How to hide apps in the macOS Tahoe Apps view.

The short answer: the Apps view has no hide option. macOS alone can't take a single installed app out of it, short of uninstalling the app. PrivyDock can: it hides the app itself, so it no longer shows up in the Apps view, the Dock, Spotlight or the Applications folder.

What changed in macOS Tahoe

• Launchpad is now the Apps view. You open it by clicking Apps in the Dock, pressing the Launchpad key (F4), pinching with your thumb and three fingers, or pressing Command-Space and then Command-1.
• Apps are sorted for you. The view groups apps into categories such as Productivity or Social, or shows them as one list. A personal app can land right at the top of its category.
• No folders, no rearranging. You can't drag an app into a folder or onto a far-away page any more, so there is nowhere to tuck it.
• It is built on Spotlight. The Apps view lists the apps Spotlight finds on your Mac, which is why it shows everything you install.

What macOS lets you do, and what each option misses

1. Remove the app from the Dock. Right-click its icon and choose Options, then Remove from Dock. This tidies the Dock only. The app is still in the Apps view, in Spotlight and in the Applications folder. More in our Dock guide.
2. Add it to Spotlight's Search Privacy list. In System Settings, open Spotlight and then Search Privacy, and add the app. This is meant to keep it out of search results, and Apple doesn't describe it as a way to hide apps. The app also stays in the Applications folder for anyone who opens Finder. See our Spotlight guide.
3. Move the app to another folder. Spotlight looks for apps across your Mac, so a moved app usually still turns up, and some apps don't update or run properly outside the Applications folder.
4. Uninstall it. This is the only built-in way to make an app disappear everywhere, and you lose the convenience of having it ready when you need it.

None of these keeps one app installed and ready while taking it out of the Apps view. Our Launchpad guide covers the same gap on older macOS versions.

Hide an app from the Apps view with PrivyDock

PrivyDock is the only Mac app that truly hides apps. Most tools only hide windows or tidy the Dock. PrivyDock 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 anywhere: not in the Apps view, not in the Dock, not in Spotlight, not in the Applications folder. You open it only from PrivyDock in the menu bar.

1. Download PrivyDock and open it. It runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, including macOS Tahoe.
2. Pick the apps you want out of view: dating, banking, health, a job search or anything else that is nobody else's business.
3. Hide them with one click. They disappear from the Apps view and everywhere else.
4. Open a hidden app from the PrivyDock menu bar icon whenever you need it, and bring everything back with one click when you're done.

Nothing is uninstalled. Each app keeps its settings and data, and the hidden folder holds a recovery guide and a restore script, so your apps can come back even if PrivyDock is removed. There is no account, and your list of hidden apps never leaves your Mac.

One limit to know: Apple's own apps, such as Messages or Photos, can't be moved. PrivyDock can take them off the Dock, but they still appear in the Apps view and Spotlight. PrivyDock hides apps from view; it does not encrypt them, so keep FileVault and a strong login password on as well.

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