Apple Photos Hidden album or an encrypted vault?

Quick answer: Apple Photos’ Hidden album is a useful built-in option for photos and videos you want out of your main library view. A separate vault is worth considering when you need different credentials, separate collections, or storage for other files. Encryption and recovery differ between vault apps; the word “vault” alone tells you little.

Published by Chreia Labs, the maker of Ego. This comparison describes Apple’s documented behavior and Ego’s current development design, checked October 29, 2026. Ego has not launched publicly.

When Apple Photos is enough

If your goal is to keep selected photos and videos out of your library, other albums and the Photos widget, try Hidden first. It is built into Photos, locked by default on current iOS versions, and its collection can also be removed from view. With iCloud Photos enabled, hiding follows your library across devices. See Apple’s Hidden album guide.

You avoid importing a second copy into another app and managing another app’s recovery process. Our step-by-step hiding guide explains the controls.

What a different passcode changes

The Hidden collection uses the iPhone’s authentication, rather than a distinct code for each collection. Apple documents Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode for access. See its photo privacy guidance.

Ego instead uses a separate six-digit passcode for each newly created vault. Unlocking one opens that vault, whose name appears after authentication. Each vault has an independent encryption key; local access also depends on the original iPhone’s device-only key. Multiple vaults require Alter Ego.

A separate app code is useful only if you keep it separate in practice. It does not protect files you export, outside copies, or content already visible on an unlocked screen. Ego does not promise protection from a compromised iPhone or concealment of all storage activity.

Photos and videos, or files too?

Hidden belongs to your Photos library. Ego stores imported photos, videos and files, including documents, inside an app vault. This can suit a collection that needs media and documents together.

Importing does not automatically delete the original. A file can remain in Photos, Files, messages, shared albums or backups. Check our guide to outside copies before removing anything.

Sync and recovery need their own decision

iCloud Photos keeps a library current across devices; edits and deletions propagate too. Apple distinguishes that from the iPhone’s general iCloud Backup. See how iCloud Photos works and what iCloud Backup includes.

Ego’s local recovery and manual exports require the original iPhone. Its separate, optional encrypted iCloud backup is designed to restore a completed copy on another supported iPhone using the same iCloud account and the complete saved recovery key. It is not multi-device sync or version history. Physical-device cloud recovery remains unverified, and the feature has not launched publicly.

That distinction matters more than a lock icon: read the backup and recovery comparison before relying on any copy.

Choose the simpler option that meets your need

• Use Hidden when you want photos out of the main library while keeping the familiar Photos workflow.
• Evaluate a separate vault when you need independent codes, separate encrypted collections, or documents alongside media.
• Check recovery first if keeping access after a lost or replaced phone is essential.

For Ego’s free and paid features, planned pricing and current limits, read the product details. For a broader checklist, see how to choose an iPhone vault.