There are four common ways to hide photos on an iPhone. They protect against different people. The right one depends on who you want to keep out: a friend who scrolls through your camera roll, a partner who knows your passcode, or someone who takes the device.
The short answer
| Method | Hides from a quick look | Hides from someone with your passcode | Hides that something is hidden |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden album | Yes | No | No |
| Locked note | Yes | Only with a separate notes password | No |
| Files app | Partly | No | No |
| Vault app with a separate key | Yes | Yes | Only if the app is designed for it |
1. The Hidden album in Photos
Select photos, tap the More button, then tap Hide. The photos leave your library, your Memories and the Photos widget, and go to the Hidden album. On current versions of iOS, the Hidden album is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Good for: keeping photos out of sight when you show someone your camera roll.
Not good for: anyone who knows your device passcode. The passcode opens the album. The album also shows that you have hidden photos. If you use iCloud Photos, hidden photos sync to your other devices too. Read Is the iPhone Hidden album private? for the details.
2. A locked note
In the Notes app, add photos to a note, then lock it. You can lock notes with your device passcode or with a separate notes password. Apple encrypts the content of locked notes.
Good for: a small number of photos or documents, if you use a separate password that no one else knows.
Not good for: many photos or videos. Notes is not made to browse a collection. And if you lock notes with your device passcode, anyone with the passcode can open them. The title of a locked note stays visible in the list.
3. A folder in the Files app
You can save photos to a folder in the Files app, then delete them from Photos.
Good for: keeping photos out of the camera roll.
Not good for: privacy. The Files app has no lock of its own. Anyone who can open your device can open the folder.
4. A vault app
A vault app keeps photos in its own storage, with its own lock. The quality varies a lot. A good vault app encrypts each photo on your device with a key that only you can make, and it does not need an account.
Good for: photos and files that must stay private even from someone who can unlock your device.
Check first: some vault apps only hide files behind a PIN screen, store data on their own servers, or show ads with trackers. How to choose a photo vault app lists the questions to ask.
What about the people who know you have a vault?
Every method above shows that something is hidden. The Hidden album has a count. A locked note has a lock icon. A vault app with a PIN screen shows an error for a wrong PIN.
If the risk is that someone makes you open it, you need a vault that can show something harmless instead. DotSafe opens a different vault for each pattern and never shows a wrong-pattern error, so you can open a decoy vault. Plausible deniability, explained describes how this works.
After you move photos
- Delete the originals. A copy in a vault does not remove the original from Photos.
- Empty Recently Deleted. Photos keeps deleted items there for 30 days.
- Check iCloud Photos. A photo that synced before you deleted it is deleted from iCloud too, but check your other devices.
- Check other apps. Messages, WhatsApp and other chat apps can keep their own copy of a photo that you sent or received.
