How to hide and lock photos on iPhone

Hiding a photo and locking it are two different things. Hiding moves it out of the places people glance at. Locking means someone needs something extra to open it. Your iPhone can do both without installing anything, and for many people that is the whole answer. This page covers the built-in options in detail, compares them with a separate vault app, and ends with a short way to decide.

Hide a photo

1. Open Photos and tap Select.
2. Tap each photo or video you want to hide.
3. Tap the More button (the three dots), then Hide, and confirm.

For a single photo, open it, tap the More button, and choose Hide. The photo leaves your library, Memories, featured photos and widgets, and moves to the Hidden album. To bring it back, open the Hidden album, select it, tap the More button and choose Unhide.

Where the Hidden album sits depends on your iOS version. On recent versions it is in the Utilities section when you scroll down in Photos. If you cannot see it at all, the option to show it is probably off; see the next section.

Lock the Hidden album

On recent versions of iOS, the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums ask for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode before they open. It is on by default, but it is worth a check.

1. Open Settings, then Apps, then Photos. On older versions, Photos sits directly in the Settings list.
2. Make sure Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) is on.
3. Optionally, turn off Show Hidden Album. The album then disappears from Photos until you turn it back on.

Wording shifts between iOS versions. If you do not see these options, search Settings for "Hidden album".

The important detail: this lock falls back to your phone passcode. Anyone who knows the passcode can open the album.

A separate lock with Notes

If the person you are thinking about knows your passcode, the free way to get a different lock is the Notes app. A note can hold photos, and a note can be locked.

1. Create a note and add the photo with the camera or attachment button.
2. Tap the More button in the note and choose Lock.
3. When asked, choose a separate Notes password rather than your device passcode.
4. Go back to Photos and delete the original, then delete it again from Recently Deleted.

Apple describes locked notes as encrypted. Apple cannot recover a forgotten Notes password, and notes locked with it stay locked. Write the password down somewhere safe that is not the phone. Notes is fine for a handful of pictures. It gets clumsy for dozens, and videos are awkward there.

Lock the whole Photos app

Since iOS 18 you can require Face ID for an app as a whole. Touch and hold the Photos icon, tap Require Face ID, and confirm. Opening Photos then needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. This is handy when you hand over an unlocked phone and do not want the camera roll open to browsing. It uses your passcode as the fallback, like the Hidden album lock.

You can lock messaging apps the same way. Pictures often live there too.

How the options compare

Which one to use

• If you only want photos out of the main grid, for a surprise or a passing glance, use the Hidden album. You are done.
• If you lend your unlocked phone to a child or a friend, also lock the Photos app, or use Guided Access to keep them in one app.
• If someone knows your passcode, the Hidden album will not stop them. Change the passcode if you can. For a few photos, use a locked note with its own password. For more, a vault app with its own lock fits better.
• If you want the same photos on your iPad and Mac, stay with the Hidden album and iCloud Photos. Many vault apps, VaultWell included, do not sync.
• If you worry about other apps reading your library, check photo permissions first. Then consider keeping sensitive items somewhere outside the photo library.

Plenty of people use two: the Hidden album for everyday private photos, and something with a separate lock for the few that really matter.

VaultWell, coming soon, is one such vault. Each vault opens with its own path traced on a honeycomb, separate from your passcode, and nothing on screen shows how many vaults exist. There is no account and no cloud sync, so you keep your own encrypted backups. Before trusting any vault app, read the checklist linked below.

Moving photos without leaving copies

Whichever lock you choose, it only protects the copy inside it. Most problems come from the copies left behind.

1. Move a small test set first and check it opens.
2. Delete the originals from your library, then from Recently Deleted. Otherwise they stay there for up to 30 days.
3. If iCloud Photos is on, deletion syncs to your other Apple devices too.
4. Check Messages, WhatsApp and shared albums, which keep their own copies.
5. If the vault offers a backup, make one and store it somewhere you control.

Hiding does not remove location or other metadata from a file, so check that before sharing anything.

Questions

Related

• Are vault apps safe? A checklist
• Which apps can see your photos
• How to delete photos permanently