iPhone stock apps could soon be hidden in iOS, according to newly-discovered Apple code

The apps can't just be deleted — but Apple appears to be working to at least make them go away

An attendee inpsects the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California (Getty)

Apple is to finally allow people to hide the stock apps in the iPhone, according to newly-discovered code.

Hidden data in iTunes appears to show that the company will let people hide — but not delete — the pre-installed apps that come on iPhones. Currently apps like Stocks come bundled with the iOS operating system and have to sit on the home screen — usually being shunted into their own “junk drawer” folder so that they can be hidden.

The discovered code includes a line that checks for whether a given piece of software is “hideable”. That seems to indicate that at some point soon the company will give people the option of moving the apps of their homescreen.

Included in a range of options for certain apps is a new option that allows the app to know whether something “isFirstPartyHideableApp”. While there are no first party apps that can use that feature yet, the addition seems to indicate that an update is on its way.

The code does seem to suggest that the apps will only be able to be hidden, rather than fully deleted. That will mean that they’ll still take up space within your phone’s storage, but just not be taking up space on the home screen.

Apple is unlikely to be able to be able to allow people to get rid of the apps fully without a major re-write of iOS, according to previous comments by the company. Tim Cook said last year that at least some of those stock apps were required for the workings of iOS — but that the company would at least look into figuring out a way to hide those apps.

“This is a more complex issue than it first appears,” Mr Cook told BuzzFeed. “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]. … It’s not that we want to suck up your real estate; we’re not motivated to do that. We want you to be happy. So I recognize that some people want to do this, and it’s something we’re looking at.”

It isn’t clear when the update will come — or if Apple will opt instead to scrap it and leave the stock apps on the iPhone. But the company usually reveals a major update to its iPhone operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Some workarounds already promise to let people hide the apps, using glitches within iOS. But they are often tricky to do and only hide the apps temporarily.