Guide
How to lock photos on iPhone with a password
You can’t put a separate password on individual photos in the iPhone Photos app. What you can do is lock the Hidden album or the whole Photos app with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode, put a photo inside a note locked with its own password, or move it to a vault app with a lock of its own. Which is right depends on one question: does anyone else know your iPhone passcode?
Settings paths checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 18, iOS 26 and iOS 27 on Oct 24, 2026.
The question that decides it
Every built-in option on iPhone falls back to your iPhone passcode. Face ID is convenient, but if Face ID fails, the passcode opens the same door. So:
- If nobody else knows your passcode, the built-in locks are good, and free.
- If a partner, parent or friend knows it, or could watch you type it, every built-in lock opens for them. You need a secret that isn’t your passcode.
Option 1: Lock the Hidden album (built in)
Hide the photos first: in Photos, tap Select, choose the photos, tap the More button (three dots) and tap Hide. Then check the lock:
Settings → Apps → Photos → Use Face ID (Use Touch ID or Use Passcode on other models)
It’s on by default. The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums now ask for Face ID before they open. You can also turn off Show Hidden Album in the same place, so the album doesn’t appear under Utilities. Full steps are in how to hide photos on iPhone.
Good for: keeping a handful of photos out of your library when someone borrows your phone. Limit: the lock is your passcode, and the photos still sync to iCloud Photos.
Option 2: Lock the Photos app (built in, iOS 18 and later)
Since iOS 18, you can require Face ID to open most apps, Photos included.
- On the Home Screen, touch and hold Photos until the quick actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
- Tap Require Face ID again and confirm.
Photos now asks for Face ID every time it opens, and locks again when you quit it. Apple notes that information from a locked app also stays out of places like search, Siri suggestions and notification previews. Some built-in apps can’t be locked (Camera is one), and Photos can be locked but not hidden, because only apps you download from the App Store can be hidden. More in how to hide apps on iPhone.
Good for: a phone you hand over often, such as to a child. Limit: the same passcode fallback, and the photo picker in other apps is a separate route into your library.
Option 3: A locked note with its own password (built in)
This is the closest iPhone gets to “a password on a photo”, and few people know about it.
- Go to Settings → Apps → Notes → Password, choose your account and tap Use Custom Password. Pick something you don’t use for your iPhone.
- In Notes, create a note and add the photo with the Attachments button (choose from your library or take a new one).
- Tap the More button and tap Lock.
The note now needs your custom Notes password (or Face ID, if you allowed it).
Know the limits before you rely on it:
- The title stays visible in the notes list. Make the first line something plain.
- Apple says you can’t lock notes with video, audio, PDF, Keynote, Pages or Numbers attachments, notes with tags, or notes you share with someone. Photos are fine.
- If you add an existing photo, the original is still in Photos. Delete it, then empty Recently Deleted.
- If you forget a custom password, Apple says it can’t help you get back in.
- If you allowed Face ID for locked notes, anyone your phone recognizes, or anyone who can make you look at it, opens them. Leave Face ID off for this account if that matters.
Option 4: A vault app with its own lock
If someone knows your passcode, or you want photos out of your iCloud photo library altogether, you need storage with a separate key. That’s what a vault app is for. Not all of them are equal: some only hide files behind a PIN screen without encrypting them. Our buyer’s guide to photo vault apps lists what to check.
In Bunker, each vault is encrypted on your iPhone and opens only with a Pattern you draw on a 5 × 5 dial, never with your iPhone passcode or Face ID (Bunker doesn’t use Face ID at all). There’s no account, and nothing on screen says how many vaults exist. A Pattern that doesn’t match opens nothing, the same way every time. You can add a Passphrase as a second way in, and every vault has a Recovery Phrase you write on paper.
After you import, Bunker asks whether to delete the originals from Photos, and reminds you that Photos keeps them in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
The limits, plainly: someone who watched you draw your Pattern can open that vault. If you forget your Pattern and lose your Recovery Phrase, we can’t recover the vault for you. And the free version holds 3 Vaults, with 100 photos, 10 videos and 20 documents and notes in total; Bunker Pro removes those limits.
Which one to pick
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Photos out of sight when someone borrows your phone | Hidden album |
| Photos locked for anyone who picks up your phone | Locked Photos app |
| One or two photos behind a password your passcode can’t open | Locked note with a custom password |
| Many photos, documents or videos behind a separate key, with an encrypted backup | A vault app |
When you don’t need an app
If you’re the only person who knows your iPhone passcode, and you mostly want photos out of the camera roll, Apple’s built-in options are enough. Use a 6-digit or longer passcode, keep the Hidden album locked, and consider locking the Photos app. Our comparison of Bunker and Apple’s Hidden album and of Bunker and locked notes is honest about where Apple’s tools are the better choice.
If you also want to stop new private photos from landing in Photos at all, see how to take photos that skip the camera roll.
Questions
Can I put a password on one photo on iPhone?
Not in the Photos app. iOS locks the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums, or the whole Photos app, with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. For a password only you know, use a locked note with a custom password or a separate vault app.
Is locking the Photos app the same as encrypting my photos?
No. Locking the app adds a Face ID check before it opens. The photos themselves are protected by your iPhone's normal data protection, and in iCloud by Apple's standard encryption unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection.
What happens if I forget a custom Notes password?
Apple says it can't help you regain access to notes locked with a forgotten custom password, unless Face ID or Touch ID still opens them. Resetting the password only applies to notes you lock afterward.
Does a locked app stay locked if I hand my phone to someone?
Yes. A locked app asks for Face ID every time it opens and locks again when you quit it. But anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open it, because the passcode is the fallback.