Hidden album or photo vault: which do you need?
What the Hidden album does
When you hide a photo, it won't show up with your other pictures. You'll only find it in the Hidden collection. The collection is locked by default, and opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. You can also take the collection out of view in Settings, under Apps, Photos.
With iCloud Photos on, a picture you hide is hidden on all your devices. It syncs like your other photos. That's a sync, not a separate backup: delete it on one device and it goes from all of them.
What a photo vault does
A vault app keeps pictures inside the app, usually behind a separate lock. They aren't in Photos at all. How safe that is depends on the app: look for real encryption, a clear explanation of what happens if you forget the code, and honest answers about backups.
Side by side
| Hidden album | FirstHour's Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| Opens with | Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode | Its own 5×5 pattern or 6-digit PIN |
| Someone who knows your passcode | Can open it | Can't open it without your pattern or PIN |
| Encryption | No separate encryption. It's protected like your other photos. In iCloud, Apple holds the keys unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection | Each photo and video sealed with AES-256-GCM on your iPhone |
| Backed up | Through iCloud Photos, or a device backup if iCloud Photos is off | Only if you save an encrypted backup file yourself |
| If you lose your iPhone | Still there if you use iCloud Photos or have a backup | Gone, unless you saved a backup and kept your recovery phrase |
| If you forget the code | Apple's passcode reset. If that isn't possible, the iPhone must be erased, and pictures come back only from iCloud Photos or a backup | A recovery phrase you wrote on paper |
| Cost | Free, built in | To be announced |
How to choose
- You don't want a picture popping up when you show someone your phone: the Hidden album is probably enough.
- Someone close to you may know your passcode: use something with its own lock.
- You can't risk losing the picture: make sure it's backed up somewhere. A vault on one phone isn't a backup until you make one.
- You don't need the picture at all: delete it. That's safer than any vault.
How FirstHour helps
FirstHour starts one step earlier. Protect finds pictures of cards, IDs and codes you may have forgotten, and the Vault locks away the ones you need to keep. It checks each locked copy before iPhone asks to remove the original. Keep in mind that backups aren't automatic: without one, deleting FirstHour or losing your iPhone loses what's inside.
Questions
Does FirstHour check my Hidden album?
No. FirstHour doesn't check pictures in your Hidden album, so look through it yourself.
Is a calculator-style vault app safer?
A disguise doesn't protect your pictures by itself. What matters is how the pictures are encrypted and what happens to them if something goes wrong.
Sources
- iCloud data security overview, Apple Support
- iCloud Backup and iCloud Photos, Apple Support
- If you forgot your iPhone passcode, Apple Support
- Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone, Apple Support