If you’ve got personal photos or videos on your iPhone SE 3 that you’d rather keep out of sight, good news: iOS has a built-in feature to hide them—no third-party apps needed. Here’s a simple guide to help you hide and manage sensitive content on your iPhone running iOS 15 or later.
Hide a Photo or Video in the Photos App
You can hide any photo or video directly from your camera roll. Here’s how:
- Open the Photos app.
Find and tap the Photos icon on your Home screen. - Select the photo or video you want to hide.
Tap on the image or video to open it. - Tap the Share icon (a square with an upward arrow).
- Scroll down and tap “Hide.”
- Confirm by tapping “Hide Photo” or “Hide Video.”
The selected media will be moved to a separate album called Hidden, which lives under the Utilities section in the Photos app.
Make the Hidden Album Disappear from the Photos App
By default, the Hidden album is visible to anyone who opens your Photos app. But you can hide the Hidden album itself:
- Go to Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Photos.
- Find “Show Hidden Album” and toggle it OFF.
Once disabled, the Hidden album will disappear from your Photos app completely. You can turn it back on anytime from the same settings menu.
Use Face ID or Touch ID to Lock Photos via Notes App
If you want even more privacy, you can lock sensitive photos in the Notes app:
- Open the Photos app and select the photo or video.
- Tap Share, then choose Notes.
- Save it to a new note.
- Open the Notes app, find the note, and tap the Share icon inside Notes.
- Choose Lock Note, then authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
- Once locked, you can go back to the Photos app and delete the original from your library (and from the Recently Deleted folder too).
Bonus Tip: Use Third-Party Vault Apps for Extra Security
If you want full-on password protection and don’t mind using third-party tools, apps like Private Photo Vault or KeepSafe can offer even stronger privacy with passcodes, PINs, and decoy modes.