Over years of installing apps, saving Safari web bookmarks, and arranging interactive widgets, an iPad Home Screen can quickly become crowded across half a dozen sprawling pages. Scrolling through multiple pages to locate specific apps creates visual distraction and slows down daily productivity. With iPadOS, Apple allows users to customize their application layout by hiding entire Home Screen pages without uninstalling apps, reordering pages to prioritize essential workflows, and linking specific page layouts to automated Focus modes.
Entering Jiggle Mode and Accessing the Page Dots Editor
The page editing interface is built directly into iPadOS Home Screen customization:
- Navigate to your iPad Home Screen.
- Touch and hold any empty area of the screen (or touch and hold an application icon and tap Edit Home Screen) until the app icons begin to jiggle.
- Look at the bottom of the screen just above the persistent application Dock. You will see a small horizontal pill containing white dots that represent your current page count.
- Tap the Page Dots indicator.
The interface immediately transitions into an expanded bird’s-eye grid view, showing miniature thumbnails of every page currently configured on your iPad.
How to Hide Pages on Your iPad
Hiding pages removes visual clutter while keeping all your apps, folders, and widgets completely intact:
- While viewing the page thumbnail grid, look directly beneath each miniature page preview.
- Each page features a circular Checkmark icon underneath it.
- Tap the checkmark on any page you want to conceal. The checkmark will uncheck and turn grey.
- Tap Done in the upper-right corner of the screen (or tap outside the thumbnails), then tap Done again to exit jiggle mode.
The unchecked pages are now completely invisible during normal Home Screen swiping. All applications on those hidden pages remain fully searchable via Spotlight Search (swiping down from the centre of the screen) and categorized automatically within the App Library.
How to Reorder Home Screen Pages
If you prefer your social, creative, or academic pages to appear earlier in your swiping order, you can rearrange their sequence directly from the thumbnail overview:
- Touch and hold an empty space on the Home Screen to enter jiggle mode, then tap the Page Dots.
- Touch and hold the thumbnail of the page you wish to move.
- Drag the thumbnail left, right, up, or down across the grid to its new position. Adjacent pages will smoothly shift aside to accommodate the moved page.
- Release your finger to drop the page into place.
- Tap Done twice to save your new layout order.
Automating Home Screen Pages with Focus Modes
iPadOS allows you to bind specific Home Screen pages to different Focus profiles (such as Work, Personal, Reading, or Sleep), automatically revealing or hiding pages based on time, schedule, or physical location:
- Open the Settings app on your iPad.
- Select Focus from the left sidebar and choose a profile (e.g. Work).
- Under the Customise Screens header, tap Choose beneath the iPad Home Screen preview wireframe.
- Tick only the specific pages relevant to that activity (e.g. work spreadsheets, email clients, and project management apps).
- Tap Done.
Whenever that Focus mode activates—either automatically via your work schedule or manually from Control Centre—your iPad dynamically hides all personal entertainment pages, presenting only the vetted productivity layout you selected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hiding a Home Screen page delete my applications or their data?
No. Hiding a page does not uninstall apps or erase local data. It simply removes the launcher shortcut from your active swiping sequence. You can still launch hidden apps via Spotlight, Siri, or the App Library at any time.
Can I unhide a hidden page later without rearranging icons?
Yes. Enter jiggle mode, tap the Page Dots, and re-tick the circle under the hidden thumbnail. Your page will reappear immediately with the exact same icon positions, folders, and widget sizes preserved.
How do I permanently delete an entire Home Screen page?
In the Page Dots grid overview, uncheck the page checkmark. A minus (-) icon will appear in the top-left corner of the unchecked thumbnail. Tapping the minus icon prompts you to confirm deletion, removing the page while preserving your installed apps in the App Library.