iPhones have so many new features these days that it can be difficult to keep track of them – and sometimes even know they exist. We hear you. However, some of these features can be extremely useful.
For example, did you know that you can hide photos on your iPhone? You can even create hidden photo albums on an iPhone. You should definitely use the “Hide” function on your iPhone, and not just because it is there. We’re big fans of privacy at Mashable and can think of several reasons (some obvious, some less so) why someone would want to hide their iPhone photos. Let’s go through them, shall we?
Why would anyone want to hide iPhone photos?
We’ll start with the most obvious reason: nudes. Your? From someone else? There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Many of us take them! But do you really feel comfortable knowing that your iPhone was accidentally lost and no stranger has access to your intimate pictures?
How to keep your nude photos safe
I probably lose my iPhone twice a day and rarely leave the house anymore. In the event that you lose your phone, you want to make it as difficult as possible for people to find these images.
Maybe you don’t worry about losing your phone, or about strangers looking at your photos. Maybe you’re more interested in showing your friends great photos you just took and accidentally scrolling past something private. Or maybe you don’t want certain images to appear in your home screen photo widget. I mean, it happens.
There are a number of apps that can help you hide nudes and otherwise safely store sensitive images on your phone. However, you don’t necessarily have to worry about this if you use your iPhone’s Hide Photo feature.
Destructible speed of light
Nudes may not be the only photos on your iPhone that you want to hide. Maybe you don’t take them at all, and that’s fine, but consider the various other options. For holidays, birthdays, or other special gift-giving occasions, you may have taken a photo of something you want to give to someone else. And when you spend time with that person, you don’t want them to accidentally find their gift on your phone even though it should be a secret! Hiding photos is a smart move when it comes to keeping surprise gifts a *real* surprise.
Or maybe you have a not-so-secret selfie stash that you don’t necessarily want everyone to see. We’re certainly not against selfies, but if you love taking selfies and don’t want to keep them in an easily accessible place, a hidden album on your iPhone might be the perfect place to keep them.
How to hide photos on iPhone
First, make sure you have updated your iPhone’s software to the latest iOS. Now we hide these photos.
Step 1: Open Photos on your iPhone and find the images or videos you want to hide.
To capture an entire batch, tap Select in the top right, then tap the images you want to hide.
Step 2: Tap the “More” icon in the top right corner of your iPhone screen.
They are the three dots in the corner.
Photo credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple
Step 3: Tap Hide.
It is marked by the symbol of an eyeball with a line running through it.
Photo credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple
Step 4: When prompted, tap Hide Photo.
Your files will now be saved to your “Hidden” album.
Photo credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple
Step 5: Tap “Hidden” to view the hidden photos on your iPhone.
You can find the album by tapping “Albums” in the menu at the bottom of the screen, then tapping “Hidden,” which is indicated by the same eyeball icon as before. As Apple notes, with iOS 16 your hidden album is locked by default. To open it, you’ll need to authenticate with your Apple ID or Face ID if you’ve set it up (more on that below).
Photo credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple
How to Enable a Hidden Album on Your iPhone (and Lock It with Face ID)
Maybe simply hiding individual photos isn’t enough for you and you want to learn how to create and navigate hidden albums on your iPhone too. If that is the case, do the following:
Step 1: Go to your iPhone Settings and scroll down to Photos. Tap it.
Step 2: Scroll down and tap the “Show hidden album” switch.
If the switch turns green and is moved to the right, it means the album label is “hidden” (not the photos themselves) appear under Utilities on the Albums tab in Photos. When Show Hidden Album is disabled, the hidden album will no longer appear under Utilities on your iPhone so no one can see that it exists. You can turn it off without worrying that your hidden photos will be deleted. Once you turn it back on, your hidden album will be right where it was before.
Photo credit: Mashable screenshot / Apple
Step 3: To set up Face ID to view your hidden album, simply tap the switch to turn it green.
This requires facial recognition for both your hidden album and Recently Deleted.
Please note: If someone knows all the information we have discussed in this story – how to hide photos on an iPhone and how to access hidden albums on iPhones – then they know enough to access your secretly stored photos, even if you We have taken these precautions. The Hide Photo feature on iPhones is not a 100% fail-safe way to hide your photos. However, making sure you have Face ID set up is a really strong recommendation.
Be that as it may, using the iPhone’s Hide feature for photos is still a good idea as there is always the possibility of someone looking through your phone not know this information. Therefore, using the Hide feature still means you’re better off than before, and it doesn’t cost you anything, so we’d say it’s well worth a try.
This article was originally published in January 2021 and was last updated in April 2024.