How to hide photos on iPhone
To hide a photo on iPhone, open Photos, press and hold the photo, tap Hide and confirm. It moves to the Hidden album, which Apple locks with Face ID or Touch ID and which no longer shows in your Library or other albums. That is hiding, not encrypting: the photo stays in the Photos app and, with iCloud Photos on, is hidden on your other devices too. For more, use a vault.
Hiding is not locking, and neither is encrypting
People use three words as if they meant the same thing. They do not.
- Hiding takes a photo out of the places people browse. Anyone who knows where to look can still find it.
- Locking puts a check in front of it, such as Face ID. The photo is still stored the same way as every other photo.
- Encrypting scrambles the stored data with a key, so the data is unreadable without that key, whatever app or person is looking.
The built-in methods below are mostly hiding and locking. That is often enough: the goal may be a friend scrolling through your camera roll, not a determined stranger. The rest of this guide says what each method stops and what it does not, so you can pick by the person you are worried about.
Method 1: Hide a photo in Photos
This is the quickest way to hide photos on iPhone, and it is the one most people mean by "hide pictures on iPhone".
- Open Photos and find the photo or video.
- Press and hold it, then tap Hide.
- Confirm when asked.
Apple's page says hidden items "move to the Hidden album, so they don't appear anywhere else in Photos", and that includes the Library and your other albums. It also says they do not show in the Photos widget on your Home Screen.
To see them again, go to Collections, scroll to Hidden under Utilities, tap View Album and unlock it. To put one back, press and hold it in the Hidden album and tap Unhide.
What it does not do: it does not delete anything and it does not copy the photo anywhere safer. Apple's page does not say whether hidden photos are left out of Memories or Search, so do not assume they are. What Apple does document is in the guide on Memories, widgets and search.
Method 2: Lock the Hidden album (how to hide photos on iPhone with a password)
You do not set a password for the Hidden album yourself. Apple says that on iOS 16 and later the Hidden album "is locked by default and requires authentication", and names Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone. The lock is your phone's own authentication, not a second secret that belongs to your photos.
Two settings matter, both in Settings > Apps > Photos:
- Show Hidden Album. Apple says it is on by default and you can turn it off. With it off, the Hidden album is not listed under Utilities, which makes it harder to stumble on.
- Use Face ID. Apple says turning it off unlocks the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums by default. Leave it on if you want the lock.
What this stops: someone picking up your unlocked phone and browsing. What it does not stop: anyone who can pass your phone's own check, and anyone who can sign in to your Apple Account on another device with iCloud Photos on. The album is a lock inside the Photos app, not a separate store. A fuller look at the Hidden album: is it secure?
Method 3: Lock the app, or hand over the phone in one app
Two other iOS features keep a person inside or out of an app. Neither touches the photos themselves.
Lock an app. Apple's page on locking apps says a locked app requires Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open, and you reach the option by touching and holding the app until the Quick Actions menu opens. Apple lists some built-in apps that cannot be locked, including Calculator, Camera, Clock and Contacts, and the lines we checked do not name Photos either way. Touch and hold the Photos icon on your own phone: if a Require Face ID, Touch ID or Passcode choice is there, it is available to you. Apple adds that information inside a locked app does not show in some places, such as notification previews and search.
Guided Access. This keeps someone in the app you hand over, as the guide on showing one photo without letting someone swipe explains.
It is for a few minutes with the phone in someone else's hand, not for storage.
Neither feature changes where your photos are kept or how.
Method 4: Put images in a locked note
Notes can lock a note with your iPhone passcode or a separate Notes password. Apple's steps: open the note, tap the More button, then tap Lock. Locked notes use end-to-end encryption for iCloud accounts, and Apple says it cannot help you if you forget a Notes password: resetting it does not open old locked notes.
It has real limits. Apple says notes with PDFs, audio, video, or Keynote, Pages or Numbers documents cannot be locked, nor can notes with tags, shared notes or notes in some mail accounts. The page does not say what happens to a locked note's title, so check on your phone before you put anything sensitive in one. And a note is a poor place for a library of photos: it is one long scroll.
Locked notes versus a vault app, side by side.
Method 5: Use an encrypted vault (how to hide photos on iPhone without the Hidden album)
A vault app keeps photos in its own store, outside the Photos library, locked with a credential that belongs to the vault. StrongRoom does this on the iPhone.
Getting photos in. You can import photos and videos you pick from your library (the app sees only what you choose), pick any file from Files, or take photos and video inside the Vault with the camera, so they never enter your photo library at all. After an import, StrongRoom can offer to delete the originals from your library. It asks every time, and Photos keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so empty that album too.
What protects them. Each Item is encrypted with AES-256-GCM, using the encryption built into iOS. You open the Vault with a pattern or a passphrase of your own, different from your phone's passcode. There is no account, nothing syncs, and the app makes no network connections of its own. How StrongRoom encrypts.
The catch most guides skip. Moving a photo into a vault does not remove it from iCloud if it was already uploaded. With iCloud Photos on, Apple says deleting a photo on one device removes it from the others signed in to the same Apple Account, so the safe order is: import, check the Item opens, then delete the original and clear Recently Deleted. The guide to moving photos to a vault app walks through it.
What StrongRoom cannot do here
It does not hide itself: the app icon is there like any other. It has no Face ID or Touch ID unlock, on purpose. It is iPhone only in 1.0. It cannot recover a forgotten pattern, passphrase and Recovery Phrase for you, because it keeps no copy, and there is no cloud copy to restore from. A Share Package, which you send to another person, is limited only by the app: someone can still screenshot what they open. The honest list is on what StrongRoom does not protect against.
What each method protects
| Method | Stops | Does not stop |
|---|---|---|
| Hide in Photos | Browsing the Library and albums | Anyone who opens the Hidden album; iCloud Photos copies |
| Locked Hidden album | A casual look at the album | Anyone who can pass your phone's check; other devices on your Apple Account |
| Lock an app, Guided Access | Someone opening or leaving one app | Reading the photos by other routes; none of it encrypts |
| Locked note | Casual reading of one note | Video or PDF in the note; lost password means lost note |
| Encrypted vault | Reading the stored data without the credential | Anything already in iCloud; screenshots; forgetting every way in |
Who can still see hidden photos
- Anyone you let unlock your phone with Face ID or Touch ID, or who knows your passcode.
- Anyone signed in to your Apple Account on another device, if iCloud Photos is on.
- Anyone with a shared album or Shared Library that includes the photo.
- Anyone you send the photo to. Hiding applies to your copy only.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Hide deletes. It only moves the photo to the Hidden album.
- Hiding on one device and forgetting iCloud Photos. Apple says hidden items are hidden on your other devices too, but they are still in iCloud.
- Deleting and forgetting Recently Deleted. Apple keeps items there for 30 days, and says an item deleted from that album cannot be recovered.
- Sharing your passcode with a partner or family member, which also opens the Hidden album and locked notes made with the phone passcode.
- Moving photos to a vault but leaving the originals in the library.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hide photos on iPhone without the Hidden album?
Yes, in a locked note for images, or in a vault app. Neither uses the Hidden album, but a locked note cannot hold videos or PDFs, and a vault app is a separate app to set up.
Does hiding a photo delete it?
No. Hide moves it to the Hidden album, and Unhide puts it back.
Do hidden photos sync?
With iCloud Photos on, Apple says photos you hide on one device are hidden on your other devices too, so they do sync.
How do I see my hidden photos?
Open Photos, tap Collections, scroll to Hidden under Utilities, tap View Album and unlock it. If you do not see Hidden, check Settings > Apps > Photos > Show Hidden Album.
Can I hide a whole album?
Apple's page describes hiding photos and videos, not albums. Select the items in the album and hide them, or see how to make a secret photo album on iPhone. Read more: How to make a secret photo album on iPhone
Sources
- Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- Lock or hide apps on your iPhone (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.