How to Customise and Reorganise the Photos App in iOS 18

The Photos app in iOS 18 received the most ambitious visual and architectural redesign in the history of the iPhone. Apple eliminated the traditional multi-tab navigation bar (Library, For You, Albums, Search) at the bottom of the screen, replacing it with a unified single-page layout. The upper half displays your chronological photo grid, while the lower half showcases curated algorithmic collections such as Recent Days, People & Pets, Memories, Trips, and Pinned Collections.

While this unified layout places rich media collections at your fingertips, the default order may not match your personal browsing style. Fortunately, Apple designed the redesigned Photos app with deep customisation and reorganisation capabilities, allowing you to reorder sections, hide unwanted collections, and pin custom albums to the top.

Understanding the Unified Photos Architecture

The single-view Photos layout is organised into modular, draggable content carousels:

• Photo Grid: Swiping down pulls your primary photo library into full view with pinch-to-zoom capabilities and month/year timeline scrubbers.
• Collections: Swiping upward scrolls through dynamic collection blocks (such as Recent Days, People & Pets, Trips, Memories, and Media Types).
• Pinned Collections: A persistent quick-access drawer where you can pin favourite albums, custom search filters, or specific utility categories (such as Screenshots or Videos).

How to Reorder Collections in the Photos App

If you prefer seeing your created Albums or Shared Albums higher on the page than automated Trips or Memories:

1. Open the Photos app on an iPhone running iOS 18.
2. Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the main page.
3. Tap the Customise & Reorder button.
4. A configuration screen lists all available collection modules:
   • Recent Days
   • People & Pets
   • Pinned Collections
   • Memories
   • Trips
   • Albums
   • Featured Photos
   • Media Types
   • Utilities
5. Touch and hold the three horizontal drag handles (≡) on the right side of any collection.
6. Drag the section upward or downward to reposition it on the screen. For example, drag Albums to the very top so your personal albums appear immediately beneath your photo grid.
7. Tap the X (or Close) button in the upper-right corner to save your custom layout.

How to Hide Collections You Don’t Use

If certain automated collections clutter your view and add unnecessary visual noise:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the Photos app and tap Customise & Reorder.
2. Locate any collection you do not wish to see (such as Featured Photos or Trips).
3. Uncheck the blue checkmark box next to that collection name.
4. Tap the close button. The unchecked collections are completely hidden from your main feed without deleting any underlying photos. You can re-enable them at any time.

How to Customise Pinned Collections for Instant Shortcuts

The Pinned Collections carousel acts as a bespoke shortcut drawer for your most critical workflows:

1. Scroll down to the Pinned Collections section.
2. Tap Modify (located in the header next to Pinned Collections).
3. In the modification panel, you can:
   • Tap the red minus (-) icon to remove default shortcuts you do not need (such as Suggestions).
   • Tap items under the Suggested list (such as Screenshots, Videos, Receipts, or Recently Added) to add them to your drawer.
   • Scroll down to Any Album to pin a specific holiday album, client portfolio, or family shared album directly into the drawer.
4. Drag the handle icons to arrange the shortcuts in your preferred order.
5. Tap Done.

Photos App Customisation Options Reference

Collection Module	Content Displayed	Customisation Action
Recent Days	Chronologically grouped photos by recent day	Can be reordered, hidden, or cleared of clutter.
Albums	User-created folders and third-party app albums	Move to the top for classic iOS album navigation.
Pinned Collections	Custom shortcut drawer for albums and categories	Add custom albums, screenshots, or receipts.
People & Pets	Facial recognition clusters of recognised people	Filter, name individuals, or hide specific faces.
Utilities	Hidden, Recently Deleted, Duplicates, Receipts	Secured behind Face ID / Touch ID authentication.

Filtering and Customising the Main Photo Grid

You can also refine how photos appear in your primary library grid at the top of the app:

1. Swipe down from the top to view the full photo grid.
2. Tap the Sort & Filter button (represented by two opposing arrows in the bottom-left corner).
3. Choose between Sort by Recently Added or Sort by Date Captured.
4. Tap Filter to hide screenshots, shared photos, or edited versions, keeping your primary gallery uncluttered.