--- title: "Messages Privacy on iPhone: Hide, Lock and Limit It (iOS 27)" description: "Messages privacy settings on iPhone: lock it with Face ID, take it off the Home Screen, hide Alerts for a conversation and more. Checked for iOS 27." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/messages lang: en-gb published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # Messages privacy on iPhone: every setting > Every way to hide, lock and limit Messages on iPhone, from iOS and from the app itself. Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - 31 Oct 2026 ## Quick answer You can lock Messages with Face ID: touch and hold it and tap Require Face ID. It comes with iPhone, so it can't go in the Hidden folder. Messages has no lock of its own. Inside the app, hide Alerts for a conversation, screen Unknown Senders, delete conversations and empty Recently Deleted and auto-delete old messages with Keep Messages are available. - **Developer:** Apple - **Own lock:** None - **Can be hidden:** No (built-in app) - **iPad app:** Yes You can lock Messages with Face ID: touch and hold it and tap Require Face ID. It comes with iPhone, so it can't go in the Hidden folder. Messages has no lock of its own. Inside the app, hide Alerts for a conversation, screen Unknown Senders, delete conversations and empty Recently Deleted and auto-delete old messages with Keep Messages are available. This page collects every privacy setting for Messages on iPhone, from iOS and from Apple, checked against official help pages in October 2026. ## Messages guides | Task | Fastest method | Time | Guide | |---|---|---|---| | Hide apps | Remove from Home Screen | 10 sec | [How to hide Messages on iPhone](/en-gb/hide-apps/messages) | | Hide photos | Keep Messages photos out of the Photos app | 1 min | [How to hide photos in Messages](/en-gb/hide-photos/messages) | ## What iOS can do with Messages | Setting | Available for Messages | Where | |---|---|---| | Lock with Face ID | Yes | Touch and hold the icon -> Require Face ID | | Hide in the Hidden folder | No | -- | | Remove from Home Screen | Yes | Touch and hold -> Remove App -> Remove from Home Screen | | Hide notification previews | Yes | Settings -> Notifications -> Messages -> Show Previews | | Exclude from Siri and search | Yes | Settings -> Siri -> Excluded Apps | | Limit with Screen Time | Yes | Settings -> Screen Time -> Time Allowances | ## Messages privacy settings ### Hide Alerts for a conversation Swipe left on a conversation and tap Hide Alerts. It stops notifications only for that conversation, and a Hide Alerts icon appears next to it. ### Screen Unknown Senders Go to **Settings -> Apps -> Messages -> Unknown Senders**. Moves texts from people not in your contacts to a separate Unknown Senders list, and you don't get notified about them. Called Filter Unknown Senders before iOS 26; off by default in iOS 26 unless you had the old setting on. ### Delete conversations and empty Recently Deleted Deleted messages stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Tap the Filter button in the conversation list, choose Recently Deleted, and delete them permanently there (this can't be undone). ### Auto-delete old messages with Keep Messages Go to **Settings -> Apps -> Messages -> Keep Messages**. Choose a setting other than Forever and conversations, including attachments, are removed automatically after that time. ### Keep Messages photos out of the Photos app Go to **Settings -> Apps -> Messages -> Shared with You**. Turn off Photos so pictures people send you in Messages don't show up in the Photos app. You can also turn off Show in Shared with You for one conversation from its info screen. ### Notification previews Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Messages -> Show Previews**. Choose Always, When Unlocked, or Never for message previews. If Messages is locked with Require Face ID, message content does not appear in notification previews or search. ### Communication Safety Set by a parent in Screen Time. On a child's iPhone, Messages blurs photos and videos that appear to contain nudity and shows a warning. It is on by default for children under 18 (age varies by region). ## Keep Messages photos out of your camera roll Photos you save from Messages land in the Photos app, outside any app lock. Move private ones into a vault and delete the originals. > **Lock this in VaultForYou.** Keep Messages photos in an encrypted vault that opens only with a pattern you draw. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000) ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you lock Messages on iPhone? Yes. Touch and hold Messages, tap Require Face ID and confirm. It then needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open. Messages has no separate lock of its own. ### Can you hide Messages on iPhone? Not in the Hidden folder, because Messages comes with iPhone. You can remove it from the Home Screen so it only appears in App Library and search. ### Does Messages have its own passcode? No. Messages relies on iOS for locking. Use Require Face ID, which accepts Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. For a separate code, Screen Time with its own passcode is an option. ### Do Messages settings sync to my iPad? The iOS lock and hidden status don't sync with iCloud; set them on each device. Messages has an iPad app, so repeat the steps there. ## Sources - [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) - [Apple Support: Lock or hide apps on your iPhone (Personal Safety User Guide)](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/lock-or-hide-apps-on-your-iphone-ipsd0be4c185/web) - [Apple Support: View conversations from unknown senders in Messages on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/125068) - [Apple Support: Use Messages on your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104982) - [Apple Support: Use Shared with You on your iPhone and iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102197) ## Messages guides - [How to hide Messages on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/messages) - [How to hide photos in Messages](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-photos/messages) ## Other messaging apps - [WhatsApp privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/whatsapp) - [Facebook Messenger privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/messenger) - [Signal privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/signal) - [Telegram privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/telegram) - [LINE privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/line) - [Viber privacy on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/viber) ## Browse - [All apps](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps) - [Hide apps on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps) - [Lock apps on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/lock-apps) - [Block apps on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/block-apps) - [Hide photos on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-photos) --- 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