Hidden Album on iPhone: Where It Is and How to Show It

The Hidden album on iPhone is in the Photos app. Tap Collections, scroll down to Utilities, and tap Hidden. If you don’t see it there, the album is probably switched off in Settings > Apps > Photos, where you turn on Show Hidden Album.

This guide covers where to find the album on iPhone, iPad and Mac, how to show or hide it, how to unlock it, and the usual reasons it goes missing. The iOS details come from Apple Support pages, which are linked. If you want to know how private the album really is, that has its own guide.

Where are hidden photos on iPhone?

Hidden photos are in the Hidden album inside Photos. Apple says they move there “so they don’t appear anywhere else in Photos”, which means you won’t find them in the Library or in your other albums. Apple’s instructions for opening the album on an iPhone:

1. Open Photos.
2. Tap Collections if the app doesn’t already show your collections.
3. Scroll down to Utilities.
4. Tap Hidden.
5. Tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.

Apple notes that on iPhone the album may be under Collections, and that is where most people find it. On a current version of iOS it sits in the Utilities group next to items such as Recently Deleted.

The album holds every photo and video you have hidden. Hidden items don’t appear in the Library, in other albums or in the Photos widget on your Home Screen, which is why the Hidden album is the only place they show up.

How to see hidden photos on iPad

On an iPad the steps are almost the same. Open Photos and scroll to Hidden under Utilities. Apple says that on iPad you may need to tap the sidebar button in the upper-left corner first to open the sidebar. Then tap View Album and unlock it.

The lock works the same way as on iPhone. Apple’s page says the Hidden album is locked by default from iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.1, and that you open it with Face ID or Touch ID.

How to see hidden photos on Mac

The Hidden album is off by default on a Mac, so you have to switch it on first. According to Apple:

1. Open Photos.
2. Choose View > Show Hidden Photo Album from the menu bar.
3. Select Hidden under Utilities in the sidebar.
4. Click View Album and unlock it with Touch ID or your login password.

If you can’t find the album in the Mac sidebar, the menu option is nearly always the reason. The setting on the Mac is separate from the one on your iPhone.

How to show or hide the Hidden album

On iPhone and iPad, the Hidden album is visible by default. You can remove it from view. Go to Settings > Apps > Photos and turn Show Hidden Album off or on. Apple says hidden photos stay hidden from Photos while the album is off, so turning it off doesn’t delete or move anything.

Turning it off is useful if you don’t want the album, or its lock screen, to show up when someone scrolls through your Collections. To get your hidden photos back in view, turn Show Hidden Album on again and open it from Utilities.

On a Mac you use the View menu option above. Choosing it again while the album is showing hides it.

How to unlock the Hidden album

Since iOS 16, the album is locked by default. When you tap View Album, Photos asks for Face ID or Touch ID. If Face ID or Touch ID doesn’t work, iOS falls back to your device passcode.

The lock has its own setting. Apple’s iPhone guide says the Recently Deleted and Hidden collections are locked by default, and that turning off the authentication option in Settings > Apps > Photos removes the lock. If the album opens without asking for Face ID, someone may have switched that option off, or you may have done it yourself. Go back to the same screen and turn it on.

How to unhide photos on iPhone

To move a photo or video back into your Library, Apple’s steps are:

1. Open Photos, then tap Collections.
2. Scroll down and tap Hidden under Utilities.
3. Tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.
4. Touch and hold the photo or video, then tap Unhide.

Apple’s missing photos page gives the same result another way. Select the photo or video, tap the More button, then tap Unhide.

To unhide several at once, open the Hidden album, tap Select, tap each photo or video you want back, tap the More button, then tap Unhide. Apple spells out this Select, More, Unhide sequence on its Hidden album page in the Apple Vision Pro steps, and the Photos app on iPhone uses the same buttons.

An unhidden photo goes back to your Library. If you can’t see the album at all, turn on Show Hidden Album in Settings > Apps > Photos first. On a Mac, select the item, Control-click it and choose Unhide Photo. Apple also lists the shortcut Command-L.

Why you can’t find the Hidden album

If you follow the steps above and the album still isn’t there, check these in order.

Show Hidden Album is off. This is the most common reason. Open Settings > Apps > Photos and turn on Show Hidden Album. Apple says it’s on by default, so if it’s off, it was switched off at some point.

You’re looking in the wrong place. The album is not in the main Library tab. It lives under Collections, below the long list of media types and people, in the Utilities group. Scroll all the way down.

You’re on a Mac. The album is off by default there. Use View > Show Hidden Photo Album.

You’re on an iPad and the sidebar is closed. Tap the sidebar button in the upper-left corner first.

The photo was never hidden. Photos can look hidden when they were deleted instead. Check Recently Deleted in the same Utilities group. Apple keeps deleted items there for 30 days before removing them from all devices.

Do hidden photos sync to other devices?

If you use iCloud Photos, Apple says photos hidden on one device are also hidden on your other devices. That works in your favour, since you don’t have to hide the same photo twice. It also means a hidden photo is still part of your iCloud library, and any iPad or Mac signed in with your Apple Account can reach it with its own unlock.

Is the Hidden album private?

It keeps photos out of casual view and puts a Face ID lock in front of them. It doesn’t keep them out of your iCloud library, and a person who knows your passcode can open it. The detail is in Is the iPhone Hidden album private?, so it isn’t repeated here. For the steps to hide photos in the first place, see how to hide photos on iPhone.

When a vault app fits

Forevault is our vault app for iPhone. Files are encrypted on the device with AES-256-GCM and stored separately from your Photos library. You can open it with a pattern on a 5×5 grid, a passcode or a password, and Face ID is optional. Separate vaults can use separate patterns, and the lock screen doesn’t list them. It has a 12-word recovery phrase, an encrypted backup to your own iCloud with “Test a restore”, and export to Photos or Files is always free. There is no account and nothing is collected. The free tier covers 100 photos, 10 videos and 3 vaults, and there is no calculator disguise.

It protects against someone holding your phone, not forensic analysis. And a vault you lock yourself is a vault you can lose, so read the recovery guide first. Download Forevault on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Hidden album on iPhone?

Open Photos, tap Collections, scroll down to Utilities and tap Hidden. Then tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID. If Hidden isn’t listed, turn on Show Hidden Album in Settings > Apps > Photos.

How do I show the Hidden album on iPhone?

Go to Settings > Apps > Photos and turn on Show Hidden Album. Apple says it is on by default, so if it is missing, someone has turned it off. Your hidden photos stay hidden from the rest of Photos either way.

How do I unhide photos on iPhone?

Open Photos, tap Collections, tap Hidden under Utilities and unlock it. Touch and hold a photo or video and tap Unhide. For several, tap Select, choose the items, tap the More button and tap Unhide.

Where are hidden photos on iPhone?

In the Hidden album in Photos, under Utilities in Collections. Apple says hidden photos don’t appear anywhere else in Photos, so they are not in the Library or other albums.

How do I find hidden photos on iPhone?

Open the Hidden album under Utilities in Collections and unlock it. Hidden photos don’t appear in the Library, other albums or the Photos widget, so this is the only place they show up. To move one back, touch and hold it and tap Unhide.

Where is the hidden folder on iPhone?

There is no separate folder in the Files app. Hidden photos are in the Hidden album inside Photos, under Utilities in Collections.

How do I find the Hidden album on Mac?

The album is off by default on Mac. In Photos, choose View > Show Hidden Photo Album, then select Hidden under Utilities in the sidebar and unlock it with Touch ID or your login password.

Why does the Hidden album ask for Face ID?

Since iOS 16, Apple locks the Hidden album by default. You can change that in Settings > Apps > Photos, but leaving the lock on is safer.