How to lock photos on iPhone
Lock the Photos app, not one album.

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Find the Photos app.
3. Touch and hold the Photos icon until the Quick Actions menu opens.
4. Tap Require Face ID, Require Touch ID, or Require Passcode.

After you quit Photos, it locks again. To open it, authenticate once more. To remove the lock, touch and hold Photos, tap Don't Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then authenticate.

Apple documents this for apps in general, not as a per-photo password. Photos is not on Apple's list of built-in apps that cannot be locked. That list includes Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts, and Settings.

You cannot hide Photos. Apple says apps that come installed cannot be hidden. Only App Store downloads can. Locking Photos is the native option. Moving it into the Hidden folder in App Library is not.

Apple says information inside a locked app will not appear in other locations, for example CarPlay, notification previews, search, Siri suggestions, or call history. That is useful when you hand someone the unlocked phone and do not want Photos to open from a search result.

Apple also says the locked or hidden status of an app does not sync with iCloud. Lock Photos on this device. On another iPhone signed into the same Apple Account, lock it again if you still want that extra tap.

Camera is a different app. Apple lists Camera among the built-in apps that cannot be locked. Someone who can unlock the iPhone can still open Camera and take new photos. Those photos still land in the Photos library. Locking Photos only stops them browsing the library in Photos until they authenticate.

Data Protection still encrypts files on the device with per-file keys when the phone is locked. That is Apple's device encryption. It is not a vault key you set inside Photos, and it is not independent of the person who can unlock the iPhone.

Children under 13 in a Family Sharing group cannot lock or hide apps. Ages 13 to 17 can, and a parent or guardian can still see that the app was downloaded and how much time it is used.

If the search result you followed was about hiding photos, that is this album, not the app lock. On iOS 18 and later, including iOS 26, the path is Collections, then Utilities, then Hidden. On iOS 17 and earlier it is Albums, then Utilities. If the row is missing, turn on Show Hidden Album in Settings, then Apps, then Photos.

When iCloud Photos is on, hidden photos sync. Hiding changes the album, not whether the photo is in iCloud. Advanced Data Protection changes who holds the iCloud keys. It does not stop that sync. Full walkthrough: How to find hidden photos on iPhone and Do hidden photos sync to iCloud?.

The Apple Hidden album is not unencrypted. Data Protection still encrypts files at rest. What it does not add is a documented separate key independent of device authentication.

Notes can be locked with the device passcode or a custom Notes password. That lock is for the note. Photos in the library stay in Photos, and locking Photos does not lock a note.

If the files are photos, stay in Photos, use the Apple Hidden album, or import them into a vault. Do not paste them into a note and treat that lock as a photo vault. For the Notes walkthrough, see How to lock a folder on iPhone.

On iPhone, Google documents Locked Folder as a folder in the Google Photos app. People who have Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode can unlock it. You cannot set a different Locked Folder password. Locked Folder is available in Google Photos on iOS 15 and later. That is still Google Photos, not Settings, and not the Photos app that ships with iPhone.

If you turn on Locked Folder backup, Google says you can access those backed-up items on other devices while signed in with your Google Account. That Google Account path is backup and cross-device access. It is not the iPhone unlock.

If you want photos out of the iPhone Photos library view, use the Apple Hidden album. If you want the files in a vault that does not open with the device passcode, import them into ArkWarden.

Import from Photos, or take photos and record video inside ArkWarden so they never touch the camera roll. Files are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before they are written. The vault opens with your pattern. That pattern unlocks a random 256-bit master key. It is not a key derived from the pattern. Optional Face ID, a PIN, or a YubiKey over NFC can sit in front as a second factor. There is no ArkWarden account and no ArkWarden server for normal use. Optional backup is off by default. If you turn it on, the copy is encrypted on the device first and opens with the recovery phrase you hold.

If the files currently sit in Photos, import them first. Match the count, then open the imported files. Opening one file does not prove the rest imported. If you want a second copy, turn on the optional encrypted iCloud backup, or export an encrypted backup file, before you delete anything. Then delete the Photos copies, then remove them from Recently Deleted.

• iPhone User Guide: Lock or hide an app. Locking needs Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. The locked or hidden status does not sync with iCloud. Some built-in apps cannot be locked, including Camera. Built-in apps cannot be hidden. Hidden apps still appear in Screen Time, Battery, and purchase history.
• Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album. Path, unlock, and iCloud Photos behavior for hidden photos.
• iPhone User Guide (iOS 26): Delete or hide photos and videos. Hide on one device, hide on all of them when iCloud Photos is on.
• Apple Support: How to lock or unlock notes. Notes lock is a note lock. It does not lock the Photos library. Full Notes steps: How to lock a folder on iPhone.
• Apple Platform Security: Data Protection. Files on the device are encrypted with unique per-file keys. That is device encryption, not a vault key you set in Photos.
• Google Photos Help: Hide your sensitive photos and videos. Locked Folder is inside Google Photos. On iPhone, people who have Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode can unlock it. You cannot set a different Locked Folder password. Google Account access is for backup on other devices when backup is on.
• ArkWarden encryption, pattern, and recovery phrase. How files are encrypted, and what opens the vault.
• How to find hidden photos on iPhone, Do hidden photos sync to iCloud?, and five ways to hide photos. Album location, sync, and hiding versus encrypting.