How to hide photos on iPhone
Select the photos in the Photos app, tap the More button, choose Hide, and they move to the Hidden album, which iOS locks with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
How do I hide photos on my iPhone?
Hiding is built into the Photos app, and it takes a few seconds.
- Open Photos.
- Tap Select, then tap each photo or video you want to hide.
- Tap the More button (the circle with three dots).
- Tap Hide, then confirm.
The photos disappear from your library and move to the Hidden album. To hide a single photo you are already looking at, tap More while viewing it and choose Hide.
The same steps work for videos and screenshots. You can hide as many items as you want; there is no limit.
Where is the Hidden album on iPhone?
Open Photos and scroll down to Utilities. The Hidden album is listed there next to Recently Deleted. Tap it, and iOS asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode before it opens.
If you can’t see it, the album is turned off in Settings. Hidden photos are still hidden. The album is just not listed. See the next section to turn it back on.
How do I lock the Hidden album with Face ID?
On current versions of iOS the Hidden album and Recently Deleted are locked by default. It is worth checking that nobody has turned the lock off:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps, then Photos. On versions of iOS before 18, Photos is listed directly in Settings.
- Make sure Use Face ID is on. On an iPhone with Touch ID it says Use Touch ID. On one with neither, it says Use Passcode.
With that switch off, anyone holding your unlocked phone can open the Hidden album without any check.
How do I hide the Hidden album itself?
On the same screen in Settings, turn off Show Hidden Album. The album stops appearing under Utilities. The photos inside stay hidden, and they come back when you turn the switch on again.
This is mostly cosmetic. Anyone who knows where the switch is can turn it back on, and the album still asks for Face ID when it opens.
How do I unhide photos on iPhone?
Open the Hidden album, select the photos, tap More, and choose Unhide. They return to your library in their original place in the timeline.
Does hiding a photo hide it everywhere?
Mostly. A hidden photo stops appearing in:
- the main library and its Days, Months and Years views
- Memories, featured photos and the Photos widget
- the share sheet’s suggestions
But it is still a photo in your library, stored the same way. If iCloud Photos is on, it is hidden on every device signed in to your Apple Account, and visible in each of their Hidden albums. And apps you have given full access to your photo library may still be able to read it, because hiding is a display setting, not a permission.
What this doesn’t protect against
Hiding is a privacy curtain. It is useful, and it is easy to mistake for more than it is. It does not protect against:
- Someone who knows your passcode. The Hidden album accepts your passcode in place of Face ID. A partner, child or colleague who has seen you unlock your phone can open it.
- Someone who controls your Apple Account. If iCloud Photos is on, your hidden photos are in iCloud, and anyone signed in to your account on another device can find them.
- Apple, or a legal request to Apple. Without Advanced Data Protection, Apple holds the keys to your iCloud Photos. Apple’s own documentation says Photos becomes end-to-end encrypted only when Advanced Data Protection is on.
- Apps with full photo access. An app you granted full library access does not need the Hidden album to read your photos.
- Recently Deleted. If you delete a photo instead of hiding it, it stays in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. That album is locked too, but it is another copy to think about.
- Anyone who can turn the lock off. The Use Face ID switch is one tap in Settings on an unlocked phone.
If any of those matter to you, you need encryption that does not depend on your phone’s passcode or your Apple Account. That is what a vault app is for, and it is the job Oorvel was built to do: photos encrypted under six words only you know, on a phone with no network access for the app at all. Read how the Hidden album compares to an encrypted vault for the full picture.
Should I use the Hidden album or a vault app?
Use the Hidden album when the threat is a glance: a friend scrolling your camera roll, a photo you don’t want in Memories, a screenshot you don’t want on the widget. It is free, built in, and good at that.
Use a vault when the threat is a person: someone who knows your passcode, has your Apple Account, or might demand that you open your phone. Look for one that encrypts on the device, needs no account, and explains its key derivation in public. Then read its security model before you trust it, including ours.
Whichever you choose, remember the step most people miss: after moving photos into a vault, delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted. Until you do, the photo is still on your phone in plain view of anyone with your passcode.
Frequently asked
- Where do hidden photos go on iPhone?
- Into the Hidden album, listed under Utilities in the Photos app. They no longer appear in your library, in Memories, or in the photo widget.
- Can someone see my hidden photos?
- Anyone who can unlock the Hidden album can. That means anyone who knows your passcode, or anyone your Face ID or Touch ID accepts. If Use Face ID is turned off, the album opens with no check at all.
- Are hidden photos encrypted?
- They are protected by the same iPhone encryption as everything else on the device. In iCloud, Photos are only end-to-end encrypted if you turn on Advanced Data Protection. Hiding a photo does not change how it is stored.
- Do hidden photos sync to my other devices?
- If iCloud Photos is on, yes. A photo you hide on your iPhone is hidden on your iPad and Mac too, and appears in their Hidden albums.