How to hide (or unhide) your personal photos on your iPhone or iPad

Here is a step-by-step guide of how you can hide and unhide your personal photos on your iPhone or your iPad.

Published: Apr 24, 2023, 05:55 PM IST

Story Highlights

iOS and iPadOS let users hide their personal photos in the Photos app.
Users can also hide the visibility of Hidden album in the Photos app.
This feature is available on almost all iOS versions.

All the photos that you click using your iPhone or your iPad go to the Recents album in the Photos app by default. While this makes finding all the images, even the ones that you have probably forgotten about, easy, it also leaves your personal images, the ones that you don’t want anyone else to see vulnerable to be seen by a friend or a family member accidentally. To avoid such a situation, it is advisable that users move their personal images to the Hidden folder in the photos app, which makes them inaccessible to everyone.

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While this feature is available in almost all iOS versions, iOS 14 and newer iOS versions also let users to control the visibility of the Hidden album, so that the photos are completely hidden.

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So, here is an easy guide using which you can hide (or unhide) your personal photos on your iPhone or iPad.

How to hide photos on your iPhone or iPad

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
Step 2: Go to the Recents folder in the Album tab.
Step 3: Now select the photo or video that you want to hide.
Step 4: Now tap the More button and then tap the Hide option.
Step 5: Lastly, confirm that you want to hide the photo or video.

How to Unhide photos on your iPhone or iPad

Step 1: Open Photos app on your iPhone or your iPad.
Step 2: Now tap the Albums tab. On iPad, you might need to tap the sidebar icon in the upper-left corner first to see your albums.
Step 3: Now scroll down to the Utilities section.
Step 4: Now tap the Hidden option under Utilities.
Step 5: Next, use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock the Hidden album on your iPhone or iPad.
Step 6: Now tap the photo or video that you want to unhide.
Step 7: Lastly, tap the More button and then tap Unhide button.

How to hide Hidden album on your iPhone or iPad

By moving your personal photos to the hidden album, you can ensure that no one accidentally stumbles upon your personal images that you don’t want them to see. However, they can still see if you have images in the Hidden folder in the Photos app on your iPhone or your iPad, which in turn may spike their curiosity. To avoid such a situation, Apple gives you an easy hack using which you can also control the visibility of the Hidden folder on your iPhone or your iPad. “On an iPhone or iPad, the Hidden album is on and visible by default. When you turn off the Hidden album, any photos or videos that you’ve hidden won’t be visible in the Photos app,” the company says.