---
title: My private photos showed up on the family iPad
canonical: https://mavaul.com/scenarios/family-ipad-private-photos/
description: If the family iPad is signed in to your Apple Account, iCloud Photos puts your whole library on it, Hidden album included. Why it happens and how to stop it.
format: text/markdown
generator: scripts/generate-llms.js
---
# My photos showed up on the family iPad

_By [Diogo Ferreira](/about/), founder & engineer_

If the family iPad is signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on, it gets your whole library, Hidden album included. Give the iPad its own account, or keep private photos in an app that never syncs them.

## Why it happens
iCloud Photos syncs every photo to every device on the same Apple Account. Hiding a photo doesn't stop that, and the Hidden album on the iPad opens with the iPad's passcode, which the whole family may know.

## Fix it
1. Sign the iPad in to its own Apple Account, or turn off iCloud Photos on it (Settings → your name → iCloud → Photos).
2. Move private photos into Mavaul on your iPhone. They're encrypted on the phone and aren't in iCloud Photos, so no other device gets them.
3. Delete the originals and empty Recently Deleted, so the deletion syncs to the iPad too.

## Questions
### Does hiding a photo stop it syncing to my iPad?
No. Hidden photos sync too.

### Can my family see my Mavaul photos on the iPad?
No. Mavaul keeps the vault on your iPhone, behind its own passcode.

## Sources
- [Apple Support: Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782)
- [Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987)

## Read next
- [Are hidden photos saved to iCloud?](/guides/are-hidden-photos-saved-to-icloud/)
- [Can someone see my hidden photos?](/guides/who-can-see-hidden-photos-iphone/)
- [Mavaul vs the Hidden album](/mavaul-vs-hidden-album/)

## Try Mavaul
[Download Mavaul on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/pt/app/mavaul-photo-video-vault/id6759567727?l=en-GB)