Summary
- You can view the hidden photos in the Utilities section of the new Photos app in iOS 18.
- Once you’re in the Hidden photos album, you can unhide the required photos and videos using the “…” ellipsis menu.
- If you’ve disabled the hidden album, you can turn it on again under Settings > Apps > Photos.
Did you hide some photos on your iPhone but have forgotten how to access them? Here’s how to view the hidden album on an iPhone, and enable it again if you’re disabled the feature.
Please respect other people’s privacy when using this knowledge, they have their own reasons for hiding photos on their iPhones.
How to See Hidden iPhone Photos
To find your hidden photos, first, launch the Photos app on your iPhone. On iOS 18, open the Photos app, scroll down to the bottom, and select the Hidden album under Utilities.
On the following screen, tap on “View Album,” and authneticate with Face ID or your passcode to view the hidden photos.
On older versions of iOS, the “Hidden” album is located under “Other Albums” rather than Utilities. However, with iOS 18, Apple has revamped the Photos app in a way that the Utilities section is at the bottom of the app’s home screen.
If you do not see the “Hidden” album option, the album itself might be hidden. But don’t worry, as you can unhide it too (we’ll come to that in a bit). The “Hidden” album screen shows all your hidden photos and videos. Once you’re in you can view them and make the desired edits as normal.
How to Unhide Hidden iPhone Photos
There are three ways to unhide photos.
First, tap and hold on a photo/video until it opens in a bigger window, and then hit the “Unhide” button in the menu below it.
You can also hit the Select button at the top, mark the items you want to restore, and select “Unhide” in the “…” ellipsis menu.
If you wish to view the items before unhiding them, tap on them to open in full-screen, hit the “…” ellipsis menu in the top right, and then select “Unhide.”
No matter how you unhide the photos/video, they’ll be available in the Photos app, accessible to everyone. If you’re not finding the photos you were looking for, consider trying to recover deleted photos on your iPhone or iPad.
Enable or Disable the Hidden Photo Album
Starting in iOS 14, you can turn off the “Hidden” album in the Photos app. To re-enable that album, you will have to change an option in your iPhone’s settings.
To do so, open the Settings app on your iPhone and select “Apps” at the bottom. Then, find and select the Photos app on the following screen.
In the Photos app settings, enable “Show Hidden Album.” The Hidden album is now visible in the Photos app, and you can access your hidden photos.
Hiding the hidden album can add an extra layer of secrecy to the Photos app, so feel free to change this setting as you need it.
That’s how you go about finding photos and videos that you previously hid on your iPhone. iOS 18 introduced some big changes to the Photos app, especially when it comes to organizing your photos. While you’re here, why not learn how to hide an app on your iPhone or iPad too.
