In an era where digital privacy is paramount, keeping your personal photos private on your iPhone is more important than ever. Whether it’s safeguarding sensitive memories or simply decluttering your main photo library, Apple provides a built-in feature to help you maintain control over your visual content. This guide will walk you through exactly how to make photos private on your iPhone using the Hidden album, ensuring your personal moments remain just that—personal.
Hiding Photos on Your iPhone and iPad
The most straightforward way to make photos private on your iPhone is by utilizing the “Hide” feature. This moves selected photos and videos into a designated Hidden album, removing them from your primary photo library view, as well as from albums and the Photos widget. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Photos: Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Select Media: Tap and hold on the photo or video you wish to hide. For multiple items, you can tap “Select” in the top right corner and choose multiple photos and videos.
- Tap Hide: After selecting, tap the “More” button (three dots in a circle) at the bottom right. From the options that appear, tap “Hide”.
- Confirm Hide: A prompt will appear asking you to confirm your action. Tap “Hide Photo” (or “Hide [Number] Photos”) to finalize and move the selected media to the Hidden album.
Dropdown menu highlighting the Hide feature feature for a photo.
This image illustrates the steps to hide a photo on an iPhone. The user is shown tapping the “More” button and then selecting the “Hide” option from the dropdown menu.
Unhiding Photos on Your iPhone and iPad
If you decide to make your hidden photos visible again, the process is just as simple:
- Open Photos and Navigate to Albums: Open the Photos app. On an iPad, you might need to tap the sidebar icon in the upper-left corner to reveal your albums.
- Find the Hidden Album: Scroll down the Albums list until you find “Hidden” under the “Utilities” section.
- Unlock Hidden Album: Tap “Hidden”. You may be required to use Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to unlock and access the Hidden album, adding an extra layer of privacy.
- Unhide Photos: Once inside the Hidden album, tap and hold the photo or video you want to unhide. Tap “Unhide” from the options. The photo or video will be moved back to your main library and albums.
Finding the Hidden Album on iPhone and iPad
By default, the Hidden album is visible within the Utilities section of your Albums in the Photos app. Here’s how to locate it:
- Open Photos and Access Albums: Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Scroll to Utilities: Scroll down the main Albums view until you reach the “Utilities” section.
- Locate Hidden Album: You will see the “Hidden” album listed here.
Hidden album highlighted under Utilities.
This image shows the Albums view in the Photos app on an iPhone, with the “Hidden” album clearly highlighted under the “Utilities” section in the sidebar.
Turning off the Hidden Album Visibility (iPhone & iPad)
For even greater privacy, you can choose to hide the Hidden album itself, making it completely invisible in the Photos app. To do this:
- Open Settings: Go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Navigate to Photos: Scroll down and tap on “Photos”.
- Toggle off “Show Hidden Album”: Under the “Albums” section, find the “Show Hidden Album” toggle and turn it off.
When this setting is disabled, the Hidden album will not appear in the Utilities section of your Albums, making your private photos even less discoverable. To view or unhide photos when this setting is off, you’ll need to re-enable “Show Hidden Album” in Settings first.
Hiding Photos on Your Mac
The process of making photos private on your Mac is similar to iPhones and iPads, ensuring consistency across Apple devices. Here’s how to hide photos on macOS:
- Open Photos App: Open the Photos application on your Mac.
- Select Photo(s) to Hide: Select the photo or video you wish to hide. You can select multiple items by holding the Command key while clicking.
- Hide Photo: Control-click (right-click) on the selected photo(s). In the context menu, choose “Hide Photo”. Alternatively, you can go to the menu bar, click “Image,” and select “Hide Photo,” or use the keyboard shortcut Command-L.
- Confirm Hide: Confirm that you want to hide the selected photo(s) when prompted.
Unhiding Photos on Mac
To unhide photos on your Mac:
- Show Hidden Photo Album: In the menu bar of the Photos app, click on “View” and select “Show Hidden Photo Album.”
- Access Hidden Album: The “Hidden” album will now appear in the sidebar under “Photos.” Select “Hidden.” You might be prompted to use Touch ID or your login password to unlock it.
- Unhide Photo: Select the photo or video you want to unhide. Control-click on it and choose “Unhide Photo.” You can also use the “Image” menu in the menu bar and select “Unhide Photo” or press Command-L.
Finding the Hidden Album on Mac
Unlike on iPhone and iPad, the Hidden album is hidden by default on macOS. To find it:
- Show Hidden Photo Album: In the Photos app menu bar, click “View.”
- Select “Show Hidden Photo Album”: Click on “Show Hidden Photo Album.” This will make the “Hidden” album visible in the sidebar.
Hidden album highlighted in MacOS Photos app.
This image shows the Photos app on macOS with the “Hidden” album selected in the sidebar, under the “Photos” section.
Hiding Photos on Apple Vision Pro
For users of Apple Vision Pro, the process to make photos private is also integrated into the Photos app:
- Open Photos App: Open the Photos app on your Apple Vision Pro.
- Select and Hide: Select and hold the photo or video you want to hide. Then, tap “Hide” from the options.
- Confirm Hide: Confirm that you want to hide the photo or video.
Unhiding Photos on Vision Pro
To unhide photos on Apple Vision Pro:
- Open Photos and Go to Collections: Open the Photos app. Tap “Collections” in the sidebar.
- Find Hidden Album: Scroll down in the sidebar and tap “Hidden” in the “Utilities” section.
- Unhide Photos: Tap and hold the photo or video you want to unhide, then tap “Unhide.”
Finding the Hidden Album on Apple Vision Pro
Locating the Hidden album on Vision Pro is straightforward:
- Open Photos and Access Collections: Open the Photos app. Tap the “Collections” tab in the sidebar.
- Scroll to Utilities: Scroll down and find the “Utilities” section.
- Locate Hidden Album: The “Hidden” album will be listed under Utilities.
Turning off the Hidden Album Visibility (Vision Pro)
Similar to iPhone and iPad, you can also hide the Hidden album on Apple Vision Pro:
- Open Settings: Go to Settings on your Apple Vision Pro.
- Navigate to Photos Settings: Tap “Apps,” then tap “Photos.”
- Turn off “Show Hidden Album”: Scroll down and turn off the “Show Hidden Album” toggle.
By following these steps across your Apple devices, you can effectively make photos private on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, ensuring your personal moments are kept secure and out of sight from casual browsing. Taking control of your photo privacy is simple with Apple’s built-in tools, giving you peace of mind and enhanced digital security.
