Short answer
The Hidden album is enough against a stranger: it is locked with Face ID by default since iOS 16 and the files sit inside the iPhone's own encryption. It is not enough against anyone who knows your passcode, because Face ID falls back to it, and there is no way to give the album a different code. It also syncs to every device on your Apple Account and to iCloud, where Apple holds the key unless Advanced Data Protection is on. A vault app closes those three gaps: a code of its own, photos out of the library, and a decoy to hand over.
On this page
- AlterVault vs the Hidden album
- The Hidden album is better than you think
- The hole: it opens with your passcode
- What syncs to iCloud, and who can read it
- Hidden album missing, not showing, or photos disappeared
- iOS 18 can lock the Photos app itself
- What AlterVault adds
- Which one you need
- Moving photos from the Hidden album into a vault
- Questions
AlterVault vs the Hidden album
Hidden album facts from Apple's support pages, linked below. AlterVault facts from the app source.
AlterVaultThe hole: it opens with your passcode
Face ID is not a separate secret. Apple's own safety guide says the album "requires Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to unlock it". When Face ID fails, or when someone simply taps Cancel on the prompt, the phone asks for the six-digit passcode that unlocks the whole device. So the Hidden album stops everyone who does not know your passcode, and nobody who does.
There is no setting that changes this. People search for "hidden album Face ID only" and "hidden album different passcode" every day, and the answer to both is that iOS does not offer it. The only toggle is whether the album is locked at all. If the person you are hiding photos from is a partner, a family member or anyone who has watched you unlock the phone, the Hidden album is a curtain, not a door.
This is the one structural difference between a built-in album and a vault app, and it is the reason the second category exists.
Sources: Apple Personal Safety User Guide: Hide photos and videos
What syncs to iCloud, and who can read it
The Hidden album is a view of your library, not a separate place. Apple states that with iCloud Photos on, "the photos that you hide on one device are hidden on your other devices too". That is convenient, and it means hidden photos exist in more places than the phone in your hand.
- Every device on your Apple Account
- The shared iPad, the Mac in the living room, the old iPhone in a drawer that is still signed in. Each one has the Hidden album, each one locked by that device's own Face ID or passcode or login password.
- iCloud, under standard protection
- Apple's data security overview lists Photos as encrypted "in transit and on server" with keys held by Apple, so that Apple can help with account recovery. That also means Apple can produce them in response to a lawful request.
- iCloud, with Advanced Data Protection
- Turn on Advanced Data Protection and Photos moves to end-to-end encryption with the keys on your trusted devices only. Apple keeps a checksum of each file, and Shared Albums are excluded. Most people have not turned it on.
- Backups
- iCloud Backup and Finder backups carry the hidden photos along with everything else. Under standard protection the iCloud backup is readable by Apple; a local backup is readable by anyone who can open it unless it is encrypted.
"Can Apple see my hidden photos?" is a fair question with a plain answer: under standard iCloud protection, technically yes. With Advanced Data Protection, no. With a vault that never uploads, the question does not arise.
Sources: Apple Support: Hide photos with the Hidden album, Apple Support: iCloud data security overview
iOS 18 can lock the Photos app itself
Since iOS 18 you can press and hold an app icon and choose Require Face ID. Third-party apps can also be hidden, which moves them into an obscured Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. Photos is a system app, so it can be locked but not hidden. For the glance-over-your-shoulder case this is a real improvement, and it costs nothing.
It has the same limit as the Hidden album, because it is the same mechanism: after three failed Face ID attempts the prompt falls back to the device passcode, unless Stolen Device Protection is on. It does not change what syncs to iCloud, and a locked app still receives notifications with the previews blanked. Lock the Photos app if you share your phone casually. It does not replace a separate code.
Sources: MacRumors: How to lock and hide iPhone apps in iOS 18
What AlterVault adds
- A code your passcode does not open
- Your vault code is run through Argon2id to derive the key, so the phone's passcode has nothing to do with it. There is no reset, because the key does not exist anywhere your code has not produced it. If you forget the code, a 12-word recovery phrase you wrote down at setup gets you in. Nobody else can.
- Photos leave the library entirely
- Imported items are encrypted into the app's own store and removed from Photos. Nothing syncs to the shared iPad, nothing lands in iCloud Photos, nothing appears in a Mac's library. Your backup is one encrypted file per vault that you copy wherever you like.
- A decoy to hand over
- Shake the phone once and the vault becomes an ordinary gallery of ordinary photos. Being asked to open it has an answer other than refusing. The Hidden album, by design, cannot do this.
- Documents too
- Passport scans, PDFs and screenshots of anything go in the same encrypted store with the same code. The Hidden album only takes what Photos can hold.
AlterVault runs on iOS 17 and later and is on the App Store, and on Android 8.0 and later on Google Play. Every file is encrypted individually with XChaCha20-Poly1305. The app has no account and no cloud. It sends anonymous usage events and checks the purchase online, and your photos, file names and code never touch the network.
Which one you need
- Someone knows your passcode
- A partner, a family member, anyone who has watched you unlock the phone. The Hidden album and the iOS 18 app lock both fall back to that passcode. A separate code does not.
- Devices share one Apple Account
- Hidden photos sync to every one of them. A vault app keeps them out of the photo library entirely, so nothing appears on the shared iPad or the family Mac.
- You might be asked to hand the phone over
- The Hidden album gives you refuse or comply. A decoy gallery gives you a third answer.
- You are storing documents
- Passport scans and PDFs have no home in the Hidden album. They end up in Files, unprotected, or in Notes, where a locked note opens with the same passcode.
- Nobody around you knows your passcode
- Then the Hidden album is fine. Turn on Advanced Data Protection if the iCloud copy bothers you, and keep your money.
Questions
Is the iPhone Hidden album secure?
Against a stranger, yes. Since iOS 16 it is locked by default behind Face ID or Touch ID, and the photos sit inside the iPhone's storage encryption. Against anyone who knows your passcode, no: Apple's own guide says the album unlocks with Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode, and the passcode is the one that unlocks the phone.
Can I set a different passcode for the Hidden album, or make it Face ID only?
No. iOS has no setting for either. The only choice is whether the album is locked at all. When Face ID fails or is cancelled, the prompt falls back to the device passcode. A separate code is what a vault app provides.
Can someone see my hidden photos if they know my passcode?
Yes. The passcode opens the Hidden album directly, the same as it opens the phone, and it also opens Recently Deleted. If the person you are hiding photos from knows your passcode, the Hidden album provides no protection from them at all.
Do hidden photos sync to iCloud and my other devices?
Yes, if iCloud Photos is on. Apple states that photos hidden on one device are hidden on your other devices too; they are still in the library on each of them. They are also included in iCloud Backup.
Can Apple see my hidden photos?
Under standard iCloud data protection, Apple holds the encryption keys for Photos, so technically yes, and Apple can produce them in response to a legal request. With Advanced Data Protection turned on, Photos becomes end-to-end encrypted and Apple cannot. A vault that never uploads removes the question.
Why is my Hidden album missing or not showing?
Usually because Show Hidden Album is off under Settings, Apps, Photos, or because you are looking for an Albums tab that iOS 18 removed. Scroll the main Photos view to the bottom, to Utilities. The photos are still hidden and still there either way.
Do I need a vault app on an iPhone?
Only if someone around you knows your passcode, your devices share an Apple Account, or you might be asked to hand the phone over. For those cases AlterVault uses a code your phone does not have, keeps the photos out of the library, and gives you a decoy to hand over. If none of those apply, the Hidden album is enough.
Can I install AlterVault on an iPhone?
Yes. It is on the App Store and runs on iOS 17 and later. There is an Android version on Google Play as well, and a vault backed up on one can be restored on the other.