How to hide photos on iPhone
Updated · By THEORIST LLC, the company that makes Hushtrove
To hide a photo on iPhone, touch and hold it in Photos, tap Hide and confirm. It moves to the Hidden collection, which iOS 26 and iOS 27 lock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode by default S1 S2. That keeps it out of your Library, your albums and the Photos widget, but it isn't a separate lock: anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open it, and with iCloud Photos it's hidden the same way on all your devices.
Below is every built-in way to keep photos out of sight on an iPhone, what each one actually stops, and when a separate vault app is worth it. The steps are the same in iOS 26 and iOS 27.
1. The Hidden collection in Photos
This is the method most people mean by "hiding" a photo.
- Open the Photos app.
- Touch and hold the photo or video. For several at once, tap Select, tap each item, then tap the More button.
- Tap Hide, then confirm.
Hidden items move to the Hidden collection and, in Apple's words, "You can't view them anywhere else." They don't appear in the Library, other albums or the Photos widget on your Home Screen S1 S2.
To see them again: tap Collections, scroll to Utilities, tap Hidden, tap View Album and unlock. To put one back, press and hold it and tap Unhide S2.
Two settings worth knowing, both in Settings › Apps › Photos S1:
- Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, Use Passcode) locks both Hidden and Recently Deleted. It's on by default; leave it on.
- Show Hidden Album removes the Hidden collection from view in Photos altogether. It's on by default.
The limits. The lock is your iPhone's own Face ID or passcode, so anyone who knows your passcode can open Hidden. With iCloud Photos, a photo you hide is hidden on your other devices too, and on iCloud.com it's one click away under Hidden for anyone signed in to your Apple Account S2 S3. In an iCloud Shared Photo Library, hiding a photo moves it to the Hidden album of every participant, "where they can view or stop hiding it" S3.
2. Lock the whole Photos app
You can require Face ID for any app, Photos included. Touch and hold the Photos icon, tap Require Face ID, and confirm. Apple says information inside a locked app won't appear elsewhere, for example in search, Siri suggestions or notification previews S4.
The limits. Built-in apps like Photos can be locked but not hidden; only apps you downloaded can go to the Hidden folder in App Library. The lock opens with your iPhone passcode, and it only applies to that iPhone: it doesn't sync through iCloud S4.
3. Put the photo in a locked note
Add the photo to a note in the Notes app, then tap the More button and Lock. Notes can be locked with your device passcode or with a separate Notes password set in Settings › Apps › Notes › Password S5.
The limits. The note's title stays visible in the list. Notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments can't be locked, and neither can Quick Notes or shared notes. If you choose a custom password and forget it, Apple says it can't help you regain access S5. And the original is still in your photo library until you delete it there too.
4. Guided Access, when you hand your phone over
Lending your phone to show one photo, a boarding pass or a map? Guided Access keeps iPhone in a single app until you end the session with a passcode or Face ID. Turn it on in Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access S6. It doesn't hide anything; it stops the other person from leaving the app you opened.
What each method stops
| Method | Stops | Doesn't stop |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden collection | Someone scrolling your Library, albums or widget | Anyone with your iPhone passcode; Shared Library participants |
| Locked Photos app | Anyone opening Photos without your face or passcode | Anyone with your iPhone passcode |
| Locked note | Someone browsing Notes (a separate Notes password is possible) | Videos; the copy still in your library |
| Guided Access | Someone leaving the app you handed over | Anything inside that app |
Don't forget Recently Deleted
Deleting a photo from your library doesn't remove it. It waits in Recently Deleted for 30 days, on every device that uses iCloud Photos, before it's permanently removed S1. Recently Deleted is locked like Hidden, with the same passcode. To remove something for good sooner, open Collections › Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the items and tap Delete.
When a vault app helps
The built-in options are enough if your worry is a friend scrolling through your camera roll. A separate vault app makes sense when:
- someone else knows your iPhone passcode, and you want a passcode only you know;
- you use iCloud Photos or a Shared Library and want certain photos out of it entirely;
- you're keeping copies of IDs, medical or financial documents, or intimate photos, and want them encrypted with a key that is separate from your photo library.
Hushtrove, our app, is one of those. Its vault has its own passcode (with Face ID), each photo, video and file gets its own AES-256 key, and none of them appear in Photos, the Files app or iPhone backups. After an import it offers to delete the originals from Photos; remember they then sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days unless you empty it. Other vault apps work differently, so check their App Privacy label and how they back up before you trust them with anything; our roundup compares the big ones.