How to hide photos on iPhone

by Edward Harper April 30, 2024

iPhones come with so many new features these days, it can be hard to keep track — and sometimes to even know they exist. We hear ya. But some of those features can be extremely useful.

For instance, did you know you can hide photos on your iPhone? You can even create hidden photo albums on an iPhone, too. The "Hide" feature on your iPhone is definitely one you should be using, and not just because it's there. We're big fans of privacy here at Mashable, and we can think of multiple reasons (some obvious, some less so) why someone might want to hide their iPhone photos. Let's walk you through them, shall we?

Why would anyone want to hide iPhone photos?

We'll begin with the most obvious reason: Nudes. Yours? Someone else's? There's nothing wrong with that at all. A lot of us take them! But do you really feel comfortable knowing you're an accidental iPhone misplacement away from a total stranger having access to your intimate pics?

I lose my iPhone probably twice a day, and I barely ever leave home. On the chance that you lose your phone, you want to make it as difficult as possible for people to find those pics.

Maybe you're not worried about losing your phone, or about strangers looking at your photos. Maybe you're more concerned about showing your friends some great photos you just took and accidentally scrolling by something private. Or perhaps you don't want certain pics appearing in your Home Screen photo widget. I mean, it happens.

There are a bunch of apps you can use to hide nudes and other ways to safely store sensitive images on your phone, but you don't necessarily have to worry about those if you use your iPhone's "Hide Photo" feature.

Nudes may not be the only photos on your iPhone you want to hide. Maybe you don't take them at all, and that's fine, but consider the various other possibilities. For holidays, birthdays, or any special gift-giving occasion, you may have taken a photo of something you want to give to somebody else. And if you're hanging out with that person, you don't want them to accidentally find their present on your phone when it was supposed to be a secret! Hiding photos is a sneaky good move when it comes to keeping surprise presents an *actual* surprise.

Or maybe you have a not-so-secret selfie stash you don't necessarily want everyone to see. We're certainly not anti-selfie, but if you like taking selfies and aren't comfortable having them in a super-accessible place, a hidden album on your iPhone may be a perfect place to keep them.