Privacy guides for iPhone
Clear answers to the questions people actually ask about hiding, locking and protecting photos and files on iPhone.
- iPhone Hidden album vs a photo vault appThe Hidden album keeps photos out of sight. It does not keep them from anyone who knows your passcode.
- End-to-end encryption for photos, explainedEncrypted is not the same as end-to-end encrypted. The difference is who holds the key.
- Are photo vault apps safe? What to check before you trust oneA vault that only hides your photos is a folder with a lock icon.
- Forgot your photo vault password? What you can and cannot doBefore anything else: do not delete the app.
- Recently Deleted on iPhone: why deleted photos are not goneDeleting a photo on iPhone is a 30-day delay, not a deletion.
- What your iPhone photos reveal: EXIF metadata and locationA photo says more than what is in the frame.
- How to move photos to a vault app on iPhone — completelyImporting is the easy half. The other half is every copy you forgot.
- How to get your photos out of a vault app on iPhoneThe day you leave a vault is the day you find out what it was really like.
- How to hide photos on iPhone (and what each method misses)The iPhone has four ways to hide photos. None of them stops someone who knows your passcode.
- How to lock the Photos app with Face ID on iPhoneRequire Face ID locks the Photos app. It does not change who can open it.
- How to hide apps on iPhone: the Hidden folder explainedA hidden app leaves the Home Screen. Its name still appears in a few places worth knowing.
- How to lock notes on iPhone: passcode or separate passwordLocked notes can use your iPhone passcode or their own password. The choice decides who can open them.
- Stop iPhone photos appearing in Memories and Featured PhotosPhotos picks pictures to show you. Here is how to choose what it can pick from.
- How to turn off location on iPhone photosTurning off Camera location protects new photos. The ones you already took still carry it.
- How to share a photo without location on iPhoneOne switch in the share sheet keeps your location out of a photo you send. The date still goes with it.
- How to hide videos on iPhoneVideos hide exactly like photos. They also take far more room wherever they end up.
- Where are hidden photos on iPhone? Finding the Hidden albumIf the Hidden album seems to have vanished, it has usually just been switched off.
- iPhone screenshots and privacy: where they go and how to clean upA screenshot copies whatever was on screen into your photo library, and from there to every device.
- Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, explainedAdvanced Data Protection moves the keys from Apple to your devices — and the responsibility with them.
- iCloud Photos vs iCloud Backup: what’s the difference?One mirrors your library, the other keeps a snapshot. Neither is a spare copy of the other.
- How to back up iPhone photos without iCloudYour photos can live somewhere other than Apple’s servers. It mostly takes a cable.
- How to transfer photos to a new iPhoneYour photo library moves with the iPhone. A vault app may not, unless you check first.
- How to encrypt your iPhone backup on a Mac or PCOne checkbox decides whether your computer backup is locked — and whether it includes your passwords.
- The 3-2-1 backup rule for iPhone photosA synced library is one copy in several places. The 3-2-1 rule asks for real copies.
