diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/6289-bugfix-flatpak-check-if-already-installed.yml b/changelogs/fragments/6289-bugfix-flatpak-check-if-already-installed.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e331250035
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/6289-bugfix-flatpak-check-if-already-installed.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - flatpak - fixes idempotency detection issues. In some cases the module could fail to properly detect already existing Flatpaks because of a parameter witch only checks the installed apps (https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.general/pull/6289).
diff --git a/plugins/modules/packaging/os/flatpak.py b/plugins/modules/packaging/os/flatpak.py
index d6264a50d3..7b45a649ff 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/packaging/os/flatpak.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/packaging/os/flatpak.py
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ def uninstall_flat(module, binary, names, method):
 
 def flatpak_exists(module, binary, names, method):
     """Check if the flatpaks are installed."""
-    command = [binary, "list", "--{0}".format(method), "--app"]
+    command = [binary, "list", "--{0}".format(method)]
     output = _flatpak_command(module, False, command)
     installed = []
     not_installed = []