Our smartphones hold our entire lives, and our photo galleries are the most intimate parts of those devices. Occasionally, you may want to hand your iPhone to a coworker to show them a picture of your new dog, or let a relative scroll through photos from a recent family vacation. However, you might also have photos of sensitive documents, medical records, or personal images interspersed within that same camera roll that you absolutely do not want anyone else to see.
Instead of meticulously deleting sensitive photos or nervously hovering over the person’s shoulder while they scroll, Apple provides a built-in feature to remove specific images from your main library entirely, placing them into a locked, hidden folder that requires your biometric authentication to access.
This guide explains how to hide specific photos on your iPhone and how to ensure the Hidden album itself remains secure.
How to Hide a Photo or Video
Hiding an image removes it from the main “Recents” camera roll, your “For You” memory widgets, and any standard albums you created. It will only exist in the dedicated Hidden album.
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
- Locate the photo or video you want to hide. (You can also tap the “Select” button in the top right corner to highlight multiple photos at once).
- Open the photo and tap the More button (the icon with three dots inside a circle) in the top-right corner of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu, select Hide.
- A confirmation prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen warning you that the photo will be moved. Tap Hide Photo to confirm.
The image will instantly vanish from your main gallery.
How to View Your Hidden Photos
To access the photos you just secured, you must navigate to the specific album designated for them.
- In the Photos app, tap the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll all the way down past your standard albums and media types until you reach the “Utilities” section.
- Tap on Hidden.
- Your iPhone will prompt you to authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.
Once authenticated, the album will unlock, revealing all your hidden media. If you want to return a photo to your main gallery, simply open the hidden photo, tap the three dots icon again, and select Unhide.
How to Completely Hide the “Hidden” Album
By default, the “Hidden” album sits right at the bottom of your Albums list. While it is locked with Face ID, anyone scrolling through your albums will still see that a Hidden folder exists, which can invite unwanted questions. For maximum privacy, you can remove the folder from the Albums list entirely.
- Open your iPhone’s main Settings app (not the Photos app).
- Scroll down and tap on Photos.
- Look for the toggle switch labeled Show Hidden Album.
- Turn this toggle switch Off.
Now, if you open the Photos app and navigate to the Albums tab, the “Hidden” folder will not be listed under Utilities at all. Your sensitive photos are still safely stored on the device, but the doorway to access them is completely invisible. When you want to view them yourself, simply return to the Settings app, toggle “Show Hidden Album” back on, and use Face ID to enter.