Can You Make a Secret Album on iPhone?
Not your own, no. iOS lets you make normal albums, but only the built-in Hidden album can be locked. You can hide it from view too, but it is not encrypted, and anyone with your passcode can open it.
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What do I need to know?
- You cannot lock a custom album. Albums you create are open to anyone who opens Photos.
- Hidden is the one locked album. It opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
- A vault is the real secret album. It has its own key, separate from your passcode.
How do I make a secret album with iOS?
Use the Hidden album. These steps work on iOS 18 and later.
- Open Photos and tap the photo or video.
- Tap the More button (three dots), then Hide.
- Confirm with Hide Photo.
To open it, tap Collections, scroll to Utilities, tap Hidden, then unlock it.
Can I hide the Hidden album itself?
Yes. Go to Settings → Apps → Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album. It no longer appears in Collections.
Leave Use Face ID on in the same place. If it is off, anyone holding your unlocked phone can open the album.
Why not make an ordinary album and keep it quiet?
A new album is just a folder of the same photos. Anyone who opens Photos sees it listed by name. Photos in it also show in your library, search and Memories.
Do not name an album something misleading and hope. That hides nothing from a person who looks.
How do I get a real secret album?
Move the photos into an encrypted vault app. The vault holds its own copy, locked with a key that is not your passcode.
- Add the photos to the vault.
- Check they open there.
- Delete them from Photos.
- Open Recently Deleted and delete them again, or they stay for 30 days.
With iCloud Photos on, deleting removes the photo from your other devices too.
Can I have more than one secret album?
In iOS, no. There is one Hidden album per library. In a vault app, you can keep folders inside one vault. You can also keep a second, separate vault, as a decoy. See how to make a decoy vault.
What this doesn't protect against
Hidden is a view filter. It protects against a glance, not against someone who knows your passcode. A vault protects files at rest, not from someone who watches you unlock it or from malware on an unlocked phone. A pattern is weaker than a passphrase, so use 8 or more cells. If you lose the pattern and the recovery phrase, the vault is gone.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile keeps photos out of the Photos library. Each file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a key made on your phone from a pattern you draw. There is no account and no server. A different pattern opens a different vault, and nothing lists them.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos, with files, notes and folders unlimited. Plus removes the limits for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once, for one person. The price is the same every day.