--- title: "How to Hide Photos on iPhone: 4 Ways (iOS 27)" description: "Photos can't go in the iPhone Hidden folder. Here are the ways that work: remove it from the Home Screen, lock it with Face ID, hide it from search." url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/photos lang: en-gb published: 2026-10-31 updated: 2026-10-31 author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team" publisher: VaultForYou --- # How to hide Photos on iPhone > Photos is built into iPhone, so it can't be hidden like an App Store app. These are the ways that work instead. Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - 31 Oct 2026 ## Quick answer Photos comes with iPhone, so Apple won't let you put it in the Hidden folder. Instead, touch and hold it, tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen. It stays in App Library and search. To stop people opening it, lock it with Require Face ID. - **Fastest way:** Remove from Home Screen; it stays in App Library. - **Can it be hidden?:** No. Apple only lets you hide App Store apps. - **Own privacy setting:** Hide a photo or video (Photos -> open the photo -> More button -> Hide (for several: Select -> choose items -> More button -> Hide)). - **Still visible in:** Screen Time, Battery and your App Store purchases. - **iOS version:** Any recent iOS - **Time needed:** About 10 seconds - **Difficulty:** Easy - **Needs an app?:** No - **Reversible?:** Yes - **Changes backups?:** No Photos is built into iPhone, so it can't be hidden like an App Store app, and Photos has 6 privacy settings of its own. Below are 4 ways, fastest first, and the places Photos still shows up afterwards. We checked the iOS steps against Apple's iOS 27 documentation and Photos' settings against Apple's official help pages in October 2026. ## Method 1: Take Photos off your Home Screen Apple's Hidden folder only takes apps from the App Store, so Photos can't go in it. The next best thing is to take it off your Home Screen. 1. **Remove from the Home Screen** Touch and hold Photos, tap Remove App, then tap Remove from Home Screen. The app stays installed in App Library. Photos stays installed and keeps working from App Library. It still shows up when someone searches for it. To stop people opening it, lock it: touch and hold Photos, tap **Require Face ID**, then confirm. See [how to lock Photos](/en-gb/lock-apps/photos). ## Method 2: Photos' own privacy settings iOS hides the app icon. Photos itself can hide what's inside it. These settings work on any iOS version that Photos supports. ### Hide a photo or video Go to **Photos -> open the photo -> More button -> Hide (for several: Select -> choose items -> More button -> Hide)**. Hidden photos move to the Hidden collection, and you can't view them anywhere else. With iCloud Photos, hiding applies on all your devices. ### Hide the Hidden collection Go to **Settings -> Apps -> Photos -> turn off Show Hidden Album**. Removes the Hidden collection from view in Photos for an extra layer of privacy. ### Unhide photos Go to **Photos -> Collections -> Hidden (below Utilities) -> View Album -> unlock -> open the photo -> More button -> Unhide**. The photo reappears in your library. ### Feature a person less, or turn off memories Go to **Photos -> open a photo of the person -> More button -> Don't Feature a Person; or Photos -> Collections -> your account -> turn off Show Featured Content / Show Holiday Events**. Choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person. These settings affect memories, featured photos, and the Photos widget. ### Use Face ID for the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections Go to **Settings -> Apps -> Photos -> Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID / Use Passcode)**. The Recently Deleted and Hidden collections are locked by default and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Turning this setting off leaves them unlocked. ### Hide Photos message previews Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Photos (below Notification Style) -> Show Previews**. A locked app's content doesn't appear in notification previews, search, or Siri suggestions. ## Method 3: Move 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 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 Photos](/en-gb/hide-photos/photos) for the in-app options. ## Other ways to hide Photos - **Remove it from the Home Screen.** Touch and hold 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 Photos. Apple says excluded apps aren't available to Siri, Search or suggestions. - **Hide its notification previews.** Go to **Settings -> Notifications -> Photos -> Show Previews** and choose **Never** or **When Unlocked**. ## Does hiding Photos hide its notifications, Siri suggestions, Spotlight and backups? | Where | Locked with Face ID | Removed from Home Screen | |---|---|---| | Notification previews | Content hidden | Still shown | | Siri suggestions | Not shown | Still shown | | Spotlight search | Content hidden | 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. ## Hide 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 Photos separately on each device. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you hide Photos on iPhone? Not in the Hidden folder. Photos comes with iPhone, and Apple only lets you hide App Store apps. You can remove it from your Home Screen so it lives only in App Library, and you can lock it with Require Face ID so it needs your face or passcode to open. ### Where does Photos go when you remove it from the Home Screen? It moves to App Library, the last page after your Home Screens. Photos stays installed and keeps all its data. You can also still find it by swiping down on the Home Screen and searching for its name. Drag it back to a Home Screen page any time. ### Does hiding Photos delete it or its data? No. Hiding or removing Photos from the Home Screen doesn't delete the app or anything in it. Only Delete App removes it from your iPhone. Data that Photos syncs through iCloud stays in iCloud either way. ### Can someone tell that I hid Photos? Possibly. The Hidden folder itself is visible at the bottom of App Library, though it needs Face ID or your passcode to open. 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 Photos have its own lock? Yes. Photos has Use Face ID for the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections, under Settings -> Apps -> Photos -> Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID / Use Passcode). 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 Photos can't be hidden, but it can be taken off your Home Screen and locked. Add 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) - [Apple Support: Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/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: Hide photos and videos on Apple devices (Personal Safety User Guide)](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/hide-photos-and-videos-ipsb4de8251c/web) ## More Photos privacy guides - [How to lock Photos on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/lock-apps/photos) - [How to hide photos in the Photos app](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-photos/photos) - [Photos privacy on iPhone: every setting](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/apps/photos) ## Hide apps for other apps - [How to hide Safari on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/safari) - [How to hide Notes on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/notes) - [How to hide Camera on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/camera) - [How to hide Files on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/files) - [How to hide FaceTime on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/facetime) - [How to hide Health on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/hide-apps/health) - [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