My ex knows my Apple Account password. Can they see my photos?

You shared everything when you were together, including the Apple Account or Google password. Maybe your ex set up your phone for you. Now you have split up, and you wonder what they can still see. The answer is more than your phone shows: your account password opens your cloud photos, messages and location from any device. This page shows how to take the account back, step by step. We checked each step against Apple’s and Google’s own pages on 2026-10-08.

What your account password opens

Your phone passcode protects the phone in your hand. Your Apple Account or Google password protects everything in the cloud, wherever someone signs in.

• Photos. Apple says iCloud Photos keeps your library in iCloud so you can reach it “from any device, anytime.” Google Photos says you can reach saved photos “from any device you’re signed in to.”
• The web. Apple says iCloud.com “provides access to your iCloud data via any web browser.” A person does not need an Apple device at all.
• Your Hidden album. It syncs with iCloud Photos, so it sits on any iPhone or iPad signed in to your account. Our Hidden album guide explains why.
• Location and devices. Find My and Google’s device list work from the account.

Two-factor authentication helps, but only if every trusted phone number and trusted device is yours. If your ex added their number years ago, the code goes to them.

If your ex also knows your phone passcode, start with what to do when someone knows your passcode. A passcode can change Face ID and the Apple Account password from the phone itself.

Before you change anything

Changing a password is the right step. It is also a step your ex will notice, because their device will ask them to sign in again. If they check on you, get angry or control what you do, plan first. The help lines at the top of this page take calls about accounts and phones. If you think they track your location, read is someone tracking my phone before you start.

Take back your Apple Account

Do this on your own iPhone.

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap Sign-In & Security.
2. Tap Change Password and follow the steps. Use a password you have never used before.
3. When the iPhone asks about other devices, tap Remove Other Devices. Apple says this makes them sign in again. The other choice, Keep All Devices Signed In, leaves your ex’s devices in.
4. Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Safety Check, and tap Manage Sharing & Access. Apple says Safety Check covers the devices on your Apple Account, trusted phone numbers and your Apple Account password. Remove any number or device that is not yours.
5. In the same flow, review the people who see your location and shared items.

Apple notes “You might be required to wait one hour before changing your Apple Account password” when Stolen Device Protection is on and you are away from a familiar place. That delay protects you from a thief. Wait it out.

If your ex was in a shared album or a Shared Library with you, close those too. Our page on an ex who still sees a shared album has the steps.

Take back your Google account

1. Open Settings on your Android phone. Tap Google, your name, then Manage your Google Account. You can also go to myaccount.google.com.
2. Tap Security & sign-in.
3. Under How you sign in to Google, tap Password. Enter a new password and tap Change Password.
4. In Security & sign-in, tap Manage all devices. Tap any device you do not know, then Sign out.
5. Check the recovery phone number and recovery email on your Google Account. Google uses recovery info to help you back in, so if either belongs to your ex, they could reset your password again.

Google says that after a password change you are “signed out everywhere” except devices you use to verify it is you, some devices with third-party apps, and home devices you linked. Step 4 catches the rest. If you used Google Photos partner sharing with your ex, end it too: see Google Photos partner sharing.

What a new password does not undo

Your ex may have saved photos while they had access. A password change stops new access. It does not reach copies on their phone or computer. If they threaten to share intimate photos, keep a record of each message and contact a support line. Our page on a threat to share your photos lists the steps. Our page on keeping a record of abuse covers how to store that proof.

Keep private photos out of the account

Photos in iCloud Photos or Google Photos are only as private as your account password. York Vault keeps a separate library that the account password cannot open.

• Encrypted before upload. York Vault encrypts each item on your phone. The free backup goes to your own iCloud or Google Drive as encrypted chunks with random names, and iCloud and Google see no file names, types or dates. See encrypted backup.
• We cannot open it either. York Vault holds no key to your library. See we cannot see your files.
• Its own code. York Vault opens with a PIN, passcode or pattern you choose. The account password plays no part. See lock options.
• Recovery that you control. Your 12-word recovery key restores the library on a new phone. York Vault also has an optional 72-hour recovery through your Apple Account or Google account. While someone else may know that account’s password, leave it off.

After you add photos to York Vault, remove the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted, or they stay in the account your ex knew. The import and cleanup page shows each step. For the other ways iCloud stores photos, read our iCloud Photos encryption guide.