# How to Hide Photos and Files on iPhone: Hidden Album vs. Face ID Vault

Updated: 2026-07-29

For photos alone, iOS has a built-in answer: the Hidden album, locked behind Face ID since iOS 16. Its limits: it only takes photos and videos, and everyone knows where to look. To hide *any* file — documents, videos, PDFs — move it into a Face ID-gated vault in a file manager like the free [iFiles](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1280188213): the file disappears from your normal file list and sits behind a biometric lock, stored only on your device. All three methods below, with their trade-offs.

## Option 1: the built-in Hidden album (photos only)

In Photos, select the pictures → tap **⋯ → Hide**. They move to the Hidden album, which iOS 16+ locks behind Face ID by default. You can go further and remove the album from view entirely: **Settings → Photos → Show Hidden Album** off.

**Good for:** a quick fix for photos and videos, no extra app. **Limits:** photos and videos only — no PDFs, no documents; the Hidden album is the first place anyone curious will look; and hidden photos still sync to iCloud Photos and appear on your other Apple devices.

## Option 2: lock them inside a note

The Notes app can lock individual notes with Face ID (**tap ⋯ in a note → Lock**), and a note can hold photos and scanned documents. It's a legitimate built-in hiding place for a few sensitive papers.

**Limits:** no folders, no file names, no batch operations — managing more than a handful of files this way gets painful fast, and files buried in notes are hard to get back out in original form.

## Option 3: a Face ID vault for any file type

A vault in a file manager takes anything — photos, videos, PDFs, Office files, whole folders of them.

- Open [iFiles](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1280188213) → **Tools → Vault** and unlock with Face ID (or your device passcode).
- Add files from your photo library or the Files app — or, from the iFiles browser, multi-select files and choose **Move to Vault**.
- Moved files vanish from the normal file list. The vault locks itself the moment you leave the app.

To be precise about what a vault does: the files are moved into the app's private storage — invisible to the Files app, to Spotlight search and to your photo library — and access is gated by Face ID. Like all app data on an iPhone, they're covered by iOS's built-in device encryption, and iFiles never uploads them anywhere.

## What hiding won't protect you from

Be honest about the threat model. Anyone who knows your *device passcode* can get past a Face ID prompt — every biometric lock on iOS falls back to it. So a vault protects against a borrowed phone and shoulder-surfing, not against someone you've shared your passcode with. Two practical tips: after moving photos into a vault, delete the originals from Photos *and* from the Recently Deleted album (they linger there for 30 days); and if your goal is privacy from cloud services, remember that anything left in iCloud Photos lives on Apple's servers too.

## FAQ

### Are vault files encrypted?

Vault files are hidden in the app's private storage and gated behind Face ID — iFiles doesn't add its own encryption layer on top. Like all app data, they're protected at rest by iOS's built-in device encryption.

### If I delete iFiles, what happens to the vault?

Vault files live inside the app's storage, so deleting the app deletes them too. Move files out of the vault first if you ever uninstall.

### After adding photos to the vault, are they gone from my photo library?

Adding makes a copy — remove the originals from Photos yourself, then empty Recently Deleted, where iOS keeps them for 30 days.

### Is the vault free?

Opening and unlocking the vault is free. Adding files is part of iFiles Pro — your first add is free to try, and Pro comes with a 3-day trial.

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iFiles — https://ifiles.app/blog/hide-photos-files-on-iphone/ · App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1280188213