How do I hide an album on iPhone?

You can't hide an album itself: Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 lists actions like rename, share and delete for albums, but nothing that hides or locks one. The workaround is to open the album, tap Select, then Select All, and hide the photos, which moves them into the one Hidden album.

Short answer

There's a Hide option for photos, not for albums. Hiding an album's photos takes them out of your whole Library, not only that album, and puts them in one pile with everything else you've hidden. Apple doesn't describe a way to hide the album's name, so rename or delete the album if the name says too much. Deleting the album doesn't delete any photos.

Hide every photo in the album

Open Photos, tap Collections, then Albums.
Open the album.
Tap Select, then Select All.
Tap More (the three dots), then Hide, and confirm.

The photos move to the Hidden album. They also leave your Library, any other albums they were in and the Photos widget, so this hides them everywhere, not only in that album. With iCloud Photos on, they're hidden on your other devices too.

Rename or delete the album that's left

The album doesn't go away. On iOS 26.2 and iOS 27 simulators, it stayed under Collections with its name and a blank cover, so anyone browsing can still read the name.

If the name gives away what was in it, rename it. If you don't want the album at all, delete it:

Go to Collections, then Albums.
Press and hold the album.
Tap Delete Album.

Apple says photos from a deleted album stay in your library and in any other albums they're in. Only the grouping goes.

Put the photos back later

In Photos, tap Collections, then Hidden, below Utilities.
Tap View Album and confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Tap a photo, tap More, then Unhide.

To unhide several at once, open Hidden, tap Select, tap each photo, then tap More and Unhide.

Apple doesn't say where an unhidden photo lands, so we tested it on iOS 26.2 and iOS 27 simulators. Photos went back into the album they came from. After we deleted the album, the next photo we unhid went back to the Library only.

So if you'll want the album back, keep it, even empty. Delete it and you'd be picking those photos out of Hidden by eye, because Hidden mixes everything together.

Collapsing or moving an album doesn't hide it

The three-dot button at the top of Collections changes how Photos looks: grid sizes, Show All, Collapse All and Reorder. Reorder moves whole sections such as Albums and Memories. On iOS 26.2 and iOS 27 simulators, none of it could hide one album, so treat it as tidying the screen.

Where this workaround stops

Hidden is one pile. Apple doesn't describe folders or albums inside it, so photos from different albums end up mixed together.
New photos aren't covered. Hiding applies to the photos you selected, and Apple lists no hidden setting for an album, so anything you add later stays visible until you hide it too.
Your other copies stay out. A duplicate, an edited copy or the next shot in a burst stays in your Library unless you selected it too.
Your passcode opens it. Hidden's lock accepts Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, so anyone who knows your code can get in. Photos can't set a separate password.
A Shared Library is different. Apple says hiding a photo in an iCloud Shared Photo Library moves it to the Hidden album for everyone in that library, and they can view or unhide it.

What LuminaClean does here

LuminaClean is a photo cleaner, and it doesn't hide photos or albums. It helps with what stays in your Library after you hide an album's photos: the duplicate copies and near-identical shots that weren't in that album. It groups duplicates and similar photos on your iPhone, with no account and no upload, and you swipe to keep or delete. Nothing goes without your swipe, and every delete lands in Recently Deleted first. You get 65 free deletes to start, then 30 more every day.

Less to keep private.
LuminaClean finds duplicates, blurry shots and screenshots on your iPhone, and deletes only what you swipe away. Free to start, no account.

Get LuminaClean free

Anything you delete goes to Recently Deleted first, so you have 30 days to change your mind.

On a computer? LuminaClean is an iPhone app. Scan this with your iPhone camera to open it in the App Store.

Text me the link

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Can I lock a single album on iPhone with a password or Face ID?

No. Apple's iPhone guide lists no lock for an album you made. The lock it describes covers the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums, and it opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.

Does deleting an album on iPhone delete the photos inside it?

No. Apple says the photos stay in your library and in any other albums they belong to. Delete Album removes the album and its name.

If I hide the photos in an album, do they disappear from my Library too?

Yes. A hidden photo leaves your Library, your other albums and the Photos widget and goes to the Hidden album, so it's hidden everywhere, not only in the album you started from.

Can I make folders or separate albums inside the Hidden album?

Apple doesn't describe a way to. Everything you hide lands in the same Hidden album, whichever album it came from.

Can I take the Hidden album itself out of view on iPhone?

Yes. Turn off Show Hidden Album in Settings > Apps > Photos (on iOS 27 it's Hidden Album, under Albums), and the album leaves view while the photos stay in your library. Turn the setting back on when you want them.

Get LuminaClean free

Sources

Steps checked against Apple Support on November 3, 2026. Menu names can change with iOS updates.