In today’s digital age, privacy is paramount, especially when it comes to personal photos and videos. Apple’s Photos app offers a built-in feature to hide sensitive media in a Hidden album, allowing you to control what’s visible in your main photo library. This feature is available across Apple ecosystems, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, ensuring your private moments stay private across all your devices.
Whether you’re looking to declutter your main photo library, keep certain photos away from prying eyes, or simply organize your media more effectively, understanding how to use the Hidden album is essential. This guide will walk you through the steps to add photos to the hidden album on all your Apple devices, ensuring your photos are safely tucked away.
Hiding Photos on Your iPhone or iPad
The process of hiding photos on your iPhone and iPad is straightforward and can be done in just a few taps. Here’s how:
- Open Photos: Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Select Photo or Video: Navigate to the photo or video you wish to hide. Tap and hold on the selected media to bring up the options menu.
- Hide Option: From the menu that appears, tap “Hide”.
- Confirm Hide: A confirmation prompt will appear at the bottom of your screen. Tap “Hide Photo” (or “Hide Video”) to confirm your action. The selected photo or video will now be moved to the Hidden album and will no longer appear in your main library or other albums.
Dropdown menu highlighting the Hide feature feature for a photo.
Accessing and Unhiding Photos on iPhone or iPad
To view or unhide photos you’ve previously hidden on your iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:
- Open Photos and Navigate to Albums: Open the Photos app. On iPad, you might need to tap the sidebar icon at the top-left to view albums.
- Find the Hidden Album: Scroll down to the “Utilities” section and tap on “Hidden”.
- Unlock Hidden Album: Tap “View Album”. You may be prompted to use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock and access the Hidden album, adding an extra layer of security.
- Unhide Photos: Once inside the Hidden album, tap and hold the photo or video you want to unhide. From the options menu, select “Unhide”. The photo or video will be moved back to your main library and will be visible in your regular albums.
Hidden album highlighted under Utilities.
Controlling the Visibility of the Hidden Album on iPhone or iPad
For enhanced privacy, you can choose to hide the Hidden album itself, making it completely invisible within the Photos app. Here’s how to toggle the visibility:
- Open Settings: Go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Navigate to Photos Settings: Scroll down and tap on “Photos”.
- Toggle “Show Hidden Album”: Look for the “Show Hidden Album” option. Toggle the switch to the off position (grey) to hide the Hidden album from the Utilities section in the Photos app. When turned off, the Hidden album will not be visible, providing an extra layer of privacy. To make it visible again, simply toggle the switch back on (green).
Hiding Photos on Your Mac
Managing your hidden photos on a Mac is just as simple as on iOS devices. Here’s the process:
- Open Photos App: Launch the Photos application on your Mac.
- Select Photo and Hide: Control-click (or right-click) on the photo or video you intend to hide. In the context menu, select “Hide Photo”. Alternatively, you can select the photo and then choose “Image” > “Hide Photo” from the menu bar at the top of your screen, or use the keyboard shortcut Command-L.
- Confirm Action: A dialog box will appear asking for confirmation. Click “Hide” to move the selected item to the Hidden album.
Accessing and Unhiding Photos on Mac
To access and unhide photos on your Mac:
- Show Hidden Photo Album: In the Photos app menu bar, click on “View” and then select “Show Hidden Photo Album”. This will make the Hidden album visible in the sidebar.
- Navigate to Hidden Album: In the sidebar, under “Photos”, you will now see the “Hidden” album. Select it.
- Unlock if Necessary: Click “View Album”. You might be prompted to use Touch ID or enter your login password to unlock the album.
- Unhide Photos: Select the photo or video you wish to unhide. Control-click on it and select “Unhide Photo” from the context menu. You can also use the “Image” > “Unhide Photo” option from the menu bar or the Command-L shortcut. The photo will be moved back to its original location in your library.
Hidden album highlighted in MacOS Photos app.
Ensuring Hidden Album Visibility on Mac
Unlike iPhone and iPad, the Hidden album on Mac is hidden by default. To ensure you can access it, you need to enable its visibility:
- Open Photos App: Launch the Photos app.
- Show Hidden Photo Album: Click on “View” in the menu bar and ensure that “Show Hidden Photo Album” is selected (it will have a checkmark next to it when enabled). If it’s not selected, click on it to make the Hidden album visible in the sidebar.
Hiding Photos on Your Apple Vision Pro
Apple Vision Pro also integrates the Hidden album feature seamlessly. Here’s how to use it:
- Open Photos App: Open the Photos app within visionOS on your Apple Vision Pro.
- Select and Hide Photo: Select and hold the photo or video that you want to hide. A menu will appear; tap “Hide”.
- Confirm Hide: Confirm your decision when prompted to hide the photo or video.
Accessing and Unhiding Photos on Vision Pro
To access and manage your hidden photos on Apple Vision Pro:
- Open Photos and Access Collections: Open the Photos app. In the sidebar, tap “Collections”.
- Find Hidden Album: Scroll down within the Collections to the “Utilities” section and tap “Hidden”.
- Unhide Photos: Tap and hold the photo or video you want to unhide. From the menu, select “Unhide”. The media will be restored to its original location.
Controlling Hidden Album Visibility on Apple Vision Pro
Similar to iPhones and iPads, you can also control the visibility of the Hidden Album on Apple Vision Pro:
- Open Settings: Navigate to the Settings app on your Vision Pro.
- Go to Photos Settings: Tap “Apps”, then tap “Photos”.
- Toggle “Show Hidden Album”: Scroll down and find the “Show Hidden Album” option. Toggle it off to hide the album from view in the Photos app, or toggle it on to make it visible.
By following these steps, you can effectively use the Hidden album feature across all your Apple devices to maintain your photo privacy and keep your photo library organized. This consistent functionality across devices makes it easy to manage your personal media and ensure your sensitive photos remain hidden and secure.
