Hidden Album vs Photo Vault App: Which to Use on iPhone
Use the Hidden album if you only want photos out of the main grid. Use an encrypted vault app if someone who knows your passcode must not see them.
The Hidden album is built in, free and good enough for gift ideas. It is not a separate lock: your passcode opens it.
Try Cryptile free: join the beta on TestFlight
What do I need to know?
- The Hidden album is a filter. Photos stay in your library and sync with iCloud Photos.
- A vault adds a second key. Your iPhone passcode does not open it.
- Both fail on an open, unlocked screen. Neither helps once someone is looking at the photo.
How do they compare?
| Hidden album (iOS) | Encrypted vault app (Cryptile) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built in | Free for 2 vaults, 100 photos, 10 videos |
| Opens with | Face ID, Touch ID or iPhone passcode | Its own drawn pattern |
| Separate encryption | Apple does not describe any | AES-256-GCM on every file and thumbnail |
| In your Photos library | Yes | No |
| Syncs with iCloud Photos | Yes, if it is on | No; an encrypted backup to your iCloud |
| Decoy | No | A different pattern opens a different vault |
| Forgot the lock | Passcode reset, which erases the iPhone | 9-word recovery phrase; no reset |
Sources: Apple's Hidden album page and missing photos page, checked 2026-10-26.
When is the Hidden album enough?
- You want screenshots and receipts out of your main library.
- You hand your phone to a child or a friend to look at photos.
- Nobody else knows your iPhone passcode.
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold a photo, tap Hide, then confirm. The album sits under Collections → Utilities. To remove it from view, go to Settings → Apps → Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album.
When do I need a vault app?
- Someone close to you knows, or could learn, your passcode.
- You hand over an unlocked phone, for repair or at a border.
- The photos are documents: IDs, medical papers, cards.
- You do not want the photos in iCloud Photos at all.
Our page on whether someone can see your photos with your passcode explains the gap in detail.
Can I use both?
Yes. Keep everyday private shots in Hidden and the few that really matter in a vault. When you move a photo into a vault, delete the original from Photos and then from Recently Deleted. Otherwise a copy waits there for 30 days.
What this doesn't protect against
A vault only protects photos that are inside it. A copy left in Messages, a shared album or a backup stays where it is. A short pattern can be guessed, so use 8 or more cells, and draw it where nobody is watching.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile keeps chosen photos out of the Photos library, encrypted under a key from your pattern. There is no account and no server, and the developer never holds your keys.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus removes the limits and adds search and the panic pattern. It costs $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.