The short answer
To hide a photo from your Library, use the Hidden album in Photos. To keep it from someone who knows your phone passcode, you need something with its own lock: a locked note with a separate password, or a photo vault like Pearlin that opens with its own pattern.
1. The Hidden album (built in)
- Open Photos and touch and hold the photo, or select several.
- Tap Hide, then confirm.
- To see them again: in Photos, go to Collections, then Utilities, then Hidden, and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Keeps out: people scrolling your photos. Doesn’t keep out: anyone who knows your phone passcode. You can also remove the album from view in Settings, under Apps, then Photos, but anyone with your passcode can turn it back on. For the full picture, see Pearlin vs the Hidden album.
2. A locked note (built in)
- In Notes, create a note and add the photos.
- Tap the more button, then Lock. Choose a separate Notes password if you want it to differ from your phone passcode.
- Delete the originals from Photos, then from Recently Deleted.
Keeps out: someone who knows your phone passcode, if you chose a separate Notes password. Limits: locked notes can’t hold videos, PDFs or audio, and it isn’t made for browsing many photos. If you forget a separate Notes password, Apple can’t recover those notes.
3. A photo vault (Pearlin)
- Open Pearlin and draw a pattern: at least six dots on the 5×5 grid, with at least one turn. Draw it again to confirm.
- Write down the vault’s recovery phrase on paper. It’s the only other way in.
- Add photos and videos from your library. When the import finishes, let Pearlin remove the originals from Photos, then empty Recently Deleted.
- From then on, shoot private photos with Pearlin’s own camera, which saves straight into the vault.
Keeps out: anyone who doesn’t know that vault’s pattern, including people who know your phone passcode. You can have several vaults behind different patterns, and nobody can tell how many there are. Limits: lose both the pattern and the recovery phrase and nobody can open the vault, including us. The security model lists the rest.
Which one to use
| Hidden album | Locked note | Pearlin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opens with | Phone unlock | Phone unlock or a Notes password | Its own pattern |
| Videos | Yes | No | Yes |
| Several private spaces | No | Several notes, all listed | Yes, never listed |
| Best for | Tidying your Library | A few photos with text | Photos you’d never want seen |
Sources
- Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album
- Apple Support: How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad