Another Way to Focus - Randomize the App Icon's Location - Make You Work More to Find it - Add Friction

Now, be honest in the comments - where would you go to get this built? I asked the oracle:

You can get most of what you want, but not the exact “randomize its icon location after each use” part. iOS does not let Shortcuts move app icons around automatically. The best practical version is: hide the app so Search can’t find it, then make opening it require a deliberate dig through App Library → Hidden folder → Face ID/passcode.

Best setup: iOS 18 “Hide and Require Face ID”

For a downloaded app:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Find the app.
3. Long-press the app icon.
4. Tap Require Face ID.
5. Tap Hide and Require Face ID.
6. Authenticate.
7. Tap Hide App.

Apple says hidden apps no longer appear on the Home Screen or App Library and can’t be found with Search. They are only reachable through the Hidden folder in the App Library, after authentication.

To open it after that:

1. Swipe left past all Home Screen pages to App Library.
2. Scroll to the Hidden folder.
3. Authenticate with Face ID / Touch ID / passcode.
4. Open the app.

That gives you friction without any extra app.

Also turn off Siri/Search suggestions for that app

Even if you hide it, I’d still do this for belt-and-suspenders:

Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri / Siri → Apps → [the app]

Turn off things like:

• Show in App
• Show on Home Screen
• Suggest App
• Suggestion Notifications

Apple documents these per-app Siri Suggestion controls.

Add a hard time gate too

Use Screen Time:

Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit → choose the app → set a low daily limit

You can set limits for individual apps, not just categories.

For stronger friction, set a Screen Time passcode that you do not know—have a spouse/friend set it. Otherwise, you’ll just hit “Ignore Limit,” because Apple notes Screen Time limits can be ignored by default unless configured more strictly.

What you probably cannot do

You probably cannot make iOS automatically move the real app icon to a random Home Screen page after each use. Shortcuts can open apps and add shortcut icons to the Home Screen, but Apple’s Shortcuts documentation does not provide an action for rearranging Home Screen icons.