Guide
Stop photos showing in Memories, widgets and search
To stop old or private photos popping up on their own, turn off Show Featured Content: on iOS 26 and later it’s in Photos → Collections → your account (top right), and on iOS 18 it’s in Settings → Apps → Photos. That stops Memories and featured photos in the app and in the Photos widget. Then check the three places it doesn’t cover: Lock Screen Photo Shuffle, Spotlight search, and Shared with You.
Paths checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 18, iOS 26 and iOS 27 and Apple’s wallpaper article on Oct 24, 2026. The location of this switch moved in iOS 26.
Every place your photos resurface
| Where | What it shows | The switch |
|---|---|---|
| Memories and featured photos in Photos | Automatic collections and highlights | Show Featured Content |
| Photos widget on the Home Screen | Featured photos and memories | Show Featured Content, or remove the widget |
| Lock Screen Photo Shuffle | Photos picked by category, an album, or your own selection | The wallpaper’s photo selection |
| Spotlight search | Photos matching what you type, including text in photos | Settings → Search → Photos |
| Shared with You in Photos | Photos people sent you in Messages | Settings → Apps → Messages → Shared with You |
Turn off Memories and featured photos
iOS 26 and iOS 27:
- Open Photos and tap Collections.
- Tap your account in the top-right corner.
- Turn off Show Featured Content. You can also turn off Show Holiday Events.
iOS 18:
- Go to Settings → Apps → Photos.
- Turn off Show Featured Content, and if you like, Show Holiday Events.
Apple says this stops Photos from automatically generating featured photos and memories, in the app and in the widget on your Home Screen. Your photos aren’t affected.
If you’d rather keep Memories but stop a widget showing them, remove the widget: touch and hold it on the Home Screen and tap Remove Widget.
Feature a person less, or never
Sometimes it isn’t Memories in general, it’s one person: an ex, someone who has died, a colleague.
iOS 26 and iOS 27:
- Open a photo of the person.
- Tap the More button, then Don’t Feature a Person. If there are several people, tap the one you mean and tap Next.
- Choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person, then Confirm.
iOS 18: open a photo of them, tap the More button, tap Feature This Person Less, choose an option and tap Confirm.
To undo it on iOS 26 and later: Collections → your account → Reset People & Pets Suggestions.
Lock Screen Photo Shuffle
Photo Shuffle is chosen separately from Memories, so turning off featured content doesn’t change it. If your shuffle uses categories such as People, Nature or Cities, it picks from your whole library.
To take control of it:
- Touch and hold the Lock Screen, then tap Customize on the shuffle wallpaper.
- Tap the photo thumbnail to change the selection.
- Choose Select Photos Manually, or use an album you curate.
Apple’s wallpaper article describes the same options when you create one from Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photo Shuffle. A shuffle of photos you picked yourself never surprises you.
Remember that the Lock Screen is visible before anyone unlocks your phone.
Spotlight search
Spotlight can find photos by what’s in them, including text in photos. To keep Photos out of search results across your iPhone:
Settings → Search → Photos → Show App in Search (off)
This is the same on iOS 18 and iOS 27. Search inside the Photos app still works.
Shared with You
Photos people send you in Messages appear in a Shared with You section in Photos, even if you never saved them. To stop that, go to Settings → Apps → Messages → Shared with You and turn off Photos. The photos stay in the Messages conversation.
Hiding a photo covers all of these at once
If it’s specific photos rather than whole features, hide them. Apple says hidden photos move to the Hidden collection and can’t be viewed anywhere else, so they stay out of Memories, featured photos and widgets. The Hidden album is locked with Face ID by default. Steps are in how to hide photos on iPhone.
The catch: hidden photos are still in your library and in iCloud Photos, and anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden album.
Photos that never resurface
Photos you keep in a Bunker vault aren’t in your photo library at all, so Memories, featured photos, the Photos widget, Photo Shuffle, Spotlight and Shared with You can’t pick them up. Bunker’s own search works only inside an open vault, and vault content never appears in Spotlight.
If you move photos into a vault, delete the originals from Photos when Bunker asks, then empty Recently Deleted. Until you do, the originals can still be featured.
The limits: someone with your unlocked phone who knows the vault’s Pattern can open it, and the free version holds 3 Vaults, with 100 photos, 10 videos and 20 documents and notes in total.
When you don’t need an app
If what bothers you is the surprise, not the photos themselves, the built-in switches are enough: turn off featured content, feature certain people less, choose your Lock Screen photos yourself. Hide the few photos you never want to see by accident. A vault helps when the photos are private, not just painful, and you want them out of your library and out of iCloud Photos.
Related: how to keep private photos out of iCloud, and if you’re sorting the photos of someone who has died, what happens to your photos when you die.
Questions
How do I stop a person showing up in Memories?
Open a photo of them, tap the More button, tap Don't Feature a Person (iOS 26 and later) or Feature This Person Less (iOS 18), and choose Never Feature This Person if you don't want them featured at all.
Do hidden photos appear in Memories or widgets?
No. Apple says hidden photos move to the Hidden collection and can't be viewed anywhere else. Hiding is the quickest way to keep a specific photo out of every feature at once.
Does turning off featured content delete my Memories?
Apple describes it as preventing Photos from automatically generating featured photos and memories. Your photos aren't deleted.
Why did a photo I deleted show up again on my Lock Screen?
Usually it was in another place too, such as a shared library, a shared album or Shared with You. Check those, and empty Recently Deleted.