How to make hidden photos more secret on iPhone
Hiding a photo on iPhone takes it out of your library, but it puts it in an album called Hidden, right there in Utilities. Anyone scrolling through Photos can see that the album exists, and that you have something in it. A few settings change that: the album disappears, you open it from Settings when you want it, and it locks behind Face ID. Here's how to set it up, and where it stops.
Make the Hidden album a secret
- Hide the photos: open one, tap the More button (•••), then Hide. To hide several, tap Select, pick them, tap More and choose Hide.
- Open Settings, then Apps, then Photos (Settings, then Photos on iOS 17 and earlier), and turn off Show Hidden Album. The album disappears from Utilities.
- On the same screen, check that Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) is on, so Hidden and Recently Deleted need it to open.
- Delete the originals you don't need anymore, then open Recently Deleted and delete them there too.
Open it from Settings, not from Photos
With the album switched off, there's nothing in Photos to find. When you want to look, go to Settings first, turn Show Hidden Album on, open Photos, unlock the album, and turn the setting off again when you're done. It's one extra step, and it's the step that makes it feel like a secret: the way in isn't in the app at all.
Keep the album out of sight on every device
Show Hidden Album is set on each device. If your photos sync to an iPad or a Mac, turn the album off there too. On a Mac, it's in the View menu in Photos. iCloud.com shows hidden photos in its own Hidden album, so it's another place they can be seen.
Clean up what points to the photos
Hidden photos are already left out of search, Memories, Featured Photos and the Photos widget. What gives them away is the copies. A photo you sent in Messages is still in that chat. A photo you deleted instead of hiding sits in Recently Deleted for about 30 days. Duplicates and screenshots stay in the library unless you hide them too.
Where the Hidden album stops
This makes the album hard to stumble on. It doesn't make it locked to you alone. The album opens with your iPhone passcode, so anyone who knows it can get in. The setting is one switch that anyone holding your unlocked phone can flip. And the photos stay in iCloud Photos, on every device signed in to your Apple Account.
When you want a real secret
For photos that need more than a hidden album, use a vault with its own passcode. Mavaul encrypts every photo and video with AES-256 on the iPhone, with no account and no cloud. Its free Decoy mode goes further than hiding an album: the app itself passes for a calculator, on the home screen and when you open it. Type your passcode on the keypad and the vault opens. Your phone's passcode doesn't open it.
Questions
Does turning off Show Hidden Album delete my photos?
No. It only takes the album out of Photos. Turn it back on and everything is where you left it.
Can someone else turn Show Hidden Album back on?
Yes, anyone using your unlocked phone who knows the setting. They'd still need Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open the album.
Does hiding the album stop it syncing to my iPad?
No. With iCloud Photos on, hidden photos still sync to every device on your Apple Account and to iCloud.com. Turn the album off on each device you use.