Apple to Let Users Hide or Delete Stock Apps?

According to the metadata found in a number of App Store apps, Apple may be planning to allow users to hide or remove the stock applications they don’t want to have on their devices. Frankly speaking, letting users delete the stock software they don’t need can help those who want to keep only the programs they utilize on a regular basis and avoid app clutter. However, since the size of Apple’s stock apps is really small, the ability to delete them won’t actually help to free up space on 16GB devices.

As discovered by AppAdvice, Apple several weeks ago added a new pair of keys called "isFirstParty" and "isFirstPartyHideableApp" to the metadata of every App Store listing in iTunes. The new keys allow for a Boolean value of "true" or "false" to denote whether the app would be allowed to be hidden or removed from the user's iPhone.

Last September, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the removal of stock apps can make iOS less stable, but looks like the company has found a way to keep the operating system in good shape, yet give users more freedom with choosing what applications to leave on their devices and what to delete.

[via MacRumors]