Information. Both are in Applications, then Utilities. Activity Monitor shows every running process, including background apps with no Dock icon. System Information, under Software and then Applications, lists the apps macOS has found on your Mac and where each one lives.

Comfortable with Terminal? Typing ls -a /Applications lists everything in the Applications folder, including items hidden from Finder. If Screen Time is on, System Settings also shows which apps were used, under Screen Time and then App & Website Activity.

What each hiding trick leaves behind

• Removed from the Dock. The most common trick, and the easiest to see through. The app is still in Finder, Spotlight and Launchpad or the Apps view. More in our Dock guide.
• Windows hidden with Command-H. The app is still running, so it shows in Command-Tab and in the Dock.
• Moved to another folder. Spotlight and System Information still find it, so search by name instead of browsing.
• Added to Spotlight's Search Privacy list. It drops out of search results, but it is still in the Applications folder. Open System Settings, then Spotlight, then Search Privacy to see what is on the list. More in our Spotlight guide.
• Hidden in Finder with a Terminal command. Press Shift-Command-. (period) in Finder to show hidden items.
• Installed for another user. Apps installed only in another account live in that user's home folder. An administrator can see every account in System Settings, under Users & Groups.

If you want an app out of view on your own Mac

Maybe you are reading this from the other side: you share a Mac and want a personal app to stay yours. As the checks above show, macOS has no built-in way to take one installed app out of every view. Each trick leaves it somewhere.

PrivyDock is the only Mac app that truly hides apps. It moves the app you pick out of the Applications folder into a hidden folder on your Mac and takes it off macOS's list of installed apps. While it is hidden, it doesn't show up in the Applications folder, Spotlight, Launchpad or the Apps view, or the Dock. You open it only from PrivyDock in the menu bar. While you have it open, macOS treats it like any running app, so quit it when you're done and it is out of view again.

• Nothing is uninstalled. Each app keeps its settings and data, and one click puts every app back where it was.
• No account, no cloud. Your list of hidden apps never leaves your Mac.
• A way back, even without PrivyDock. The hidden folder holds a recovery guide and a restore script.

Apple's own apps, such as Messages or Photos, can't be moved; PrivyDock can take them off the Dock only. PrivyDock hides apps from view; it does not encrypt them, so keep FileVault and a strong login password on as well. Sharing a Mac with family? See our shared Mac guide.

Download PrivyDock and try it free for 30 days, then pay once. Launch offer: 60% off for the first 100 customers, until 7 Jan 2027. See pricing.