UICollectionViewCell only showing when a certain criteria is met - swift

Question

I do not know if this is possible but, I am trying to return a cell using CollectionView cellForItem only if a certain criteria is met.
Here is my function:
func collectionView(_ collectionView: UICollectionView, cellForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UICollectionViewCell {
let cell = collectionView.dequeueReusableCell(withReuseIdentifier: "FriendsRecentCell", for: indexPath) as! FriendsRecentCell
var fObj = PFObject(className: FRIENDS_CLASS_NAME)
fObj = recentArray[indexPath.row]
// Get User Pointer
let userPointer = fObj[FRIENDS_IS_FRIEND_WITH] as! PFUser
userPointer.fetchIfNeededInBackground(block: { (user, error) in
if error == nil {
// Get heys sent to you as currentUser
let query = PFQuery(className: HEYS_CLASS_NAME)
query.whereKey(HEYS_RECEIVER, equalTo: PFUser.current()!)
query.whereKey(HEYS_SENDER, equalTo: userPointer)
query.countObjectsInBackground { (count, error) in
if count != 0 {
// Get User fullname
cell.userLabelRecent.text = "\(userPointer[USER_FULLNAME]!)"
// Get Avatar
cell.avatarImageRecent.image = UIImage(named: "avatar")
cell.avatarImageRecent.layer.cornerRadius = cell.avatarImageRecent.bounds.size.width/2
let imageFile = userPointer[USER_AVATAR] as? PFFile
imageFile?.getDataInBackground(block: { (imageData, error) in
if error == nil {
if let imageData = imageData {
cell.avatarImageRecent.image = UIImage(data:imageData)
}}})
} else {
}}
}})
return cell
}
I only want the cell to return if count != 0. Is there any way to go about doing this? I am completely lost.

Answer 1

At the point at which this method is called, you've already told the collection view that there's a cell that exists at that index path. Now that you've done so, you have to supply a cell; there's no way not to – the method signature is non-optional.
If you only want a cell to appear under certain circumstances, then you have to handle it earlier in the process. When collectionView(_:numberOfItemsInSection:) is called, you need to determine if the cell should be shown and return the correct number of items. Then you'll only be asked for those cells.