Have you ever been in the middle of showing a co-worker some pictures on your phone only to have them flick past one that was somewhat embarrassing? We all have photos that are special to us, but if anyone else saw them, it might make them blush. Keep reading, and we’ll go over ways how to hide and lock the iPhone photos you don’t want anyone to see.

How to hide iPhone photos in the Photos app

It’s really easy to hide pictures directly in the Photos app, but that also means it’s easy to find hidden photos. As I mentioned earlier, there’s no way to password protect the Photos app, so I would caution against using this method to hide pictures that only need a mild deterrent.

Once you have the Photos app open and have selected the picture you want to hide:

  1. Tap the Share button.
  2. Tap Hide.
  3. Confirm that you want to hide the picture.

That’s it! It’s that simple. The first time you hide one or more photos in the Photos app, it will create a Hidden album

How to find hidden photos on iPhone

Now, if you want to find that picture, there is one certain action you can do. Namely, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Photos App.
  2. Scroll down to Albums.
  3. Look for the Utilities section.
  4. Tap Hidden.

There they are, your secret pics and videos! But as you can see, they’re not that well-hidden.

How to create a hidden album on an iPhone?

Sadly, there’s no way to hide the individual albums, but you can hide entire albums’ worth of photos. The quickest way to do this is: 

  1. Open the Photos app and find the picture(s) you want to hide.
  2. Tap Select in the top right corner if you're hiding multiple pics, or just tap the photo.
  3. Hit that Share button (the one that looks like a little box with an arrow popping out).
  4. Scroll down a bit and tap Hide.
  5. Confirm you want to hide it, and voilà, it’s now in your Hidden album!

Basically, by making photos "Hide," you add them to a hidden album. Otherwise, there is no way to create a hidden album per se.

How to add photos to a hidden album on an iPhone

Well, here’s a little secret: You can’t create a hidden album exactly, but you can hide an entire album’s worth of photos all at once. Here’s how:

  • Open the Album you want to hide.
  • Tap Select All (yup, you’re going all in!).
  • Hit that trusty Share button.
  • Tap Hide, and confirm. Now, the whole album’s contents are tucked away in the Hidden album.

So there you go, master of iPhone photo hiding! Now, you can hide, lock, and keep things private like a pro.

How to find hidden photos on an iPhone

If you've hidden some photos and need to find them again, follow these easy steps:

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down until you see the "Hidden" album under the Utilities section.
  3. Tap Hidden.
  4. Unlock the Hidden album using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.

That's it! Your hidden photos will be displayed there. They are kept out of your main library and are only visible after unlocking the Hidden album.

Organize your photos on the iPhone

It's always a good idea get rid of unwanted photos before doing anything with them. You can go through your pictures manually. However, it will take a long, long time. Way faster is to use CleanMy®Phone. 

Here's how to use it:

  1. Open CleanMy®Phone and allow it full access to your library — worry not, with on-device scanning, it is safe.
  2. Tap Declutter > Scan.
  3. Check the categories of clutter and deselect everything you want to keep. Once happy with the selection, tap Clean — it is all now sent to the Recently Deleted album in your Photos app.
  4. Empty the Recently Deleted album.

    CleanMy®Phone also helps organize similar photos with its smart Organize module. Sets of similar photos will be grouped into the following categories: Travel, Food, Pets, Portraits, and Text. Within each category, you’ll see photos grouped into Similars and Unique. Not-so-excellent photos in Similars are already preselected for removal, but you can deselect them. Once you’re ready to say goodbye to unneeded photos, tap Clean.

    How to lock hidden photos on an iPhone

    If you’re looking for extra security for your private photos, the Hidden album on iPhone now offers built-in protection. By default, the Hidden album is locked and can only be accessed using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. This ensures that even if someone scrolls through your Photos app, they won’t be able to view your Hidden photos without unlocking the album.

    To improve your privacy, you can set password for hidden photos in iPhone by enabling Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode protection. Here’s how:

    1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
    2. Scroll down and tap Apps.
    3. Find the Photos App and click it.
    4. Make sure Use Face ID, Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode is turned on for the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums.

    Once enabled, your Hidden photos will stay secure, and you’ll need to unlock the album with your chosen method whenever you want to access them.

    How to unhide photos on iPhone

    Oops, need to bring something out of hiding? Here’s how:

    • Open the Photos app and tap Albums.
    • Scroll down to Other Albums and tap Hidden.
    • Find the photo you want to unhide, tap Select, and pick the pics.
    • Tap the Share button again and scroll to find Unhide. Boom, they’re back in the regular albums!
    You might also like: iPhone Live Photos: How to take, edit, and post them

    How to delete hidden photos on iPhone

    If you want to remove hidden photos from your iPhone permanently, follow these steps:

    • Open the Photos app.
    • Scroll down and tap the Hidden album under the Utilities section.
    • Unlock the Hidden album using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
    • Tap Select in the top-right corner.
    • Tap the photos you want to delete, or select all photos by tapping Select All.
    • Tap the trash icon (Delete) at the bottom of the screen.
    • Confirm by tapping Delete Photos.

    Hopefully, reading this article helped ease the anxiety of having private photos on your iPhone. There are several ways to hide and lock your photos — you just have to figure out how secure you want it to be and how much effort you’re willing to put in.