How Do I Hide An Account On Android?

If you have added multiple email accounts to your Android device, you may want to hide some of them from your Settings and Gmail app. 

There is no easy way to hide an account on Android, short of completely removing the account from your device to keep it from showing up in Settings and Gmail apps. You can also protect access to your accounts by locking your Gmail and Settings apps with a password. 

• How do I remove a Google account from an Android phone?
• How do I find my hidden Google Accounts?
• How do I delete an account on Google?
• How do I make a Google account without a phone number?
• How do I hide an account in the Gmail app?
• Can Gmail accounts be traced?
• Can I use a fake name on Gmail?
• Can apps be hidden on Android?

How do I remove a Google account from an Android phone?

The setting to remove a Google account can be found in the Accounts section of the Settings app on an your Android device:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts & Sync > Google. Here you can view all the Google accounts that are logged in to the device.
2. Tap on the specific account you wish to remove.
3. Tap on “More” at the bottom > select “Remove Account”.
4. Tap “Remove Account” again to confirm

How do I find my hidden Google Accounts?

After you’ve removed a Google Account from the Settings as described above, you can always use a web browser on your Android device to access that account.

This will allow you to log into the Google account without it appearing in the Settings app on your device. 

Continue reading to find out how to “hide” an account from the Gmail app and Settings on your Android device. 

How do I delete an account on Google?

If you no longer need to use a particular Google account, you can delete it on your Android device using the Gmail app as follows:

1. Open the Gmail app, tap on the profile icon or initials of the account that you want to delete, and select “Manage Your Google Account”.
2. Navigate to the Data & Privacy tab and scroll down to the “More Options” section.
3. Tap on “Delete Your Google Account” and enter the account’s password. Tap on Next.
4. In the “Delete Your Google Account” screen, tap “Download Your Data” to download the data on your account (such as YouTube channel, Google Drive, Calendar data, and more) before deleting the account.
5. If you don’t download the data first, that usually can’t be recovered after account deletion. To proceed, scroll down to the bottom and check the two boxes.
6. Once done, tap on the “Delete Account” button.  
7. A prompt will open that asks for opening a page on Chrome browser; tap on “Just Once”.

This will open a page from Google with a confirmation message that your Google account and its data have been deleted. 

How do I make a Google account without a phone number?

Even though it’s recommended to provide a phone number for security and recovery when creating a Google Account, you can create one without entering a phone number.

This can be done via the Android Gmail app as follows:

1. Launch the Gmail app > tap on the profile icon of a signed-in account.
2. In the screen that appears, select “Add Another Account” > Google
3. If you use a screen lock such as PIN or biometrics like Fingerprint to unlock your device, enter the required credentials.
4. In the Sign-in screen, tap on “Create Account” > select “For Myself.
5. Enter your first and last name as request > Next
6. Enter your birthdate and gender > Next
7. Google will show you possible suggestions for your new email address. Pick one or choose “Create Your Own Gmail Address” > Next
8. Enter a strong password for your new Google account > Next.
9. Google will ask you to enter your phone number on the next page. Scroll down to the bottom and then tap on the Skip option.
10. Review your account info and accept Google’s terms and conditions and Privacy to complete the procedure

How do I hide an account in the Gmail app?

There is no direct way to hide an account in the Gmail app other than removing it from the device as described above.

If you don’t want your account to show in your device settings or in your Gmail app, here are two helpful workarounds:

Log in using a browser

1. Remove your account via the Settings app on your Android device (see earlier)
2. Launch a browser such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, or Google Chrome.
3. Search for your email service (e.g. Gmail or Outlook) in Google
4. Find and tap “Sign in” and enter your account credentials to log into your email account.

You can now check your email directly within the browser instead of the Android Gmail app (as your account was removed from it). 

Use the app lock feature

You can also use the app lock feature on your device to lock the Gmail and Settings app so nobody can view your accounts without a password.

The procedure to lock the respective apps will vary among devices, but here’s how to do it on a Xiaomi device:

1. Navigate to Settings > Apps > App Lock.
2. Create a new app lock password or input the present one.
3. Turn on app lock for the Gmail and Settings app from the list

From now on, you’ll need to input your app lock password to open the Gmail and Settings app. 

How do I find hidden email accounts?

If you’ve removed a specific email account from the Settings app on your Android device, that account will no longer be available in the Gmail app.

However, you can always access your emails for that account using a browser on your Android device as described in the preceding section. 

This approach of removing your email account from your device and accessing it only from a browser allows you to “hide” the account from the Gmail app.

See also: Where Are Emails Stored On My Android Phone?

Can I delete a Gmail account permanently?

You can delete a Google Account on your Android device and this action will be permanent. See “How do I delete an account on Google?” earlier.

By deleting an account, you lose all the data like photos, files, emails, and calendars associated with that account. You also lose access to content and subscriptions you bought using that account on Google Play Store or YouTube such as apps and more.

Google gives you the option to download and save your data before the account deletion. 

By deleting the account, you will also be accountable for any pending financial transactions linked to your account.  Once deletion is confirmed, it will be final and the account may not be recoverable. 

See also:
How to Limit Number Of Email Messages On Android?
How Do I Recover My Gmail Account?

Can Gmail accounts be traced?

In past Gmail versions, it was possible to find the IP address of the sender and trace a particular Google account to find details such as location, city, state, ISP etc, by looking at the email header:

1. In a browser on a PC, click on the three dots in an email message .
2. Select “Show Original”.
3. Search for the line “Received: from” in the email header
4. This could be used to determine the IP address of the sender.

As a security measure, Google has now stopped showing the sender’s IP address. The line “Received: from” now contains the IP address of Google’s server that processed the email – although many people erroneously believe it is the sender’s IP. 

Tracing through reverse email lookup

Instead of tracing an email address by finding the IP address, you can attempt to trace it through a method known as reverse email lookup. Using this, you can find various details of an email address (including a Gmail address) possibly including:

• Account owner’s real name
• Phone numbers
• Photos of the account owner
• Social media profiles of the owner
• Location and address

This may help you trace a Gmail account e.g. in the case of spam emails.

Reverse email lookup can be performed through different websites e.g. CocoFinder and BeenVerified which let you enter the email address and show you the search results.

Can you see who owns a Gmail account?

If you need to see who owns a Gmail address, be aware there is no Gmail directory or other direct ways provided by Google to look up a mail address.

However, there are alternative ways you can try to see who owns a Gmail account:

• Try sending an email to the target Gmail address and wait for a reply. If you do get one, you can see the name of the owner of the account in the box by tapping on the arrow next to the sender’s email address 
• You can search for the Gmail address in the Facebook search bar and check if there is a FB account linked to it.
• Search for the Gmail address in the different search engines such as Google and Bing.
• Contact the legal authorities in your region if you keep receiving harassing messages from a Gmail address. 

Can I use a fake name on Gmail?

You can use a fake name, an alias, or any name to create a Gmail account, even though Google asks you to provide your real name. 

Google never asks you to provide proof of identity while creating a Gmail account. You only need to provide a phone number and/or alternate email address for verification and recovery of your Google account.

Using a Gmail account to contact others under a false identity does violate Google’s terms and conditions and may result in the suspension of your account. 

Many users, however, choose to use an alias instead of their real name for privacy purposes. 

See also: Can I Use The Same Gmail Account On Two Phones?

Can apps be hidden on Android?

Many Android devices from various manufacturers including Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, Realme, and OnePlus have a feature to hide apps from the Home screen and the app drawer so that no one accessing your phone can see them.

Here is the procedure to hide apps on a Xiaomi Redmi device:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > App lock. By default, you will be required to set up the feature first and create a password to access it.
2. Tap on “Hidden apps”. This opens the list of all installed apps.
3. Toggle on the switch for the app(s) you want to hide

After this, your selected apps will no longer show on your home screen and app drawer.

On a Samsung device:

1. Go to Settings > Home Screen > Hide apps
2. In the list of apps, tap on the app(s) you want to hide
3. The apps you tap will now show in the Hidden section

These apps will no longer be visible on your Home screen and app drawer

How to find hidden apps on Android phone?

Here’s how to view hidden apps on a Xiaomi Redmi device:

1. Spread two fingers on the Home screen.
2. Input your app lock password. The folder containing hidden apps will open and you can access them. 
3. Tap on an app icon to open it. 

On a Samsung device:

4. Go to Settings > Home Screen > Hide apps
5. In the list of hidden apps, tap on the app(s) you want to unhide
6. The unhidden apps will now be shown in the “All apps” section