--- title: "How to Hide Google Photos on iPhone: 5 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Hide Google Photos on iPhone in 10 seconds: Hide and Require Face ID moves it to a locked Hidden folder. Plus archive, alerts and search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/google-photos lang: en-gb published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Google Photos on iPhone > Google Photos can disappear from your Home Screen and search in 10 seconds. Its name still turns up in a few places, listed below. Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - 31 Oct 2026 ## Quick answer Touch and hold the Google Photos icon, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, and tap Hide App. It takes about 10 seconds on iOS 18 or later. Google Photos moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and drops out of search. Google Photos also has its own option inside the app: Archive. Its name can still appear in Screen Time. - **Fastest way:** Hide and Require Face ID (iOS 18 or later). - **Can it be hidden?:** Yes. It moves to the locked Hidden folder in App Library. - **Own privacy setting:** Archive (Select a photo -> More -> Archive). - **Still visible in:** Screen Time, Battery and your App Store purchases. - **iOS version:** iOS 18 or later - **Time needed:** About 10 seconds - **Difficulty:** Easy - **Needs an app?:** No - **Reversible?:** Yes - **Changes backups?:** No Google Photos can be hidden in about 10 seconds with the iOS Hidden folder, and Google Photos has 5 privacy settings of its own. Below are 5 ways, fastest first, and the places Google Photos still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Google Photos' settings against its official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Hide Google Photos with Face ID (iOS 18 and later) This is the only built-in way that hides Google Photos from your Home Screen, App Library and search at once. 1. **Find Google Photos on your Home Screen** Touch and hold the Google Photos icon until the quick actions menu opens. 2. **Tap Require Face ID** On iPhones with Touch ID it says Require Touch ID. You can also choose Require Passcode. 3. **Tap Hide and Require Face ID** Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. 4. **Tap Hide App** Google Photos leaves the Home Screen and moves to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Google Photos keeps working, and its data is untouched. Open it from the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. On iOS 17 or earlier, remove it from the Home Screen instead (see below). **What this does not do:** it doesn't hide Google Photos from Screen Time, and it doesn't change iCloud backups. Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden folder. ## Method 2: Google Photos' own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Google Photos itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Google Photos supports. ### Archive Go to **Select a photo -> More -> Archive**. Hides a photo from your main Photos view. It still shows in albums, search, and device folders, and still counts toward storage. Find it under Collections -> Archive. ### Hide faces in memories Go to **Google Photos settings -> Preferences -> Memories -> Hide faces**. Pick people or pets under Show less or Blocked to keep them out of your memories. ### Hide dates in memories Go to **Google Photos settings -> Preferences -> Memories -> Hide Dates**. Photos taken on the dates you add won't show in your featured memories. ### Locked Folder Go to **Collections -> Locked**. Locks only the Locked Folder, not the whole app. You open it with Face ID, Touch ID, or your iPhone passcode, and you can't set a different password. ### Hide Google Photos message previews Go to **Google Photos settings -> Preferences -> Memories -> Notifications**. Turn off Previous years, Themed memories, or Creations so you aren't alerted about new memories. ## Method 3: Move Google Photos photos into a vault Hiding the app doesn't hide photos you've saved from it. Those sit in your camera roll, where anyone scrolling Photos can see them. Move them into a vault, then delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted. > **Lock this in VaultForYou.** Keep Google Photos 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) See [how to hide photos in Google Photos](/en-gb/hide-photos/google-photos) for the in-app options. ## Other ways to hide Google Photos - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold Google Photos, tap **Remove App**, then **Remove from Home Screen**. It moves to App Library and still shows in search. - **Keep it out of Siri and search.** Go to **Settings -> Siri -> Excluded Apps**, tap **Add Apps** and select Google Photos. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Google Photos -> Show Previews** and choose **Never** or **When Unlocked**. - **Hide it from your App Store purchases.** In the App Store, tap your photo, tap **Apps & Purchase History**, then swipe left on Google Photos and tap **Hide**. ## Does hiding Google Photos hide its notifications, Siri suggestions, Spotlight and backups? | Where | Hidden with Face ID | Removed from Home Screen | |---|---|---| | Notification previews | Content hidden | Still shown | | Siri suggestions | Not shown | Still shown | | Spotlight search | App hidden from results | Still shown | | iCloud backup | Unchanged | Unchanged | Apple says information inside a locked or hidden app doesn't appear in places like notification previews, search and Siri suggestions. Hiding never changes what your iPhone backs up. ## How to unhide Google Photos 1. **Open App Library.** Swipe left past your last Home Screen page. 2. **Open the Hidden folder.** Scroll to the bottom, tap Hidden and authenticate. 3. **Unhide Google Photos.** Touch and hold Google Photos, tap Don't Require Face ID and authenticate again. Google Photos goes back to App Library. Drag it to your Home Screen from there. ## Hide Google Photos on iPad The same Require Face ID menu works on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Hiding doesn't sync through iCloud, so hide Google Photos separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Google Photos on iPhone? Yes. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold Google Photos, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID. Google Photos moves to a locked Hidden folder in App Library and disappears from search. On older iOS versions you can only remove it from the Home Screen, which leaves it in App Library. ### Where does Google Photos go when you hide it? It goes to the Hidden folder at the very bottom of App Library. Swipe left past your last Home Screen page, scroll down and tap Hidden. The folder opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Google Photos keeps working from there, with all its data. ### Does hiding Google Photos delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Google Photos from the Home Screen doesn't delete the app or anything in it. Only Delete App removes it from your iPhone. Even then, data stored in your Google Photos account online is not deleted. ### Can someone tell that I hid Google Photos? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. Google Photos can also still appear in Screen Time, the Battery list and your App Store purchase history. Anyone who knows your passcode can open everything. ### Does Google Photos have its own lock? Yes. Google Photos has Locked Folder, under Collections -> Locked. It works alongside the iOS lock. It uses the same Face ID or passcode as your iPhone, so it adds a second prompt but no separate secret. ## Bottom line Hide and Require Face ID is the fastest way to hide Google Photos: about 10 seconds, and it's gone from your Home Screen and search. Add Google Photos' own settings to hide what's inside it. For photos, a vault is the only option that takes them out of Photos. ## Sources - [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) - [Apple Personal Safety User Guide: Lock or hide apps on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/ipsd0be4c185/web) - [Apple Support: Change Siri settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-siri-settings-iphc28624b81abc/ios) - [Apple Support: Change notification settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notification-settings-iph7c3d96bab/ios) - [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPad](https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/lock-or-hide-an-app-ipad4026f2de/ipados) - [Google Photos Help: Hide sensitive photos & videos in Locked Folders (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/10694388?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Photos Help: Move photos to archive (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/7362432?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) - [Google Photos Help: Find & manage your featured memories (iPhone & iPad)](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/9454489?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS) ## More Google Photos privacy guides - [How to lock Google Photos on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/lock-apps/google-photos) - [How to hide photos in Google Photos](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-photos/google-photos) - [Google Photos privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/google-photos) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Gmail on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/gmail) - [How to hide Dropbox on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/dropbox) - [How to hide Google Drive on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/google-drive) - [How to hide YouTube on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/youtube) - [How to hide Instagram on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/instagram) - [How to hide Messages on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/messages) - [All hide-app guides](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps) --- 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