Our favorite photos connect us to our past by reminding us how people, places, and experiences made us feel. They inspire our imaginations and somehow relieve our stress. But some of the photos on your iPhone should be kept private.
Most of the time, we love showing off photos to our friends or family. But there might be a few images or videos on your phone that are too confidential or personal. Whatever the reason, you don’t want them visible to everyone.
In this context, the idea of hiding a photo or a video on your phone is essential and vital. Luckily, iPhones provide this service in many different ways, which are discussed below.
Hiding Photos using Built-in Features in your iPhone
Built-in features don’t require downloading or additional software to facilitate the hiding process. They include the Hidden album and the notes app.
Be aware that these features will only prevent your photos from appearing in the Moments, Years, and Collection views. Hidden images will still be visible when browsing your albums.
Open and launch the photos app.
On the upper-right corner of your screen, click on Select and choose the photo(s) you want hidden. You could also do it manually when looking at a preview of a single image.
In the lower-left corner, click on the Share icon—the one in blue with an arrow stretching upwards out of it.
Press the Hide button at the bottom of the resulting menu.
Confirm your decision by tapping Hide Photo, which will place the photo in a new Album folder called Hidden.
Unhiding Photos in the Hidden Album
This involves making the photos visible again. It has an effect on your iCloud photo library where they’re stored. You can make the pictures visible again with the following procedures:
Click on the Photos app and launch it.
Go to albums and find the Hidden folder. Tap on it once you find it.
Choose the photo(s) you want to make visible.
Tap on the Share icon and select Unhide. The photo will be removed from the Hidden folder and taken back to Years, Memories, or any other folder it initially had been saved into.
Unhiding all the photos in the Hidden folder will make the folder to disappear automatically. But if you hide them again, the folder will reappear.
Hiding and Locking Photos using the Notes App
If you want to hide and lock images in the Notes app, try the following:
Open and launch the Photos app.
Locate and select the photo(s) in the Photos app by long-pressing it.
Click on the Share icon.
Choose the Notes icon. If it doesn’t appear, tap on the three dots and then click on the Notes app.
Give your Note a name and then add text.
Save your Note in your default account by tapping Save on the top-right corner of your screen.
To switch accounts, click on the right-facing arrow next to the account name.
Open the Note containing the photo, select the Share icon and then tap on the Lock Note. If requested, enter your Notes password.
Then, return to your photo in the Photos app and delete the picture from the app by selecting the Trashicon.
Next, open the Albums tab.
Scroll down till you find the Other Albums and select Recently Deleted.
Select the picture and then tap on Delete.
Confirm the deletion by tapping on Delete Photo.
The photo will be hidden within Notes. Should you decide to save it back to Photos app, unlock the Note, select the Share icon, and tap on Save.
Hiding Photos using Apps in iPhone
You might want to make a secret photo album that only you knew about it. People looking to create such folders don’t even want others to see that they have such hidden folders on their phones. The built-in features cannot provide such services. The best alternative is to use third-party apps that hide pictures on your iPhone.
1. Private Photo Vault Pro
This is a privacy app in iOS, which allows you to lock your photos so that only you can access them. You can import or export images from your photos app, sync them with iTunes, text images or emails, or carry out other actions.
It features a Private Camera that allows you to take photos directly into the app without going through the camera roll. It also features a Decoy Password to ward off anyone insisting on seeing what’s inside the private photo vault. When you use this password, the app will open up to a different set of pictures.
It also features a break-in report to secretly take a picture of the perpetrator trying to access your secret album using the front camera. It also records their GPS location.
2. Best Secret Folder
It’s a free app on iOS, which allows you to create locked photo albums for photos you want to keep as a secret. It is password-protected and even alerts you when someone tries to access it. It also takes a snapshot of this offender and stores it so that you can see the face of this person.
Conclusion
Hiding a photo or a video on your iPhone should never be that hard. There are so many effective ways to do it, from using built-in features to privacy apps. You can keep your personal photos for your eyes only.
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