How to hide photos on iPhone

To hide photos on iPhone, open Photos, select the photos, tap the More button (three dots) and tap Hide. They move to the Hidden album, which iOS locks with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode by default. That’s enough to keep them out of your main library when someone scrolls through your photos. It isn’t a separate lock, though, and it doesn’t take the photos out of iCloud.

This guide covers the exact steps, what the Hidden album really protects against, and when a separate encrypted vault makes more sense. Settings paths checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 18, iOS 26 and iOS 27 on Oct 24, 2026.

Hide photos and videos

Open Photos.
Tap Select, then tap each photo or video you want to hide. For a single photo, just open it.
Tap the More button (three dots), then tap Hide.

The items leave your library, albums and collections and appear only in the Hidden album. With iCloud Photos on, they’re hidden on all your devices at once, because the hidden status syncs with the photo.

Make sure the Hidden album is locked

Since iOS 16 the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are locked by default. To check:

Settings → Apps → Photos → Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID or Use Passcode on models without Face ID)

Leave it on. If it’s off, anyone holding your unlocked iPhone can open Hidden with a tap.

Hide the Hidden album itself

You can also take the album out of view, so nobody sees that it exists in Utilities.

iOS 26 and iOS 27: Settings → Apps → Photos → turn off Show Hidden Album.
iOS 18: Apple’s iOS 18 guide puts the switch in the Photos app: tap your account in the top-right corner, then turn off Hidden Album.

To get the photos back later, turn the switch back on, then go to Photos → Collections → Hidden (below Utilities), tap View Album and unlock. Open a photo, tap the More button and tap Unhide.

What the Hidden album protects, and what it doesn’t

The Hidden album is a privacy screen, not a safe. It’s good at a few things:

Casual scrolling. If you hand someone your phone to show a photo, they won’t swipe into hidden ones.
Shared screens. Hidden photos don’t appear in your library grid, so they won’t turn up while you’re casting or presenting.
A second unlock. Face ID has to confirm before the album opens, even when the phone is already unlocked.

It doesn’t do these:

It’s not a separate secret. The lock is your iPhone’s own Face ID or passcode. Anyone who knows your passcode, or who you’re made to unlock for, gets in.
It’s not separate storage. Hidden photos stay in your photo library. With iCloud Photos on, they sync to iCloud like any other photo, and they’re hidden on every device signed in to your Apple Account. Anyone who can sign in to that account can see them.
Its encryption is Apple’s standard iCloud encryption unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection. With standard data protection, Apple holds the keys to iCloud Photos. See Advanced Data Protection, explained.
It doesn’t hide that it exists, unless you turn off Show Hidden Album, and even then anyone who knows where the switch is can turn it back on.

When the Hidden album is enough

If you only need to keep a few photos out of sight when someone borrows your phone, the Hidden album is enough, and it’s already on your iPhone. You don’t need an app for:

Screenshots of a gift you’re planning, or receipts you don’t want in your camera roll.
Photos you’d rather a child or a friend doesn’t scroll past.
Keeping your main library tidy.

Pair it with a strong iPhone passcode (6 digits or longer, or an alphanumeric code) and you’ve covered the everyday case. For a side-by-side look at where Apple’s tool wins, see Bunker vs. Apple’s Hidden album.

When a separate vault helps

A vault app is worth it when the risk is someone who can unlock your phone, or when you want photos out of your iCloud photo library entirely. Signs you’re there:

Someone close to you knows, or could learn, your iPhone passcode.
You keep copies of documents (passports, IDs, medical papers) and want them encrypted with a key that isn’t your phone’s passcode.
You don’t want the photos in iCloud Photos at all, but you still want a backup.
You might have to unlock your phone in front of someone.

Bunker keeps photos in vaults that are encrypted on your iPhone and opened by a Pattern you draw (or that vault’s own Passphrase or Recovery Phrase), never by your iPhone passcode. There’s no list of vaults, and a Pattern that doesn’t match simply opens nothing. You can keep several vaults, each with its own Pattern. Backups go to your own iCloud, encrypted before they leave the device, so they aren’t part of your photo library. See Encrypted Backup.

When you import from Photos, Bunker asks whether to delete the originals. Photos keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so empty that album too, or the copies stay on your phone until then.

The limits are real, too. Someone with your unlocked phone who also knows your Pattern sees that vault. If you forget your Pattern and lose your Recovery Phrase, nobody can open the vault, including us. And screenshot blocking is best-effort: another camera can always photograph a screen.

Hiding photos from other places on your iPhone

Hiding a photo keeps it out of your library, but the photo itself isn’t the only thing to think about:

Memories and featured photos pick from your whole library. See how to stop photos showing in Memories and widgets.
iCloud and your other devices get every photo you take. See how to keep private photos out of iCloud.
Your camera roll gets every new photo first. If you take private photos often, take them so they skip the camera roll.

If you want a separate lock rather than a hiding place, read how to lock photos on iPhone.

Questions

Can someone see my hidden photos if they know my iPhone passcode?

Yes. The Hidden album opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode, so anyone who knows the passcode can open it. A separate lock that only you know is the only way around that.

Do hidden photos still upload to iCloud?

Yes. With iCloud Photos on, hidden photos stay in your library and are hidden on every device signed in to the same Apple Account. Hiding a photo doesn't remove it from iCloud.

Do hidden photos show up in Memories or search?

Apple's guide says hidden photos move to the Hidden collection and can't be viewed anywhere else in Photos. They stay in your photo library and its backups, though.

Where is the Hidden album on iPhone?

In Photos, open Collections and scroll to Utilities. If you don't see Hidden there, turn Show Hidden Album back on in Settings → Apps → Photos (iOS 26 and later).