How to Lock the Hidden Album on iPhone (iOS 18 & 26)

To lock the Hidden album on iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Photos and turn on Use Face ID (it reads Use Touch ID or Use Passcode on devices without Face ID). On iOS 16 and later this is on by default, so the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums already ask for authentication. The catch: the lock is the same one as your phone, so anyone who knows your passcode can open it.

Below are the exact steps for iOS 18 and iOS 26, how to also hide the album from the list, and what to do if you want a lock that is actually separate from your phone.

Turn on the Hidden album lock

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Apps.
3. Find and tap Photos (you can use the search field at the top of the Apps list).
4. Turn on Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID / Use Passcode).

That's it. Open Photos, go to the Hidden album, and you'll see a lock icon and a View Album button. Tapping it triggers Face ID or asks for your passcode.

On iOS 17 and earlier, skip the Apps step: the toggle is directly at Settings > Photos.

If the toggle is missing or grayed out

• No passcode set. The lock depends on your device passcode. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and set one.
• Screen Time restrictions. If Content & Privacy Restrictions are limiting account or passcode changes, the setting may be unavailable. Check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
• Managed device. Work or school devices can have the option disabled by a profile.

Hide the album from the Photos app too

A locked album still shows up under Utilities, with a lock icon that invites a question. To remove it from view:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Photos.
2. Turn off Show Hidden Album.

Now the album isn't listed in Photos at all. Your hidden photos are untouched; turn the toggle back on when you want to see them.

Where the Hidden album lives after locking

• iOS 26: Photos > Collections > scroll to Utilities > Hidden.
• iOS 18: Photos > scroll to the bottom > Utilities > Hidden.

If you don't see it, Show Hidden Album is off. See how to find hidden photos on iPhone for every other place photos tend to end up.

Make the lock harder to get past

Because the Hidden album uses your phone's lock, strengthening the phone's lock strengthens the album:

• Use a longer passcode. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Change Passcode, then tap Passcode Options and pick Custom Alphanumeric Code or Custom Numeric Code. A six-digit code that people have watched you type is weak; an alphanumeric one is much harder to shoulder-surf.
• Turn on Stolen Device Protection. In Settings > Face ID & Passcode, enable Stolen Device Protection. Away from familiar locations, some sensitive actions then require Face ID or Touch ID rather than just the passcode, plus a delay for others.
• Don't add other people's faces. Set Up an Alternate Appearance under Face ID adds a second face that unlocks everything, including the Hidden album.
• Lock the phone before handing it over. Guided Access (Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access) pins the phone to one app. It's the cleanest way to lend your phone to someone to show them one thing.

What the lock does not do

Locking the Hidden album changes who can open the album in the Photos app. It does not change how the photos are stored.

• Same secret as the phone. Face ID falls back to your passcode. If someone knows the passcode, they can open the album, change the setting, or turn the lock off.
• No separate encryption. iOS encrypts the whole device, and that is strong protection for a locked, powered-off phone. But hidden photos are not encrypted with an extra key of their own. Once the phone is unlocked, the only barrier is the same passcode again. Is the iPhone Hidden album secure? goes into this in detail.
• Other apps can still reach them. An app you have granted full photo library access can read hidden photos through the system photo picker and library APIs, depending on how it's built.
• iCloud copies. With iCloud Photos on, hidden photos also live in iCloud and on your other devices, where the lock depends on each device's own settings.

None of this is a flaw so much as a design choice: Apple built the Hidden album to keep photos out of sight, not to protect them from people who share your device.

When you need a lock that isn't your passcode

Plenty of situations involve someone who knows, or could learn, your passcode: a partner, a parent, kids who've watched you unlock the phone, a repair shop that asks for it. In those cases a lock that reuses the passcode doesn't help.

sigil. gives photos their own lock and their own encryption:

• Each vault is encrypted with a 256-bit key that only a sign you draw on a 5×5 grid can unlock. Your iPhone passcode doesn't unlock it. See pattern encryption.
• You can keep multiple hidden vaults, each with its own sign, and the app doesn't list them.
• If someone forces you to open it, a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos, and your real vault stays hidden.

Setting it up in a few minutes

1. Install sigil. and draw a sign for your vault. Use the pattern strength meter to check that it isn't an easy shape like an L or a square.
2. Write down the 12-word recovery phrase on paper. It's the only way back in if you forget the sign; we can't reset it for you.
3. Import the photos from your Hidden album. Location and EXIF metadata are stripped on import.
4. Delete the originals from Photos, then empty Recently Deleted.
5. Optionally switch to a disguised icon so the app shows a neutral icon that gives nothing away.

sigil. keeps everything on the device and has no cloud backup yet, so keep your own backup of anything irreplaceable.

Summary

• Lock the Hidden album: Settings > Apps > Photos > Use Face ID.
• Hide it from view: turn off Show Hidden Album in the same screen.
• Strengthen it by strengthening your passcode and enabling Stolen Device Protection.
• If the people you're worried about know your passcode, move those photos to a vault with its own key.

For a broader overview, start with how to hide photos on iPhone, or see a side-by-side in sigil. vs the Apple Hidden album.