An app was briefly available on the official iOS App Store that allowed users to hide the icons for Apple-branded apps like the stock ticker, which comes preloaded on all iOS devices whether or not you care about the Dow Jones industrial average.
The offering, called HiddenApps, not only allowed users to hide the Apple bloatware that they never asked for or wanted on their iPhones, it also had an option to disable iAds — Apple's irritating ad bar that appears at the bottom of free apps.
Although certainly a welcome addition, it was utterly incomprehensible why Apple would approve something that allowed you to block one of its revenue streams, not to mention that of countless third-party developers.
The mystery had a short shelf life. By Monday evening, Apple had removed the app from the App Store. The kerfuffle suggests that the app approval process may in fact be partially automated. Either that, or an Apple screener seriously dropped the ball.
While it was available, HiddenApps also allowed users to access Apple's Field Test app, which is hidden under normal conditions, and allows you to view your cellular strength as a numerical representation, rather than the bar graphic at the top of iOS.
However, like an untethered jailbreak, HiddenApps reset itself any time the iPhone was restarted, or even re-sprung (for jailbreakers). Hidden apps would reappear, the signal strength bars would manifest again and iAds would return to its old, spammy home.
To get the changes back, users would need to re-enter all their settings back into HiddenApps. Or they could stop being lazy and jailbreak their iPhone or iPad, where a myriad of apps are available on the Cydia Store that have been doing the exact same thing for years.
