Apple May Soon Allow Users To Hide Stock iPhone Apps

By Samir Ghanmi | Apr 08, 2016 04:08 AM EDT

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Apple has been known for its considerable iOS operating system. However looking at the iPhone, users are unlikely to use all the given apps pre-installed on a device. Which is why Apple may soon add a new key to iTunes' metadata that will allow users to hide those pesky apps that has been on display for so long and been less used.

According to AppAdvice, stating that App Store JSON data source quietly added new keys which suggests that Apple will enable users to get rid of unnecessary apps in the close future, so they might as well bid farewell to Stocks!

On a more technical term, the internal API includes two new keys that says "isFirstParty" and "isFirstPartyHideableApp", meaning the keys has been created to enable or disable apps made by Apple.

Although it's not entirely sure whether all the apps are hideable. Apps that can be hidden are those that aren't often used such as the Stocks app and the Tips app. Apple also may possibly release additional apps in the app store. Some users also demanded to make rid of those first-party apps displayed on the home screen, and if it happens then not all Apple App are hideable.

In regards of a feature to hide stock apps, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Buzzfeed in an interview saying, "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."

The shift could also indicate that Apple's stock app could less become reliable on iOS that could lead the company to potentially push their updates on the app store instead of waiting for latest iOS upgrade. In a way that can be very helpful, for instance, if a security bug has been detected in the app, instead of downloading a whole new version of an iOS, Apple could simply provide an app update.

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