How to Hide Purchased Apps in iTunes 10.5

Hiding is ok but "purchased history" still shows all purchases regardless just so you are aware. I "hid" one of my apps to test this out but it's still under purchased history.

Hi,

just tried this out and yes it does what it is supposed to do.

I have noticed something rather odd though.

When I am in the iTunes Store purchases section the ALL tab and NOT IN MY LIBRARY tab do show differences as they should because I have an iPhone with certain apps on and an iPod with different apps on.

However when I open the App Store app on my iPhone and tap on the Purchased section of Updates it doesn't matter whether I choose the ALL tab or the NOT ON THIS iPHONE tab, the list is exactly the same and only shows all purchases that are not on my iPhone, i.e. it only shows the apps etc.. that are installed on my iPod.

Consequently, doing the same thing on my iPod only shows apps etc... that are not installed on my iPod but are installed on my iPhone.

Prior to today the lists were different i.e. the ALL tab showed every app that had ever been purchased and the NOT ON THIS iPHONE/iPOD showed all apps that were not currently installed on the respective device.

I don't think that the hiding of purchases within iTunes Store has caused this problem, as like I have said, they show correctly inside there.

Possibly this is some kind of glitch to do with the upcoming iOS5 update or a cache issue.

What I am going to do now is UNHIDE the purchases that I hid to see if that will correct the problem.

Regards..,

MT

Right, I just unhid all the apps that I originally hid and it made no difference between the tabbed options on each device.

Like I have already said, within iTune Store itself everything is showing correctly, it is just not making any change on the device whether the ALL or NOT ON THIS iPHONE/iPOD option is chosen.

I will try later when I have installed iOS5 on both devices.

Regards..,

MT

Just looked into this a little more and realised that the purchased section of the App Store app on my devices is only showing apps that need to be downloaded i.e. they all have the cloud icon next to them.

What is missing is the apps that are installed and which state INSTALLED next to them.

I found this link http://www.tipb.com/2011/06/06/ios-app-store-updated-include-purchase-history/ you can clearly see that some apps have the cloud icon and some state INSTALLED, this was how my own looked prior to upgrading to iTunes 10.5 this morning.

Does anyone else have this issue?

Regards..,

MT

MadTogger, I'm relieved to have finally located someone experiencing the precise problem I'm having! I'm ready to pull my hair out after two solid days of troubleshooting. I'm quite technical and typically figure out how to resolve the types of issues. In the case, however, I'm stumped. Please keep me informed if you find a resolution, and I'll certainly do the same.

For those that have tried this: If a hidden app is updated, will it appear in the string of apps in the "Updates" tab of the App Store? This is where such worthless apps become a constant headache, since it is easier to download them with the entire list and then delete them again then to have them listed there forever.

Heres a suggestion that I haven't seen.

Allow users to highlight purchased apps and show the following options:

1. Downloaded
2. Sync through iCloud
3. Hide
4. Delete from purchase history - this would be followed by a second-level dialog box saying: "This will permanantly delete the app from your purchase history. You will be responsible for any charges to re-download and/or re-install the application for this account or for any devices associated with your account!"

Thank you for this instructional set.

I've been concerned as well about this issue.

With my first Apple devices, I was a single fella and did download some of the more risky content applications.

Now that I'm a married guy and have kids, all having Apple devices, this has become a major issue with all of us sharing an iStore log in. Concidering my wife just got her iPhone 4S and immediately sees apps like the iKarmasutra in "previous downloads", it caused quite a problem and strain on the relationship.

We have all created individual @me.com accounts so we can use iMessage. Maintaining one account for purchases is good so we can share our purchase across all devices WHEN WE WANT TO.

Hiding the app is a step in the right direction and as I said before, thank you for the instructions on how to do this. Apparently Apple didn't concider the consequences having an open history would have with famillies. The kids are very tech savy as well... Undermines the ability of a parent to tell their kids what's "wrong" when apps show they themselves were looking at those things too.

Now that the apps are hidden, it at least takes more to 'find' them and can't be seen on the iDevices. Hopefully Apple will come around on a feature for completely deleting these unwanted items from our history.

Another viable option would be for linking seperate ID's where you could elect apps to share between the ID's in place of the need to maintain a shared account. Guess we'll just all have to keep on apple about this being a problem and see what the super minds in their development come up with.

All in all the iCloud is an awesome idea for a single person with a single account and only has their own iDevices. It is certainly a horrible option for multiple users without better management features.

dcroyale...

Very well written reply. My family is also in the same situation. I have read all the previous posts (on several sites as well) and have come to the conclusion there is enough need here for my beloved Apple to set up and give us what is needed. In the past, I have downloaded a few apps I would rather not have my kids (wonderfully tech savy as they are) installing on their own devices. I would very much appreciate a permanent delete option.

Please, Apple God's, help us out. My APPLE TREE is in full bloom... My house currently has 12 apple devices... Can't you help a brotha out??!!

this is all well and fine, but is there a way to unhide/hide ALL at once? My son has a phone on his father's account and does not have his father's iTunes password. he downloads stuff on my account on his phone. Even after signed out, purchases are visiable. No need for my ex to see what I've purchased. I have downloaded almost 500 apps in 4 years.... do you realize how long it would take me to delete 400 apps?? oy vey! I have to be at owrk in 30 minutes! lol

I did it!! lol.... my hand fell asleep. put your mouse on a peice of paper, black is best, but white works too. then line up mouse w/ first X, then start clicking... .... PHEW!~

This doesn't work if you only have an iPad.

I only have an iPad, and all those downloaded apps, like everyone else are displayed.

If I go into iTunes, my apps aren't listed.

If I go into the App store, they're all listed but there is NO option to hide or delete them.

Incredibly annoying.

If you want to hide past purchases from your app store/itunes history, then read and follow Coldplay's directions at the top of this page. I just followed them, and was able to hide several apps that I don't use or want. Now that Apple got that huge settlement, they should use the money to fix the app store so that we can permanently delete past/useless apps.

And again, if you only use an ipad (no computer) this simply can't be done. Why does Apple ignore their ipad users? Considering tablets/ipads outnumber PCs now, this is a serious oversight...