--- title: "iPhone Memories: What Shows Up and How to Turn Them Off" description: "iPhone Memories explained: what shows up, what featured photos mean, how to keep a photo or person out of Memories, and how to turn Memories off in Photos." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/iphone-photo-memories lang: en published: 2026-10-29 updated: 2026-10-29 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # iPhone Memories: what shows up, and how to turn them off > Memories resurface anything in your photo library that Photos thinks matters, so the only photos it can't bring back are ones you've hidden or taken out of the library. Published 2026-10-29 - Updated 2026-10-29 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team ## Quick answer Memories are collections Photos builds automatically from your library around a person, pet, place, activity or event. Find them in Photos > Collections > Memories. To turn them off, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, and turn off Show Featured Content. To keep one photo out, hide it. Turning Memories off doesn't delete any photos. - **Where are they?:** Photos > Collections > Memories. Tap a memory to see its photos or play it as a movie. - **Turn them off:** Collections > your account > turn off Show Featured Content. On iOS 18: Settings > Apps > Photos. - **Keep a photo out:** Hide it. Hidden photos don't appear anywhere else in Photos, including Memories. - **See someone less:** Touch and hold a memory > Feature Less, or open a photo > More > Don't Feature a Person. Open **Photos > Collections > Memories**. Memories are collections that Photos builds automatically around a significant person, pet, place, activity or event in your library, and you can play each one as a movie with music. To keep one photo out, hide it. To see a person, place or day less, use **Feature Less**. To stop Memories altogether, tap your account in Collections and turn off **Show Featured Content**. Memories are built from your own library on your iPhone, so anyone who can open your Photos app can watch them. Turning them off doesn't delete a single photo. We checked these steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation in October 2026. The setting moved in recent versions, so we include the older paths too. ## What are Memories on iPhone? Memories are personalized collections of photos and videos that the Photos app puts together for you. Apple describes them as featuring "a significant person, pet, place, activity, or event" from your library: a trip, a birthday, your dog over the years, a weekend at the beach. To find them: 1. Open **Photos** and tap **Collections**. 2. Swipe left under **Memories** to browse a selection, or tap **Memories** to see them all. 3. Tap a memory to see its photos and videos, or tap the play button to watch the memory movie. Inside a memory you can filter, search, share, or delete it. Touch and hold a memory and tap **Add to Favorite Memories** to keep one you like; favorites live under Memories > Favorites. ## If the problem is photos resurfacing: keep them out of the library Memories can only use what's in your Photos library. That's why an ex, a screenshot of a medical result or a private photo can pop up in a movie set to music, sometimes while someone is looking over your shoulder. VaultForYou keeps the photos, videos and documents you choose in a vault outside the Photos library, so Photos can't feature them, and they don't show up in Photos, search or widgets. Files are encrypted on your iPhone, the keys stay in the iOS Keychain, and the vault opens only with a pattern you draw. After importing, delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted, or they can still turn up. > **Stop private photos from resurfacing.** Move them into an encrypted vault outside the Photos library. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000) ## What do featured photos mean on iPhone? Featured photos are pictures that Photos picks out of your library on its own and puts in front of you, in the app and in the **Photos widget** on your Home Screen. Memories and featured photos come from the same engine and share the same off switch. Being featured doesn't change a photo or share it with anyone. It just means Photos decided it was worth showing you again. The catch is the widget: it can put a photo on your Home Screen without you opening Photos at all. ## How does iPhone choose photos for Memories? According to Apple's Photos privacy page, Photos uses **on-device machine learning** to power Memories, Featured Photos, the People & Pets album and sharing suggestions. That analysis includes: - Scene classification, people and pets identification, photo quality analysis and audio classification. - Which photos you've edited or shared, and the people you message most in Messages. - Relationships set in Contacts, Home and Work locations in Contacts or Maps, where you take photos, and important dates in Calendar and Contacts. That's why Memories so often lands on the people closest to you, and why it can surface someone you'd rather not see. Names you give in People & Pets carry over to Photos on your other iCloud devices. Our guide to the [People album on iPhone](/blog/people-album-iphone) covers that side. ## How to turn off Memories on iPhone On iOS 26 and iOS 27, the switch is inside the Photos app: 1. **Open Collections** Open the Photos app and tap Collections. 2. **Open your account** Tap your account (your picture) in the top-right corner. 3. **Turn off Show Featured Content** Turn off Show Featured Content. Photos stops automatically generating memories and featured photos, in the app and in the Photos widget. 4. **Optional: turn off holidays only** If you only mind holiday memories, leave Show Featured Content on and turn off Show Holiday Events instead. On older versions, it lives in Settings: | iOS version | Where to turn off Memories and featured photos | |---|---| | iOS 27 and iOS 26 | Photos > Collections > your account > **Show Featured Content** | | iOS 18 | Settings > Apps > Photos > **Show Featured Content** | | iOS 17 and earlier | Settings > Photos > **Show Featured Content** | **Show Holiday Events** sits next to it in each version and stops only holiday memories in your country or region. Turning Show Featured Content off stops Photos generating new memories and featured photos. It doesn't delete anything, and you can turn it back on later. ## How to keep a photo out of Memories You have three options, from most to least permanent: - **Hide the photo.** Apple says hidden photos move to the Hidden album and don't appear anywhere else in Photos: not the library, other albums or the Photos widget. Open the photo, tap More, then **Hide**. - **Remove it from one memory movie.** Play the memory, tap the screen, tap the button that shows the movie's photos, deselect the photo, then confirm. This only edits that one movie. - **Delete the memory.** Touch and hold it, then tap **Delete Memory**. The photos inside stay in your library. Keep in mind that a hidden photo is still in your library and in iCloud Photos, behind your iPhone passcode. See [how to hide photos on iPhone](/blog/hide-photos-on-iphone) for what hiding does and doesn't protect. ## How to see a person, place or day less often If the problem is a whole person or a whole weekend, not one photo: 1. In **Photos**, tap **Collections**, then find the memory. 2. Touch and hold it, then tap **Feature Less**. 3. Choose **Feature This Day Less**, **Feature This Place Less** or **Feature a Person Less**. For a person, you can go further. Open any photo of them, tap **More**, then **Don't Feature a Person**. Choose **Feature This Person Less** or **Never Feature This Person**, then tap **Confirm**. This applies to memories, featured photos and the Photos widget. To undo: tap Collections, tap your account, then **Reset Suggested Memories** (for days and places) or **Reset People & Pets Suggestions** (for people). ## Who can see your Memories? Memories are built on your iPhone from your own library, but several people can still end up seeing them: | Who | Can they see your Memories? | Why | |---|---|---| | Someone using your unlocked iPhone | **Yes** | Memories sit in Collections, with no separate lock | | Someone glancing at your Home Screen | **Possibly** | The Photos widget shows featured photos | | Someone looking for a photo you hid | **Not in Memories** | Hidden photos don't appear anywhere else in Photos | | Members of your iCloud Shared Photo Library | **Yes**, for shared photos | Shared Library content is added to everyone's Memories and featured photos | | People you sent a memory movie to | **Yes**, that movie | Sharing sends them a copy | | Apple | **Doesn't build them** | Apple says Memories come from on-device analysis and that it doesn't access your photos | If you're in a Shared Library, a private photo that's in it can turn up in other people's Memories. Our [Shared Library privacy guide](/blog/icloud-shared-library-privacy) explains how to keep photos out. ## When turning off Memories isn't enough Turning off Memories stops photos being pushed at you. It doesn't stop anyone with your unlocked phone from scrolling the library, searching it, or opening the Hidden album with your passcode. If the people you're worried about can unlock your iPhone, you need a lock that isn't your passcode. Our guide on [how to lock photos on iPhone](/blog/lock-photos-on-iphone) compares the built-in options with a vault. ## Frequently asked questions ### Where are Memories on iPhone? Open the Photos app and tap Collections. Memories is near the top: swipe left to browse a selection, or tap Memories to see them all. Tap a memory to see every photo and video in it, or tap the play button to watch it as a movie with music. Memories you add to favorites appear under Memories > Favorites. ### How do I turn off Memories on iPhone? In Photos, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, then turn off Show Featured Content. That stops Photos from automatically generating memories and featured photos, including in the Photos widget. On iOS 18 the switch is in Settings > Apps > Photos, and on iOS 17 or earlier it's in Settings > Photos. ### What do featured photos mean on iPhone? Featured photos are pictures the Photos app picks automatically from your library to show you, both in the app and in the Photos widget on your Home Screen. Photos chooses them with on-device machine learning, the same way it builds Memories. They're still ordinary photos in your library; featuring one doesn't share it with anyone or change it. ### Do hidden photos show up in Memories? No. Apple says hidden photos and videos move to the Hidden album, so they don't appear anywhere else in Photos, including your library, other albums and the Photos widget. That makes hiding the simplest way to keep one specific photo out of Memories and featured photos. Unhide it and it can appear again. ### How do I see hidden photos on iPhone? Open Photos, tap Collections, scroll down to Utilities and tap Hidden. Tap View Album and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. If Hidden isn't listed, go to Settings > Apps > Photos and turn on Show Hidden Album. To unhide a photo, touch and hold it, then tap Unhide. ### How do I stop a certain person from showing up in Memories? Open a photo of them, tap More, then tap Don't Feature a Person. If several people are in the photo, choose who, then tap Next. Pick Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person and tap Confirm. To undo it, tap Collections, tap your account, then tap Reset People & Pets Suggestions. ### Does turning off Memories delete photos? No. Turning off Show Featured Content only stops Photos from generating new memories and featured photos. Every photo and video stays in your library and in iCloud Photos if you use it. Deleting a single memory is also safe: it removes the collection, not the photos inside it. You can turn the setting back on at any time. ### Can someone else see my iPhone Memories? Anyone who can unlock your iPhone and open Photos can watch them, and the Photos widget can show featured photos on your Home Screen. If you're in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, its photos are added to every participant's Memories. And anyone you send a memory movie to keeps their copy. Otherwise, Memories are built on your device. ## Bottom line Memories and featured photos are made automatically from your library on your iPhone. Turn them all off with **Show Featured Content** (in Collections > your account on iOS 26 and 27, in Settings on older versions), use **Feature Less** or **Don't Feature a Person** for specific people and days, and hide single photos you never want resurfaced. None of this deletes photos, and none of it locks them; for that, move them out of the Photos library. Keep reading: - [How to hide photos on iPhone](/blog/hide-photos-on-iphone) - [How to find hidden photos on iPhone](/blog/find-hidden-photos-iphone) - [iCloud Shared Library: can others see your hidden photos?](/blog/icloud-shared-library-privacy) ## Sources - [Apple Support: View your memories in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-your-memories-iphd4f70e68f/ios) - [Apple Support: Share or delete memories in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/share-or-delete-memories-iph2af67b000/ios) - [Apple Support: Hide people, memories, and holidays in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/hide-people-memories-and-holidays-iph10a9dd2a1/ios) - [Apple Support: Personalize your memory movies in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/personalize-your-memory-movies-iph1a5832438/ios) - [Apple: Photos & Privacy](https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/photos/) - [Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987) ## Keep reading - [How to Hide Photos on iPhone: Hidden Album Guide (2026)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/hide-photos-on-iphone): Hide photos on iPhone in seconds, find your hidden photos in the Hidden album, and see who can still open them, what syncs to iCloud and when a vault is better. - [How to Unhide a Person in iPhone Photos: People Album (2026)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/people-album-iphone): Unhide people in iPhone Photos, hide someone from the People album, name and merge faces, and keep a person out of Memories. Steps for iOS 27 and earlier. - [Where Are Hidden Photos on iPhone? How to Find and View Them](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/find-hidden-photos-iphone): Find hidden photos on iPhone: open Photos, tap Collections, then Hidden under Utilities and unlock. Steps for each iOS version, and fixes if the album is missing. - [iCloud Shared Library: Can Others See Your Hidden Photos?](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/icloud-shared-library-privacy): Everyone in an iCloud Shared Library sees everything in it, even photos you hide there. See what stays private, and how to keep photos out of a Shared Library. --- Our guides are written and fact-checked by the VaultForYou team against Apple's own documentation. We make VaultForYou, a private vault app for iPhone. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000