Umbra vs the iPhone Hidden album
The Hidden album is free, built in and locked with Face ID. For keeping photos off your main grid, it’s all most people need. It falls short in one specific way: anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open it.
Apple has made the Hidden album much better over the years. Since iOS 16 it’s locked by default, and you can remove it from the Photos app entirely. So the honest question isn’t whether it’s useless (it isn’t), but who you’re hiding photos from.
At a glance
| Hidden album | Umbra | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built in | Free for 3 vaults, 100 photos, 10 videos |
| Opens with | Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode | A pattern only you know |
| Encrypted with its own key | No, protected like the rest of your phone | Yes, AES-256-GCM per file |
| In iCloud | Yes, with iCloud Photos, hidden on all your devices | Only as encrypted backups, if you turn them on |
| Separate hidden spaces | One album | Several vaults, never listed |
| Decoy if you’re forced to unlock | No | Yes, duress pattern (Pro) |
| Screenshots blocked | No | Yes |
| Logs wrong attempts | No | Yes |
| Notes and documents | Photos and videos only | Photos, videos, PDFs, scans and notes |
| Works on Android | No | Yes |
Hidden album details are from Apple’s guides to hiding photos and the locked Hidden album.
The honest case for the Hidden album
- It’s already on your iPhone and costs nothing.
- Since iOS 16 it’s locked by default with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
- You can turn off Show Hidden Album in Settings, then Apps, then Photos, so it doesn’t appear at all.
- It works with iCloud Photos, so hidden photos stay hidden on your iPad and Mac too.
If you just don’t want certain photos turning up when you hand someone your phone to show a picture, that’s enough. Our guide to hiding photos on iPhone shows how to set it up properly.
Where it falls short
Your passcode opens it
Apple says the Hidden album unlocks "using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode". Partners, kids and friends often know or have seen your passcode. With it, they can open the Hidden album as easily as you can. Face ID doesn’t help if someone can just tap Use Passcode.
Hidden isn’t separately encrypted
Hidden photos are kept the same way as the rest of your library: protected by your iPhone’s own encryption while it’s locked, and readable to anyone who can unlock it. There’s no second key that only you hold.
It travels with your library
With iCloud Photos, hidden photos are part of your iCloud library and appear (hidden) on every device signed in to your Apple Account. A shared or family iPad signed in with your account carries them too.
Everyone knows where to look
Every iPhone has a Hidden album in the same place. If someone wants to know what you’re hiding, it’s the first place they’ll check, and turning off Show Hidden Album is a setting anyone can turn back on.
What a vault adds
Umbra keeps photos inside the app, encrypted, behind a pattern that has nothing to do with your passcode.
- A separate key. Your pattern is stretched with Argon2id and mixed with a secret that never leaves your phone. Every file gets its own AES-256 key.
- Several vaults, never listed. Each pattern opens its own vault, and the unlock screen is just a grid of dots.
- A decoy for when you’re forced. With Pro, a duress pattern opens a harmless vault and removes the way into the rest.
- Screenshots come out black, and the app switcher shows a cover.
- A break-in log of wrong attempts.
- No account, no analytics. Recovery is a 12-word phrase only you hold.
When to use which
- Use the Hidden album to keep photos off your main grid and away from a casual scroll.
- Use Umbra for photos you’d be upset for someone with your passcode to see, or when you need a believable answer if someone makes you open it.
Plenty of people use both: the Hidden album for things that are merely awkward, and a vault for things that are genuinely private.
Questions
Is the iPhone Hidden album private?
It keeps photos off your main library and asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. It’s private from casual browsing, but not from anyone who knows your iPhone passcode.
Can someone else open my Hidden album?
Yes, if they know your iPhone passcode. Apple’s Hidden album unlocks with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode.
Is the Hidden album encrypted?
Your whole iPhone is encrypted when it’s locked, and hidden photos are covered by that. They don’t have a separate key of their own, so once the phone is unlocked, the passcode is the only barrier.
Should I move photos from the Hidden album to a vault?
If the reason you hid them is a person who might know your passcode, yes. Import them into Umbra, let Umbra delete the originals, then empty Recently Deleted in Photos.
Checked against public pages on 20 October 2026. Details change, so check the linked pages before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.