iPhone Hidden Album vs a Photo Vault App: Which One Do You Need?
Since iOS 16, the iPhone's Hidden album is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. For many people that is enough. For others it is not, and the difference comes down to one question: does anyone else know your iPhone passcode?
What the Hidden album does well
- It is free and already on your phone.
- It is locked by default on iOS 16 and later.
- You can hide the album itself from the Photos app in Settings, then Photos (on iOS 18 and later: Settings, Apps, Photos), then Show Hidden Album.
- If you use iCloud Photos, hidden items sync to your other Apple devices and stay hidden there too.
Where it falls short
- It opens with your iPhone passcode. Face ID falls back to the passcode, so anyone who knows it can open the album.
- There is only one. You cannot keep one set of photos for yourself and a different set you would be comfortable showing.
- It is visible that it exists. Even when the album is hidden from the sidebar, the setting that controls it is easy to find.
- It only holds photos and videos. Scanned documents and other files need somewhere else.
What a vault app adds
| Hidden album | Photo vault app (Units as an example) | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlocks with | Face ID, Touch ID or iPhone passcode | Its own code; in Units, a pattern you draw |
| Someone who knows your passcode | Can open it | Cannot open it without the vault's own code |
| Number of private spaces | One | Several; in Units, one per pattern, with no list on screen |
| Files other than photos | No | Usually yes |
| Cost | Free | Often free to start, with a paid tier |
| Backup | iCloud Photos, if you use it | Depends on the app; Units version 1 has no backup yet |
How to decide
Stay with the Hidden album if nobody else knows your passcode, you only need to keep a few photos out of your main library, and you want everything backed up through iCloud Photos.
Use a vault app if someone else knows or could easily learn your passcode, you need more than one private space, or you are storing documents such as IDs and contracts.
You can also use both: keep everyday hidden photos in the Hidden album and the truly sensitive ones in a vault with its own code.