KEY POINTS

  • Currently, there's no way to lock apps on an iPhone
  • This leaves files such as photos and videos vulnerable to prying eyes
  • There's a way to hide photos and videos in the Photos app

iPhone users are likely to have some photos stored on their device. Without a way to lock apps such as the Photos app on the iPhone, however, it's not impossible for people to see the images that users have on their Apple handsets the moment they get them.

While iPhone users are likely to use secure authentication methods like Face ID, Touch ID or passwords to lock and unlock their devices, the lack of an ability to lock apps will mean that if ever someone acquires a person's iPhone, he or she may be able to launch all apps and look at every single thing there.

These precious and supposedly confidential items include videos and photos that users have captured while using their iPhones. Everyone will want to keep these secure, but Apple's failure to provide iPhone users with a way to lock apps allows prying eyes to view them, iPhoneHacks noted. Worse, these people might even share them, if they get the chance.

That said, there's a way to hide photos and videos inside the Photos app so that they can be hidden – or, at least, be kept in a folder that needs more effort to locate and open. While this method does not use a password or other authentication feature to secure images and videos, it will at least prevent those who don't know how to dig from seeing them.

Here's how to hide photos and videos in the Photos app:

  • First, users will need to launch the Photos app on their iPhone.
  • Second, users should then locate the photo or video that they want to hide.
  • Third, the photo or video needs to be opened. Once opened, users must tap on the Share icon located at the bottom left corner of the screen, then tap on the Hide option in the Share sheet.

Users can hide photos or videos one at a time or hide multiple photos and videos all at once. To hide multiple items, users should tap on the Share icon, scroll through the photos and videos and select the ones they want to hide, then tap on Hide after selecting items. A dialog box will appear after this; users must tap on Hide Photo to confirm.

This process will hide all photos and videos in a folder that can be accessed by launching the Photos app, going to the Albums tab, then navigating to “Hidden” under Other Albums.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro - Color Variety
The iPhone 11 Pro's successor is expected to have a better camera setup. Apple