How do I keep photos of my ex without seeing them every day?

The relationship ended, but the photos did not. They are in your camera roll between the holiday and your sister’s wedding. Your phone builds a memory from them on a bad day. And your new partner scrolls past them when you show a photo. You may not want to delete them, at least not yet. This page shows how to keep them without seeing them, on iPhone and Android. We checked each step against Apple’s and Google’s own pages on 2026-10-08.

Step 1: stop the phone from bringing them back

Photos apps pick people and dates to feature in memories and widgets. Tell them to leave your ex out.

On iPhone:

1. Open a photo of your ex in Photos.
2. Tap the More button, then tap Don’t Feature a Person.
3. Choose Never Feature This Person, then tap Confirm.

If a particular trip or anniversary keeps coming back, touch and hold that memory in Collections, tap Feature Less, and choose the day or place.

In Google Photos:

1. Tap your profile picture, then Photos settings.
2. Tap Preferences, Memories, Hide faces.
3. Under Blocked, tap Select faces and choose your ex.

Google says a face set to Show less may still appear in group photos, while Blocked keeps it out of those too. Our page on Memories that show private photos has every option, and our page on photo widgets covers the home screen.

Step 2: get the photos out of the main grid

iPhone Hidden album. Touch and hold a photo, tap Hide, then confirm. Apple says hidden photos move to the Hidden album, “so they don’t appear anywhere else in Photos, like the Library, other albums, or even the Photos widget”. The album is locked by default since iOS 16. Apple says that with iCloud Photos, photos you hide on one device are hidden on your other devices too. Our Hidden album guide explains each step.

Google Photos archive. Select a photo, tap More, then Archive. Google says archived photos leave your Photos view and “won’t be used to create highlight videos or animations.” But they “will still be in any albums that they were added to, search results, and folders on your device.” So a search for your ex’s name or a place still finds them.

Google Photos Locked Folder. Items in it do not appear in the grid, memories, search or albums. Google says the folder opens with your screen lock, so anyone with that lock can open it. See our Locked Folder guide.

Both the Hidden album and the Locked Folder open with the lock that the people around you are most likely to know: your phone passcode or screen lock.

Step 3: a place that stays closed

If you want the photos out of reach as well as out of sight, keep them behind a code that only you know. York Vault does that on iPhone and Android.

1. Make an album for them. Name it something plain, and pick a plain colour cover that shows nothing. See albums.
2. Add the photos. York Vault encrypts each one on the phone and checks each copy. It keeps the original dates, so the album stays in order.
3. Give the album its own code. An album code wraps the album’s key, so the main code alone cannot open it. With your library open, the album shows a blurred cover and no item count, and its photos stay out of search and slideshows.
4. Remove the originals from Photos. York Vault removes each original only after it checks its copy. Then empty Recently Deleted. The import and cleanup page shows each step.

If you would rather keep them apart from everything else, Plus and Pro add extra libraries, each with its own code and backup. York Vault keeps no list of them anywhere.

York Vault items do not appear in Photos, memories or the Photos widget. So your phone stops showing them to you, and to anyone you hand it to.

What about the copies elsewhere

A past relationship leaves photos in more than one place:

• Chats. A photo sent in Messages or WhatsApp is a separate copy in that chat.
• Shared albums and Shared Libraries. If you shared an album or an iCloud Shared Photo Library with your ex, they can still see it. Our page on an ex who still sees a shared album shows how to close it.
• Partner sharing in Google Photos. If it is still on, your ex keeps getting new photos. See Google Photos partner sharing.

Decide later

Photos from a past relationship often hold other people too: friends, family, places you want to remember. A locked album lets you come back in a month or a year and decide what to keep. When you are ready, you can export what you want to keep back to Photos, or delete the rest. York Vault keeps deleted items in Trash for 30 days, and export stays free on every plan.