New code suggests Apple will finally let you hide iPhone apps you don’t want

iOS users may no longer have to hide stock apps that they don’t want or use inside unnamed folders on their home screens. Apple quietly added new keys to iTunes’ metadata recently that suggest some apps might soon be hideable. The keys say “isFirstParty” and “isFirstPartyHideableApp,” according to AppAdvice, and are showing up on every app in the App Store. These API adjustments could suggest that some default apps, like Compass, Voice Memos, and Stocks, will soon be able to be completely hidden. The keys are currently set to “false,” but AppAdvice speculates they could be turned on to coincide with Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June when it announces the release of iOS 10.

While this is just one way to interpret the new keys, Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested this feature would be added in a previous interview with Buzzfeed News. “This is a more complex issue than it first appears,” Cook said in September. “There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone. There are other apps that aren’t like that. So over time, I think with the ones that aren’t like that, we’ll figure out a way [for you to remove them].”

Devices used across businesses and schools can already hide stock apps through Apple Configurator 2.2, and apps can also be hidden on the Apple TV.