Last updated: August 2026
Open Photos, tap Collections, then Hidden under Utilities. Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Hiding keeps the photo out of Library. iCloud Photos still syncs the album.
The Hidden album is in the Photos app. Tap Collections, scroll to Utilities, then tap Hidden.
Tap View Album and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
The Hidden album is in the Photos app under Collections, then Utilities, then Hidden.
Tap View Album and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Screenshots are from the iOS 26 Simulator (iPhone 17). On a physical iPhone, Hidden can also offer Face ID or Touch ID. The same Collections path is what you get on iOS 18.
Hidden photos are not in a separate app. They stay inside Photos.
Use the bar at the bottom of the screen. Collections is the middle button, next to Library. On iOS 17 and earlier, tap Albums instead, then scroll to Utilities.
Hidden sits with Deleted, Duplicates, Map, and Saved. The Hidden pill shows a crossed-out eye and a lock.
Apple unlocks Hidden with Face ID, Touch ID, or your iPhone passcode. The passcode that opens the phone also opens this album.
Hidden sits under Utilities, with a lock on the button.
Tap View Album, then Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
Apple's wording is direct: hidden photos move to the Hidden collection, and you cannot view them anywhere else in Photos. That includes Library, other albums, and the Photos widget. The photos are still in the Photos library. They have changed albums, not storage.
They are usually still on the phone. Turn on Show Hidden Album in Settings, then Apps, then Photos.
The album can be turned off in Settings. That looks like the photos are gone. They are not.
Apple lets you remove Hidden from the Photos app without deleting anything. When Show Hidden Album is off, the photos stay in the library and stay hidden from Library. They simply stop appearing under Utilities until you turn the switch back on.
Open Settings → Apps → Photos and turn on Show Hidden Album. That is the path in Apple's iOS 26 user guide and in Apple's Hidden album article. The caption on the switch is "The Hidden album will appear under Utilities."
To lock hidden photos, use the switch above it: Use Passcode, or Use Face ID / Use Touch ID on a physical iPhone. Hidden then asks for that unlock when you tap View Album.
Show Hidden Album controls whether Hidden appears. Use Passcode (or Face ID / Touch ID on a physical iPhone) is a separate switch for the unlock prompt.
If the Apple Hidden album is visible and still empty, check two other places before assuming the photos left the phone:
Yes. When iCloud Photos is on, hidden photos sync with the rest of the library and stay hidden on every device signed into that Apple Account.
Apple's Hidden album article says photos you hide on one device are hidden on your other devices too. The iOS 26 user guide says the same for iCloud Photos: hide on one device, hide on all of them.
Hiding does not create a private copy outside iCloud. The hidden flag travels with the library. If iCloud Photos is on, anyone who can open Photos on another device signed into that Apple Account, and who can pass Face ID, Touch ID, or the passcode there, can open Hidden there as well.
Apple encrypts iCloud Photos in transit and at rest in every case. What changes is who holds the keys:
| iCloud setting | Do hidden photos sync? | Who holds the Photos keys? |
|---|---|---|
iCloud Photos off |
No iCloud Photos library to sync |
Not applicable |
Standard data protection Default |
Yes. Hidden on every device in the account |
Apple data centers, so Apple can help you recover the library |
Advanced Data Protection Optional, off unless you turn it on |
Yes. Hidden still syncs |
Your trusted devices. Apple states it cannot access that data |
Advanced Data Protection changes who can read iCloud Photos. It does not change what hiding does: the photo stays in Photos, still syncs, and the Apple Hidden album still opens with the device passcode. To see which setting you have: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Advanced Data Protection.
Yes, if they can unlock the iPhone. If iCloud Photos is on, they can also open Hidden on another device signed into the same Apple Account.
Apple unlocks the Hidden album with Face ID, Touch ID, or the iPhone passcode. That is the same authentication that unlocks the device. Anyone who can unlock your iPhone can open Hidden. If iCloud Photos is on, anyone who can unlock another device signed into the same Apple Account can open Hidden there too.
That is why locking hidden photos in Settings is not the same as a vault. Use Passcode (or Face ID / Touch ID) adds a prompt. It does not give you a key the device passcode cannot reach.
ArkWarden does not open with the iPhone passcode. The vault opens with your pattern, or the recovery phrase you hold. You can add a YubiKey over NFC as a second factor after the pattern. Wing is a second vault with its own pattern, if you need a separate set of files.
Hidden photos are encrypted on your iPhone by Data Protection, like every other file. The Hidden album does not add a documented separate key. It opens with the same Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode that opens the phone.
A screen lock controls what Photos displays. The album is harder to open by accident. It is not a vault.
Apple's own pages describe hide, lock, and show. They do not describe an extra encryption step for the Apple Hidden album. iPhone Data Protection already encrypts files on the device with unique per-file keys. It is an album that is harder to open by accident, not a vault.
| Situation | What the Apple Hidden album does |
|---|---|
Someone scrolling Library |
Stops this. Apple keeps hidden items out of Library, other albums, and the Photos widget. |
Someone who knows the iPhone passcode |
Does not stop this. The same passcode opens the Apple Hidden album. |
Someone enrolled in Face ID or Touch ID on that phone |
Does not stop this. Biometrics unlock Hidden the same way they unlock the device. |
iCloud Photos on another device |
Does not stop this. When iCloud Photos is on, Hidden follows the Apple Account. |
Turning off Show Hidden Album |
Hides the album row. The photos stay in the library. |
The file itself becoming unreadable |
The files stay in the Photos library. Data Protection still encrypts them with per-file keys. The album opens with the device passcode. |
The Settings screen above makes the split obvious. Show Hidden Album is visibility. Use Passcode (or Use Face ID / Use Touch ID) is the extra prompt. Neither one takes the file out of Photos. Neither one gives you a key that only you hold.
Use the Apple Hidden album when you only need a photo out of Library. Use ArkWarden when the file itself should be unreadable without a key you hold.
| Apple Hidden album | ArkWarden | |
|---|---|---|
Out of Library |
Yes. Also out of other albums and the Photos widget. |
Yes. Files sit outside the Photos app. |
Key independent of the device passcode |
Not documented. The album opens with Face ID, Touch ID, or the iPhone passcode. |
Yes. AES-256-GCM on the device, unlocked by your pattern. |
What opens it |
Face ID, Touch ID, or the iPhone passcode |
Your pattern, or the recovery phrase you hold. Not the device passcode. |
iCloud Photos |
Still syncs when iCloud Photos is on |
Not in the Photos library, so it does not sync through iCloud Photos |
Account |
Your existing Apple Account |
No ArkWarden account or ArkWarden server |
Best for |
A phone you still control, and a person who will not unlock it |
Photos, videos, and documents that must stay unreadable without your key |
The Apple Hidden album is the right first tool when you only need a photo off the main timeline. Keep using it for that.
Switch the photos that matter to ArkWarden if someone who can unlock the phone should not be able to open a readable file. The same applies to another device on the Apple Account when iCloud Photos is on. Hiding and encrypting are not the same method.
On the ArkWarden home screen, tap +, then Photos.
Draw your pattern and write down the recovery phrase. There is no ArkWarden account to create.
On the ArkWarden home screen, tap the + button, then tap Photos. Choose the photos for the vault. Each file is encrypted on the device as it enters the vault.
Check that the vault contains every photo you selected. Match the count, then open the files in ArkWarden. Opening one file does not prove the rest imported.
ArkWarden backup is off by default. If you skip it, the vault stays only on your device. Before you empty Recently Deleted, turn on the optional encrypted iCloud backup, or export an encrypted backup file, if you want a second copy. Both are encrypted on the device first. Details: Backup and Restore.
Delete the originals from the Apple Hidden album, then delete them again from Recently Deleted so a readable copy does not remain in Photos or iCloud Photos. After that, the vault may be the only remaining copy on the phone.
Tap +, then Photos.
Location, lock, iCloud, Settings, Data Protection, and account-switching claims come from Apple's current documentation.
Every file encrypted on your device, with a random master key unlocked by your pattern. No account, no ads, no server.
