Remove the photo widget first. It can sit in two places, the Lock Screen and Today View, and you may need to clear both.
Lock Screen
- Touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears. Tap it.
- Tap the Remove button on the photo widget.
- Swipe down from the widgets list, then tap Done.
Today View
Today View is the screen of widgets. Swipe right from the Home Screen or the Lock Screen to see it.
- Swipe right from the Lock Screen.
- Touch and hold the photo widget.
- Tap Remove Widget, then Remove.
Decide what a locked phone may show
Open Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode. Under Allow Access When Locked, turn off what you do not want a stranger to reach.
Apple names the cost. If you turn off Lock Screen access to a feature, a person who holds your iPhone cannot see its personal information. You lose the quick access too.
Message previews are a second leak. Go to Settings, Notifications, Show Previews, and choose When Unlocked or Never.
A widget shows only what is in Photos
That is the root of the problem. A photo widget reads your Photos library. A picture that is not in the library cannot appear in it.
So move the private ones out. Import them into Vault9, open one to check, then delete the original in Photos. Delete it again in Recently Deleted, where Apple keeps it for 30 days.
The vault opens with your pattern or passphrase and your Secret Key, or with Face ID if you turn it on. When you leave the app, the app switcher shows a plain cover with the logo, not your photos.
Two limits. Vault9 does not protect a vault that is open on an unlocked phone. Lock it or leave the app before you hand the phone over. And it cannot undo what a person already saw.
If you want to show one photo to a person, see how to show one photo without letting anyone swipe.
Sources
- Apple Support: How to add and edit widgets on your iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Control access to information on the iPhone Lock Screen (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Change notification settings on iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (checked 2026-11-06)
