Unhide hidden purchases in App Store

Question

Level 1

8 points

Unhide hidden purchases in App Store

I know that there are many threads about this topic, but sadly there has never been an answer to the initial question. It used to be possible to see hidden mobile App Store purchases on Mac and that was also the only possibility to unhide them. Now the official way is to re-download them. I tried this on several devices and it simply does not work. This is also where all the other threads end.

It is also unhandy that it is not possible to have full access to ones account from all approved Apple devices. Or am I just missing that way?

Thanks in advance!

iPhone 8

Posted on Apr 24, 2020 7:13 AM

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Answer 1

sterling r

Community Specialist

Apr 25, 2020 2:22 PM in response to Chris-96

Hello, Chris-96.

I understand that you would like to know if there is a way to unhide hidden apps beyond downloading them again. I’m glad to lend a little insight.

The short answer is that the only way to unhide a hidden app is to download it again.

Hide App Store purchases

You can't unhide an app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but you can redownload an app. You don't have to buy the app again.

I hope this helps!

Be Well.

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Answer 2

sterling r

Community Specialist

Apr 28, 2020 1:34 PM in response to Chris-96

Chris-96,

I appreciate the reply. I tested this process on my own device, an iPhone 11 Pro Max running the latest version of iOS, and was able to hide an app and then "unhide" it by downloading it again. Is your iPhone up-to-date? If not I would recommend backing it up and updating.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Thanks!

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Answer 3

i_rina

Community Specialist

Apr 29, 2020 1:21 PM in response to Chris-96

Chris-96,

You have done some very in-depth troubleshooting. Restoring an iPhone and setting it up as new was a particularly good step in isolating the issue. As performing that step didn’t resolve your issue, at this point, I would recommend that you contact Apple Support.

Best Regards.

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Answer 4

May 12, 2020 6:09 PM in response to Chris-96

Chris-96,

In this case, you might wish to leave feedback.

As it stands, there is no way to fully and totally delete a purchase whether it be a book or an app. It will always be in the hidden purchases list. I’m linking the feedback form specific to Books. Apple does read all feedback but may not respond to your submission.

Feedback - Books for iOS and iPadOS

Take care.

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Answer 5

Chris-96 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 29, 2020 12:19 AM in response to sterling r

Thanks again for your help! It's good to know that it at least can work...

I've tried different scenarios (all devices run the latest operating system and I even fully reset one device and did not restore it anyhow, just used it as new device with the latest software installed):

download a new app, hide the app, download it on the new device -> doesn't appear in the purchased list
hide an old app, install it on a device that it never was installed on (once from the hidden purchases list, once right from the search in the App Store) -> doesn't appear in the purchased list
removing an old (hidden) app from my iPhone 8, restart the device, re-install the app -> doesn't appear in the purchased list

It just does not seem to work for me. :(

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Answer 6

Chris-96 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 28, 2020 12:48 AM in response to sterling r

Hi sterling r,

thanks for your quick answer!

The problem is that this does not work on neither of my devices. If I download an app that I hid in the past, then it just remains on the hidden purchases list.

I would say it's only my problem, but the fact that the behaviour is the same on all devices and I also read in this forum that a lot of other people have the same problem, I suppose there is some kind of bug in iOS/iPadOS.

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