How to lock photos on iPhone with a password

If you want to lock photos on iPhone so that only you can open them, you have more choices than it first seems. Some are built in and take seconds, some give you a password that's different from your phone's passcode, and one moves your photos out of the Photos app entirely. This guide walks through each, in order of effort, and is honest about what each one does and doesn't stop.

It's for anyone who hands their phone to friends, family or kids, shares a device, or simply wants certain pictures behind a second lock.

Option 1: Hide photos and lock the Hidden album

The Hidden album is the built-in place for photos you don't want in your main library. Since iOS 16, it's locked by default.

1. Open Photos and select the photo (or tap Select to choose several).
2. Tap the ⋯ button, then tap Hide, and confirm.
3. To view hidden photos, go to Collections, scroll to Utilities, and tap Hidden. Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.

Check that the lock is on: go to Settings → Apps → Photos and make sure Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID / Use Passcode) is turned on. That setting covers both the Hidden album and Recently Deleted. On the same screen, you can turn off Show Hidden Album so the album doesn't even appear under Utilities.

Hidden photos also stop showing up in your library, Memories and widgets. They're still in your photo library, though, just out of view.

Option 2: Lock the whole Photos app (iOS 18 and later)

On iOS 18 and later, you can put Face ID in front of almost any app, including Photos.

1. On the Home Screen, touch and hold the Photos icon.
2. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode).
3. Tap it again to confirm, then authenticate.

Now Photos asks for Face ID every time it opens. Apple also notes that content from a locked app may not appear in places like notification previews, search and Siri suggestions. To undo it, touch and hold the icon and tap Don't Require Face ID.

This is useful when you lend your phone unlocked: someone can make a call or browse the web, but can't open your camera roll. Photos is a built-in app, so it can be locked but not hidden. For the full details on app locking, see how to lock apps on iPhone.

Option 3: Put photos in a locked note with its own password

This is the only built-in way to lock photos with a password that isn't your phone's passcode.

1. Set up a Notes password: go to Settings → Apps → Notes → Password. Choose to create a Notes-only password (with a hint), rather than using your device passcode. You can still turn on Face ID for convenience.
2. Open Notes, create a note, tap the attachment (paperclip) button, and add photos from your library.
3. Tap the ⋯ button in the note, then tap Lock.
4. Tap the lock icon at the top of the note to close it. From now on it opens only with your Notes password (or Face ID, if you allowed it).
5. Go back to Photos and delete the originals, then remove them from Recently Deleted too. Otherwise the "locked" photos are still sitting in your library. Our guide on permanently deleting photos covers the details.

Things to know before relying on this:

• Some notes can't be locked. Apple lists notes with tags, PDFs, audio, video, or Pages, Numbers or Keynote documents, notes shared with other people, and notes in Gmail, Yahoo or other IMAP accounts.
• There's no recovery. If you forget a Notes-only password, Apple can't open notes you locked with it. Resetting the password only applies to new notes.
• It's clumsy for many photos. Notes is built for text. A few photos work fine; hundreds don't.
• If you set Face ID on the note, anyone who can get your face in front of the phone can open it.

Why your phone's passcode isn't a separate lock

Options 1 and 2 feel like locks, and they do stop a casual glance. But they all fall back to the same thing: your iPhone passcode. Anyone who knows it, or watched you type it, can open the Hidden album, Recently Deleted and every app you've locked. Face ID can also be used on you while you're asleep or pressured into looking at the screen.

That matters most in exactly the situations people search for this: a partner or family member who knows your passcode, a shared iPad, a phone you hand over unlocked. A separate lock means a second secret that opens only those photos and isn't the one you type in front of other people all day.

There's a second difference: hiding isn't separate storage. Hidden photos are still part of your normal photo library, and apps you've given full photo access to can read them. A locked note is better, but it's still Notes, with its limits on what you can put inside. For more on this distinction, read Hidden album vs an encrypted vault.

Option 4: Use an encrypted vault with its own key

A photo vault is a separate app that stores your photos in its own encrypted storage, behind a code that has nothing to do with your phone's passcode. Not every "vault" app actually encrypts; check how it describes its protection before trusting it.

VaultCave is one example. Each vault opens with its own pattern (drawn on a 5×5 grid) or passcode, and it deliberately doesn't use Face ID, so nobody can open it by holding your phone up to your face. Here's how it works in practice:

1. Create a vault and choose a pattern or passcode for it. VaultCave gives you a 12-word recovery phrase and asks you to type back three of the words, so you know you've saved it.
2. Tap + and choose Photos. Select the pictures you want to protect.
3. Optionally choose to delete the originals. VaultCave only does this after it has verified the encrypted copy.
4. Next time, open VaultCave and draw your pattern. The unlock screen never lists your vaults, so nothing shows that a vault exists or how many there are.

Under the hood, files are encrypted with AES-256-GCM, using a key derived from your pattern or passcode together with a device secret held in the Secure Enclave. Thumbnails, file names and folders are encrypted too. You can read the full model on the security page. There's an optional encrypted backup to your own iCloud, which can only be restored with the vault's recovery phrase.

Honest limits apply here too. A vault can't stop screenshots or a camera pointed at the screen. Someone who watches you draw your pattern can open that vault. And if you forget both the pattern and the recovery phrase, nobody can get the photos back, including VaultCave.

Comparing the ways to lock photos on iPhone

Method	Separate from phone passcode?	Encrypted separately?	Good for	Main limit
Hidden album	No	No	Keeping photos out of sight	Opens with your passcode or Face ID
Locked Photos app (iOS 18+)	No	No	Lending your phone unlocked	Same passcode; locks all photos, not specific ones
Locked note, Notes-only password	Yes	Yes (locked notes are encrypted)	A handful of photos	Clumsy at scale; no recovery if forgotten
Encrypted vault app	Yes	Yes	Photos, videos and files you'd really mind being seen	Separate app; you must keep your recovery phrase

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving the originals behind. Copying photos into a note or vault doesn't remove them from Photos. Delete the originals and clear Recently Deleted, or they're still one tap away.
• Turning off the Face ID setting in Photos. If Use Face ID is off under Settings → Apps → Photos, the Hidden album opens without any check.
• Using the same code everywhere. A Notes password or vault code that matches your phone's passcode defeats the point of having a second lock.
• Forgetting about synced devices. Hidden photos still appear (hidden) on your iPad or Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. A lock on your iPhone doesn't lock the other devices.
• Not saving the recovery details. Locked notes and encrypted vaults can't be reset by anyone else. Write down your password or recovery phrase and store it somewhere safe and offline.

The short version

• The Hidden album and a locked Photos app (iOS 18+) both open with your phone's passcode or Face ID.
• A locked note with a Notes-only password is the only built-in lock with its own password, but it suits a few photos, not a library.
• An encrypted vault keeps photos out of your library, behind a separate pattern or passcode.
• Whatever you choose, delete the originals and clear Recently Deleted.
• Keep any separate password or recovery phrase somewhere safe: nobody can reset it for you.