Guides
How to keep photos, videos and files private on iPhone and Android, with the built-in tools first. Each guide shows its sources and the date we last checked it.
Hide and lock photos
- How do you find hidden apps on iPhone and Android?Where hidden apps show up on iPhone and Android: the Hidden Apps list, App Library, private space, Samsung's hidden apps and the store's app lists.
- How to hide photos on iPhoneHow to hide photos on iPhone with the Hidden album, lock it with Face ID and take it out of view. What each built-in option protects, and where it stops.
- How do you hide a video on iPhone?How to hide a video on iPhone with the Hidden album, why Notes cannot lock videos, and what to test before you trust a vault app with long or 4K video.
- How to lock photos on iPhoneCan you lock photos on iPhone? Yes. Lock certain photos in the Hidden album or lock the whole Photos app with Face ID. Steps for iOS 18 and later.
- Can you password protect photos on iPhone?Photos on iPhone has no password of its own. How to password protect photos with a locked note, what your passcode covers, and when to use a vault app.
- Can you make a secret photo album on iPhone?Can you make a secret photo album or private folder on iPhone? Three ways, from the Hidden album to a locked note or a vault app, and what each keeps private.
- How does Snapchat My Eyes Only work?How to set up and use Snapchat My Eyes Only, what happens if you forget the passcode, and what it does and does not protect on your phone and in the cloud.
The Hidden album and iOS tools
- Are hidden photos saved to iCloud?Are hidden photos saved to iCloud? How hidden photos sync with iCloud Photos, when iCloud Backup holds them, where they show and who can open them.
- Can a computer see the photos I've hidden on my phone?What a Mac or Windows PC can see when you connect your iPhone or Android phone: the Hidden album, Trust This Computer, local backups and vault app files.
- What is the hidden photo album on iPhone?What the Hidden photo album on iPhone is, where to find it, why it may not show, how its Face ID lock works, and what it does not keep private.
- How to hide apps on iPhoneHow to hide apps on iPhone with Hide and Require Face ID, where hidden apps go, what still shows the app's name, and the other ways to keep apps out of sight.
- How do you hide photos on a Mac?How to hide photos on a Mac in the Photos app, show or hide the Hidden album, lock it with Touch ID or your password, and what hiding leaves open.
- Where is Recently Deleted on iPhone, and how long does it keep photos?Where Recently Deleted is on iPhone, how long it keeps photos, how to recover or permanently delete them, and how to clean up after moving photos.
Choosing a photo vault app
- Are photo vault apps safe?Are photo vault apps safe? Six checks on encryption, backup, recovery, lapsed plans, privacy labels and app deletion, with sourced facts on 8 iPhone apps.
- What is the best photo vault app for Android?We compared 7 photo vault apps on Google Play on backup, recovery, decoy codes, ads and data sharing, plus Google and Samsung's built-in options.
- What is the best photo vault app for iPhone?We scored 8 photo vault apps for iPhone on backup, lock and recovery, pricing, tracking, hiding features and track record. Our method, scores and prices.
- I forgot my photo vault password. How do I get back in?Forgot the PIN or password to a photo vault app? Which recovery each app offers, why a reinstall can erase everything, and what to set up so it never happens.
- What is OneDrive Personal Vault, and is it good for private photos?How OneDrive Personal Vault guards photos and files with a second sign-in step, its 3-file limit without Microsoft 365, auto-lock and what it leaves open.
- My photo vault app was removed from the App Store or will not open. How do I get my photos back?What to do when a photo vault app leaves the App Store or stops opening: keep it installed, turn off offloading, export what you can, then ask the developer.
- Are photo vault apps really encrypted, and what does AES-256 mean?Vault apps promise AES encryption and more. What AES-256 is, why the cipher matters less than where the key lives, and five questions that test a vault's claim.
- Is there a photo vault app with a one-time payment?Which photo vault apps sell a lifetime or one-time purchase, what the App Store lists for each, and what to check before you pay once for a vault.
- How do you read a photo vault app's privacy label?How to read the App Store privacy label and Google Play Data safety section of a photo vault app, with what the main vault apps declare, side by side.
- What happens to my photos when my photo vault subscription ends?What vault apps do when a trial or a Premium plan ends: backup limits, paid Trash recovery, decoy vaults that stop opening, and what to do before you cancel.
- Why is my photo vault app taking up so much storage?Why a photo vault app can use more space than your photos: originals still in your gallery, Trash and caches. How to check it and free space safely.
- Is there a photo vault app without ads?Which photo vault apps show ads, what their store listings say, why ads inside a privacy app are a problem, and what to check before you trust one with photos.
- What is a photo vault?What a photo vault app is, how photo vault apps work on iPhone, the main types, how they differ from the Hidden album, and what can go wrong.
Moving and backup
- How do you back up iPhone photos without iCloud?Four ways to back up iPhone photos without iCloud: a Mac, a Windows PC, an external drive or Google Photos, and how private each copy is.
- Can you delete photos from your iPhone but keep them in iCloud?With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo deletes it everywhere. The two ways to free your iPhone and keep photos in iCloud, and what each one costs.
- Do photo vault apps back up your photos?Which photo vault apps back up your photos, where the backup goes, which plan it needs and how many items it covers, from each app's own listing and help pages.
- Does deleting a vault app delete your photos?What happens to your photos when you delete or uninstall a vault app on iPhone or Android, which apps keep a backup, and what to check before you delete.
- How do you get your photos out of Keepsafe and move to York Vault?How to get your photos out of Keepsafe on iPhone or Android: turn off Space Saver, recover Trash, export every album, check counts, then cancel and delete.
- How do you get your photos out of LockMyPix and move to York Vault?How to get photos out of LockMyPix on iPhone or Android: restore Trash, unlock files to your gallery, check counts, then cancel Premium and delete the app.
- How do you get your photos out of NQ Vault and move to York Vault?How to get photos out of NQ Vault: restore from Cloud Backup, export to your albums in small batches, check counts, then cancel Premium and delete the app.
- How do I move from Private Photo Vault to York Vault?How to export every photo and video from Private Photo Vault with Camera Roll, WiFi Transfer, USB or the share sheet, then move them and clean up.
- How do you transfer a photo vault from iPhone to Android?How to move a photo vault from iPhone to Android or back. Why phone transfer tools skip vault data, which backups cross over, and the checks to run.
- How do you transfer a photo vault to a new iPhone?How to transfer a photo vault to a new iPhone: why vault photos often stay behind, checks before you switch, how 8 apps move, and fixes for missing items.
Privacy on iPhone
- Can someone unlock your iPhone with your face while you sleep?Why Face ID is built not to open your iPhone while your eyes are closed, the setting that makes this work, and what a sibling or a held-up phone can still do.
- Can someone see where a photo was taken?Photos from your phone can carry the exact place they were taken. How to check, how to share without it on iPhone and Android, and how to stop saving it.
- How do you hide app purchases on iPhone?How to hide an app from your App Store purchase list on iPhone, what Apple says stays in your full history, and how Family Sharing can still show it.
- How do you password protect a file or folder on iPhone?The Files app has no folder lock. How to lock it with Face ID, password-protect a Pages document, and keep private PDFs and scans behind a separate code.
- How do you hide notification previews on your lock screen?How to stop message text and photo previews from showing on your lock screen, on iPhone with Show Previews and on Android with sensitive content off.
- How do you hide photos from your Apple Watch?Why photos show on your Apple Watch, how to stop the sync, change the Photos watch face and keep notification photos off your wrist.
- How do you stop private photos from showing in iPhone search?Your iPhone's search can find photos by place, date, text and what is in them. How to keep private photos out of Spotlight and Photos search on iPhone.
- Is iCloud Photos end-to-end encrypted?Is iCloud Photos end-to-end encrypted? What standard data protection and Advanced Data Protection do to your photos, how to turn ADP on, and what it leaves out.
- Is my iPhone encrypted?Your iPhone encrypts its data as soon as you set a passcode. What Data Protection covers, when files stay readable, and what encryption does not protect.
- How do you lock notes on iPhone?How to lock notes on iPhone with your passcode or a custom password, which notes Apple cannot lock, and why the note title stays visible in the list.
- How do you lock private browsing on iPhone?How to lock Safari Private Browsing with Face ID on iPhone, how to lock Chrome Incognito tabs, and why downloads from a private tab stay on your phone.
- What can someone see or do on my locked phone?A locked iPhone or Android phone still shows notifications, widgets, a camera and more. What each one reveals, and the settings and quick lock that close them.
- How do you choose a strong phone passcode?Why a longer passcode protects your photos better, what Apple and Google advise, how to switch to a custom code, and how to pick one others cannot guess.
Photos on Android
- What is private space on Android, and how do you use it?What private space on Android 15 and later does, how to set it up with its own lock and Google Account, how photos and files behave inside, and its limits.
- Does Google Photos scan your photos?What Google Photos reads in your photos: Face Groups, search, memories, Ask Photos and abuse detection, how to turn each one off, and how its encryption works.
- What is Google Photos Locked Folder, and how do you use it?What Google Photos Locked Folder is, how to set it up on Android, how its backup works, and who can open it with your screen lock or Google password.
- How to hide apps on AndroidHow to hide apps on Android with private space on Android 15 and later, or Samsung's hide apps setting and Secure Folder, and what each one really hides.
- How do you hide files and folders on Android?How to hide files and folders on Android with Safe folder, private space or Secure Folder, what a .nomedia file does, and the backup each one skips.
- How to hide photos on AndroidHow to hide photos on Android with Google Photos Locked Folder, the Samsung private album and Secure Folder, and what each one protects and leaves open.
- How do you hide photos on a Xiaomi phone?How to hide photos on a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO phone with hidden albums, the private album, App lock and Locked Folder, and what each one leaves open.
- Is my Android phone encrypted?Phones that launch with Android 10 or later must use file-based encryption. How to check yours, what a screen lock adds, and what encryption leaves open.
- How to lock photos on Android with a passwordHow to lock photos on Android with a PIN or password: Files by Google Safe folder, private space, Samsung Secure Folder and Locked Folder, with backup limits.
- How to use Samsung Secure Folder as a secret folderHow to set up Samsung Secure Folder as a secret folder for photos and apps on a Galaxy phone, how to hide it, and its limits on recovery and backup.
- How do you stop Google Photos from backing up a folder?How to choose which device folders Google Photos backs up on Android, hide photos from other apps in your Photos view, and remove copies that already uploaded.
For one situation at a time, such as a phone repair, a lost phone or a partner who knows your passcode, see phone privacy by situation.
Keep what is yours, yours.
Free to download. Your own items stay open on every plan.
No ads. Your photos are encrypted on your phone. How.