Where to Keep Private Reference Photos on iPhone
Your camera roll has filled up with reference photos: a tattoo idea, a mole you are tracking, the alarm panel, the back of the router. Most just need moving out of the way, and the Hidden album does that. The few that would help a stranger or embarrass you belong behind a separate lock.
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What do I need to know?
- Reference photos show up everywhere. In Photos they appear in search, Memories and anything synced with iCloud Photos.
- Hidden is enough for clutter. Hidden photos cannot be seen anywhere else in Photos, and the collection is locked.
- Some photos are keys. A photo of a door code, house key or router password works for whoever sees it.
Which photos need more than Hidden?
Sort them into three piles. It takes five minutes.
- Just clutter. Paint colours, furniture ideas, a parking spot. Leave them or put them in an album.
- Personal. Tattoo ideas, outfit or body progress, a skin check for your doctor. Hide them, or use a vault if others use your phone.
- Useful to a stranger. Alarm and door codes, keys, wiring and floor plans, the Wi-Fi sticker, serial numbers, documents. These belong in a vault.
Photos of health records have their own page: test results and medical records.
How do I hide the personal ones?
On iOS 27, from Apple's delete or hide photos steps:
- In Photos, tap Select and choose the photos.
- Tap More, then Hide.
- To keep the Hidden collection out of sight, go to Settings → Apps → Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album.
The Hidden collection unlocks with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Anyone who knows the passcode can open it.
How do I lock away the ones that matter?
- Make a vault folder for each topic, such as Home, Tattoo or Car.
- In Photos, select the photos, tap Share and send them to the vault.
- Delete the originals, then empty Recently Deleted. Otherwise they stay there for 30 days.
For new reference shots, take them inside the vault so they never land in Camera Roll.
How do I find them again?
Folder names do most of the work. Favourite the ones you open often, like the door code.
For text inside photos, such as a serial number or a paint code, a vault with on-device search helps. For a single code, typing it into a locked note may be simpler.
What this doesn't protect against
A photo in a vault is safe on the phone, not in your memory. If you shared a code or plan by message or email, that copy is still out there. Change codes that may already have been seen.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile has folders, favourites and its own camera, so reference photos go straight into the vault. Plus adds search that reads text in your photos on the device.
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.