How do you hide photos on a Mac?

The Mac has the same Hidden album as the iPhone, with one difference that surprises people: it starts out hidden from view. This guide follows Apple’s Photos User Guide for macOS 27 and Apple’s Hidden album article, checked on 2026-10-09. Apple’s Hidden album article says the lock exists in macOS Ventura and later.

Hide photos in the Photos app

1. Open Photos and click Library in the sidebar.
2. Select the photo or photos you want to hide.
3. Choose Image, then Hide Photos, then click Hide.

Two faster ways do the same thing. Control-click a photo and choose Hide Photo, or press Command-L. Apple says the photos “disappear from view but are not deleted”. They stay in your library, in the Hidden album.

Find the Hidden album

On a Mac, Apple says the Hidden album is locked and hidden from view by default. To see it:

1. In Photos, click Library in the sidebar.
2. Choose View, then Show Hidden Photo Album.
3. Click Hidden below Utilities in the sidebar. If you do not see it, hold the pointer over Utilities and click the disclosure arrow.
4. Click View Album and unlock it with Touch ID or your login password.

To put the album out of view again, choose View, then Hide Hidden Photo Album.

Lock the Hidden album

The lock is on by default. To check it:

1. In Photos, choose Photos, then Settings.
2. Click General.
3. Under Privacy, make sure Use Touch ID or password is selected.

Apple says this setting locks both the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. If you clear the box, both open without a password.

How the Mac and iPhone Hidden albums compare

	Mac	iPhone and iPad
Album shown by default	No	Yes
Locked by default	Yes	Yes, in iOS 16 and later
Opens with	Touch ID or your login password	Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode
Syncs the hidden state	Yes, with iCloud Photos	Yes, with iCloud Photos

Apple’s article says that with iCloud Photos, “the photos that you hide on one device are hidden on your other devices too”. So a photo you hide on your Mac also leaves the main library on your iPhone. Our iPhone Hidden album guide has the iPhone steps.

What hiding on a Mac does not protect

• Anyone with your login password. The lock uses your Mac password. A family member who shares your Mac account can open the album.
• The library file. Apple’s settings page has Show in Finder, which reveals where the library sits on your Mac. Apple says FileVault is on by default on a Mac with macOS 26.4 or later. FileVault ties the disk keys to your password, so it does not help against a person who logs in with that password.
• iCloud. Hidden photos still upload with iCloud Photos. Read are hidden photos saved to iCloud.
• Exports and shares. A photo you exported to a folder or sent in Messages is a separate copy. Apple’s Include location information setting, under Sharing in Photos settings, decides if exports keep the location.
• Imports from a phone. If you import from an iPhone over a cable, check the import screen first. Our page on what a computer can see explains why.

A separate password on a Mac

Photos has no password of its own. If the person you want privacy from knows your Mac password, you need something that opens with a different secret.

York Vault has a native Mac app in Plus. It opens with your York Vault code, not your Mac login. Its library lives outside the Finder, and every item, file name and thumbnail is encrypted. With Plus, the library syncs with your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud. Drag photos in from Photos or the Finder, then remove the originals from the Photos library once York Vault has checked its copies. See the Mac app.

Anyone can install the Mac app. Free users see the plans screen, and Plus turns the app on. If a plan ends, a library already on the Mac stays open for viewing, export and restore. Download York Vault.