The short answer
Open Photos, touch and hold the photo, tap Hide, and confirm. The photo leaves your Library and moves to the Hidden album.
That keeps it off the main grid. It does not give it a lock of its own: the Hidden album opens with the same Face ID or passcode as your iPhone.
Hide one photo, or a whole batch
For one photo or video, touch and hold it, tap Hide, then confirm.
For many at once:
- In Photos, tap Select.
- Tap each photo you want to hide.
- Tap the More button, then tap Hide.
Apple says a hidden photo no longer shows in the Library, in other albums or in the Photos widget. If you use that widget, this part matters, because it puts your photos on the Home Screen.
Where hidden photos go
They wait in the Hidden album. Tap Collections, scroll down to Utilities, and tap Hidden. Then tap View Album and unlock it. To bring a photo back, touch and hold it and tap Unhide.
You can also take the album itself out of sight. Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Photos, and turn off Show Hidden Album. Turn the switch on again when you want the album back.
Anyone with your passcode can open the Hidden album
Hidden photos are still in your Photos library. Apple locks the Hidden album by default, and Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode opens it.
For many people that is enough. But maybe the person you want to keep out knows your passcode: a partner, or a child who borrows the phone. Then the Hidden album does not stop them.
Two smaller points. Hiding deletes nothing. And with iCloud Photos on, a photo you hide on your iPhone is hidden on your other devices too. If you want a lock that is not your phone lock, see how to lock photos on iPhone.
Moving photos into Vault9
It sounds backwards, but start by unhiding the photos. The photo picker in Vault9 does not show the Hidden album.
- Unhide the photos you want to move.
- Create your vault and tap Import. You can import before you make your Emergency Kit, but a banner stays on the Gallery until you save or print the kit.
- Delete the originals in Photos. Vault9 never deletes or changes anything in your Photos library, so this step is yours.
- Open Recently Deleted under Utilities and delete them there too. If you skip this, they stay there for 30 days.
From then on, the vault opens with your pattern or passphrase and your Secret Key, or Face ID if you turn it on. It does not protect a vault that is open on an unlocked phone.
Sources
- Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Hide photos and videos on Apple devices (Personal Safety User Guide) (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
