How To Hide Photos and Videos on iPhone (iOS 16)



I have been using Apple iOS 16 Beta on my iPhone 13 for more than two weeks, and I can assure the iOS 16 software update will bring some major changes to your iPhone when it arrives in September. But one feature — the ability to hide photos on iPhone with a password — will come in handy.

Until now, Apple iPhones have a “Hide” feature for photos that will keep your photo away from the gallery in a hidden album but you cannot password protect it, thus jeopardizing privacy. But with the announcement of iOS 16, Apple is finally addressing the problem, now you can keep your photos hidden and locked behind Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode. The idea behind this feature is to allow you to keep your sensitive photos away from overly ambitious finger swipers or any prying eyes.

In this article, I’ll share a step-by-step guide on how to hide photos on iPhone with a password to secure them. I’ll also show you how to unhide photos from a hidden album to a gallery. So, let’s get started:

Can You Hide Photos and Videos on iPhone?

Yes! You can hide photos and videos on iPhone, but it is not as easy as on Android smartphones or tablets. Apple has kept a close operating system and did not allow third-party apps to use the API to password protect your photos and images. But, it is all about to change. With the announcement of iOS 16, Apple finally provides native support to password protect your photos on iPhone with Face ID or Touch ID.

Both the Recently Deleted album and Hidden album will be locked automatically by the Photos app. To access these albums, you’ll need to use Face ID, Touch ID, or your iPhone’s Passcode by default.

Latest iOS 16 Supported Devices List

If you are using a newer iPhone ( iPhone 8 or later), your Apple iPhone should be eligible for the new iOS 16 updates. Here’s a complete list of iOS 16 supported devices.

• Apple iPhone 13 Series
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 Mini
• Apple iPhone 12 Series
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 Mini
• Apple iPhone 11 Series
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11
• Apple iPhone X Series
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
• Apple iPhone 8 Series
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 8
• Apple iPhone SE (2nd Generation or later)

How To Hide Photos and Videos on iPhone Running iOS 16 or Later

Follow the below-mentioned step-by-step guide to hide photos and videos on iPhone running iOS 16 and later:

1. Open the Photos app on your Apple iPhone.
2. Select the images or videos which you want to hide.
3. Tap the three-dots button in the bottom right corner of the screen, and choose Hide.
4. Tap Hide Photo to confirm that you want to hide the photo or video.

The selected photo or video has been moved from your main album to a “Hidden” album. When you want to check out your photo or video again, you can simply go to the Albums tab in Photos, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Hidden under the Utilities section.

Now, you’ll then need to either use FaceID, Touch ID, or a Passcode to access the hidden album, and bam, you’ve got your photo back. This is how to hide pictures on iPhone using the photo app.

Note: Since this is the iOS 16 Public Beta version, the final version of the iOS 16 you eventually download in September could look or act differently.

How To Hide Hidden Album in Photos App on iPhone

After you’ve moved photos or videos to the hidden album on your iPhone, you can hide the Hidden Album in the Photos app on your iPhone, so it is not easily accessible to the peeping eyes. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to the Photos app and tap on it.
3. Scroll down to the Show Hidden Album.
4. To hide the Hidden album, swipe the toggle button to the left, turning it from green to grey.

That’s it. You have successfully hide the Hidden album in the Photos app on your iPhone. Now, the Hidden album will not appear in the Albums tab, under Utilities.

How To Show or Unhide Hidden Album in Photos App on iPhone

If you want to unhide the hidden album, return to Settings and toggle the “Hidden Album” toggle back to green to reveal the album. Follow the below-mentioned steps to unhide or show the Hidden album in the Photos app on your iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to the Photos app and tap on it.
3. Scroll down to the Show Hidden Album.
4. To unhide or show the Hidden album, swipe the toggle button to the right, turning it from grey to green.

That’s it. You have successfully unhidden the Hidden album in the Photos app on your iPhone. Now, the Hidden album will appear in the Albums tab, under Utilities.

How To Lock Hidden Album With Password on iPhone (iOS 16)

In the iOS 16 update, Apple introduced native support to lock hidden album on iPhones. But, it is important to note that not all iPhones will support iOS 16 and this will not have the option to lock hidden folder with Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode on iPhone. You can see the iOS 16 supported devices list above.

So, depending on which version of iOS is running on your device, here is a step-by-step guide to lock hidden album with a password (Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode) on iPhone running iOS 16 and later.

Lock Hidden Album With Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode on iPhone

After you’ve moved photos or videos to the hidden album on your iPhone. By default, the Hidden album is locked on iPhone running iOS 16. When trying to access the Hidden photo album, Apple will authenticate with a Face ID, Touch ID, or your iPhone’s Passcode, and without the correct biometrics, no one can enter your folder.

Here’s how to lock the Hidden Album on your iPhone, so it is not easily accessible to the peeping eyes.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to the Photos app and tap on it.
3. Scroll down to the Use Face ID or Use Touch ID (depends upon which iPhone you’re using).
4. Toggle the switch to On to enable the lock for the Hidden album.

That’s it. You have successfully locked the Hidden album on your iPhone with a password.

Unlock Hidden Album With Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode on iPhone

Here’s how to unlock the Hidden Album on your iPhone, so it is not easily accessible to the peeping eyes.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to the Photos app and tap on it.
3. On the Photos settings page, come under the ALBUMS section and you’ll see an option Use Face ID or Use Touch ID (depends upon which iPhone you’re using).
4. Toggle the switch to Off to disable the lock for the Hidden album.

That’s it. You have successfully removed the lock from the Hidden album on your iPhone.

How To Turn Off Hidden Album So It Doesn’t Appear in Albums on iPhone

Hidden photos are moved to the Hidden album. You can’t view them anywhere else. To turn off the Hidden album so it doesn’t appear in Albums, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to the Photos app and tap on it.
3. On the Photos settings page, scroll down to the Show Hidden Album.
4. To turn off the Hidden album, swipe the toggle button to the left, turning it from green to grey.

How To Recover or Permanently Delete Deleted Photos on iPhone

To recover deleted photos, or to permanently delete them, do the following:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Albums, then tap Recently Deleted under Utilities.
3. Tap Select, then choose the photos and videos you want to recover or delete.
4. Choose Recover or Delete at the bottom of the screen.

If you select Recover, the deleted photos will restore to the Photos app on your iPhone. Whereas, if you select Delete, the photos present inside the Delete Photos album will be permanently deleted from your iPhone.

How To Find Hidden Photos on iPhone With iOS 16

Wondering how to unhide photos on your iPhone? Here is how you can do it:

1. First, open the Photos app on your iPhone to see your hidden photos.
2. Tap “Albums” at the bottom of the Photos app.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the “Albums” page.
4. Tap “Hidden” in the “Other Albums” section there.

How To Hide Photos on iPhone Not Supporting iOS 16

When using an older iPhone (iPhone 8 or any model before that), you won’t have the latest iOS 16 update and therefore miss out on Apple’s new feature to hide photos using face ID. A workaround to truly hide photos on older Apple devices is to use the native Notes app on your phone.

For this to work, you first need to password protect your note app. You can do this by,

How To Protect Notes App on iPhone With Password

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to Notes and tap on it.
3. On the Notes settings page, tap on Password.
4. Now set Password or enable Face ID or Touch ID.

You can now hide a photo by simply locating the photo in your “Photo” app, clicking the share button, and selecting “Add to notes”.

Now open the note with the photo, tap the share icon and then lock the note. Now every time you want to open the hidden photo, you have to put in the password to access it.

How to Hide Photos on iPhone With Third-Party Apps

You may also use third-party apps to hide pictures on your iPhone. There are several apps on the market, but I use “HiddenVault Secret Photo”. It is free to download app and has over 800+ ratings on the App Store with a rating above 4.7.

Conclusion

With that said, here comes the end of our guide on how to hide photos and videos on an iPhone running iOS 16. I hope our article has helped you and you’ll now be using the Photos app in a better way on your iOS 16 device. Thankfully Apple did not disappoint, and starting fall 2022; you can natively hide all of your personal photos safely on your phone and password protect it using Face ID or Touch ID fingerprint or Passcode.

But if you are on an older device that does not support iOS 16, you have to rely on the workarounds shown in this article to hide photos on your iPhone.

Happy Hiding.

Learn More:

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• How To Save WhatsApp Status Video and Image in Gallery
• How To Remove Profile Picture From Google Account [Gmail, YouTube, Google Meet]

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