How to Hide Photos From Memories on iPhone
iOS can do this without an app. Hide the photo, tell Photos to feature a person or day less, or turn off featured content altogether. Each one also keeps the photo off the Photos widget on your Home Screen.
Try Cryptile free: join the beta on TestFlight
What do I need to know?
- Hidden photos never appear in Memories. Apple says they can be viewed only in the Hidden album.
- You can feature a person, place or day less. Or never feature a person at all.
- Turning off featured content stops new Memories. It also covers the Photos widget.
How do I keep one photo out of Memories?
Hide it. On iOS 18 and later:
- Open the photo in Photos.
- Tap the More button, then Hide.
The photo moves to the locked Hidden album. If it is already in a memory movie, you can also take it out of that memory:
- Tap Collections, then open the memory and play it.
- Tap the screen, then the photo grid button.
- Deselect the photo and confirm.
Steps from Apple: delete or hide photos and personalize memory movies.
How do I stop a person showing up in Memories?
On iOS 27:
- Open a photo of that person in Photos.
- Tap the More button, then Don't Feature a Person.
- If several people are in the photo, tap the one you mean, then Next.
- Choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person, then Confirm.
On iOS 18 the menu item is Feature This Person Less. To undo it on iOS 27, tap Collections, your account at the top right, then Reset People & Pets Suggestions.
How do I stop a day or a place coming back?
- In Photos, tap Collections.
- Touch and hold the memory.
- Tap Feature Less, then Feature This Day Less or Feature This Place Less.
To get rid of a memory, touch and hold it and tap Delete Memory. This deletes the memory, not the photos in it. Apple's steps: share or delete memories.
How do I turn Memories off completely?
- iOS 27: in Photos, tap Collections, then your account at the top right. Turn off Show Featured Content.
- iOS 18: go to Settings → Apps → Photos and turn off Show Featured Content.
Turn off Show Holiday Events in the same place to stop holiday memories. Apple's page: hide people, memories and holidays.
Does this hide photos on my Apple Watch?
Your watch can sync Memories and featured photos from your iPhone. To stop that, see hiding photos from Apple Watch.
What this doesn't protect against
All of this changes what Photos suggests. The photos stay in your library, in iCloud Photos and in your backups. Anyone who knows your passcode can scroll to them or open the Hidden album.
Do it with Cryptile
Photos in Cryptile are not in your Photos library, so they never reach Memories, featured photos or the widget. Each one is encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a key made on your phone from a pattern you draw.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus removes the limits for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once. The price is the same every day.