Hide a photo or video without deleting it
In 2026, the way to hide photos and videos on iPhone is still the Hidden collection in Photos. Open the item, tap the More button, then tap Hide. Photos takes it out of your library, your other albums, and the Photos widget. The file stays on the phone.
That is a different action from Delete. Delete moves the item to Recently Deleted, where it sits for 30 days. Hide keeps it, in a collection you open on purpose.
Videos use the same control as photos. There is no separate hide for video.
How to hide one photo or video
- Open the Photos app.
- Open the photo or video.
- Tap the More button, then tap Hide.
- Confirm.
From the grid, press and hold the thumbnail, then tap Hide. That lands in the same place.
How to hide several photos and videos
- Open Photos and view your library, or open a collection.
- Tap Select.
- Tap each photo and video.
- Tap the More button, then tap Hide.
- Confirm.
How to find hidden photos and videos
- Open Photos.
- Tap Collections.
- Scroll to Utilities and tap Hidden.
- Tap View Album.
- Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
If Hidden is not in that list, Show Hidden Album may be off. The switch is in the next section. The items are still on the phone.
Put one back in the library
- Open Hidden and unlock it, as above.
- Open the photo or video.
- Tap the More button, then tap Unhide.
Press and hold the thumbnail and tap Unhide if you would rather not open it first.
Take the Hidden album off the list
Hidden shows under Utilities unless you turn that off.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps, then Photos.
- Turn off Show Hidden Album.
With the switch off, hidden photos and videos do not appear in Photos. Turn Show Hidden Album back on when you want the collection in the list again. Anyone who can open Settings on this phone can flip that switch.
The lock in front of Hidden
Hidden and Recently Deleted ask for Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode before they open. That prompt is on by default.
It is the same Face ID or passcode that unlocks the iPhone. The setting lives in Settings, then Apps, then Photos. The label is Use Face ID, Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode, depending on the phone. Leave it on if you want the prompt. Turn it off only if you want Hidden to open with no extra check.
The steps for leaving that lock on, and for requiring Face ID before Photos opens, are in how to lock photos on iPhone. A longer look at what that lock covers is in why the Hidden album is not a separate vault.
What hiding leaves in place
If iCloud Photos is on, a photo you hide on this iPhone is hidden on the other devices signed in to the same account. The file stays in that library.
If the item is in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, hiding it hides it for the other people in that library too. They can open it from Hidden on their side.
A copy already saved in a Shared Album stays with the people who have that album. Hiding your original does not pull their copy back.
Hiding the Photos app is a different control
Press and hold an app icon and iPhone offers Require Face ID. For apps you installed yourself, it can also offer Hide and Require Face ID, which moves that app into a Hidden folder in App Library.
Photos comes with the iPhone, so that control does not remove the Photos app from the Home Screen. To keep particular pictures and videos out of the grid, use the Hidden collection above.
When you want a password of your own
Hidden is the built-in tool for keeping a photo out of a casual scroll. It takes a few taps, and it is already on the phone.
Privately is the option when the album should have a password of its own. Photos in a locked album leave the library, search, and favorites, and they are encrypted on the device.
Download Privately and try a locked album there.