Keep private photos off your iPhone Lock Screen and widgets.

Quick answer: Move sensitive items to the Hidden collection so they do not appear in the Photos widget or other library views. In Photos, open Collections, tap your account, and turn off Show Featured Content if featured photos or memories should not rotate on widgets. Long-press the Lock Screen, tap Customize, and remove photo-related widgets or choose wallpaper that does not include private images.

Hide photos so they skip the Photos widget

1. Open the photo or video in Photos.
2. Tap the More button (•••), then tap Hide and confirm if asked.
3. To hide several items, tap Select, choose them, tap More, then Hide.

Apple’s Hidden album instructions state that hidden photos and videos move to the Hidden album and do not appear elsewhere in Photos, including the Photos widget on the Home Screen. The Hidden album is locked by default on current iOS versions and requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode to open in Photos. Hiding does not encrypt files or remove copies saved outside Photos. For the full workflow and limits, see how to hide photos on iPhone.

Turn off featured photos and memories on widgets

1. Open Photos and tap Collections.
2. Tap your account in the upper-right corner.
3. Turn off Show Featured Content to stop automatic featured photos and memories.
4. Optionally turn off Show Holiday Events if holiday memories should not appear in featured content.

Apple’s guide to hiding people, memories, and holidays explains that you can show certain people less often and turn off featured content in both the Photos app and the Photos widget. You can also open a photo, tap More, and choose Don’t Feature a Person when a specific face keeps resurfacing.

Review Lock Screen widgets and wallpaper

1. Wake iPhone and touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears.
2. Tap Customize, then tap Add Widgets or an existing widget.
3. Remove widgets that could show personal information, or avoid adding a Photos widget here.
4. When choosing wallpaper, pick a photo or design that is safe to display whenever the Lock Screen is visible.
5. When finished, swipe down from the widget list and tap Done.

Apple’s widget instructions describe adding and removing Lock Screen widgets on supported iOS versions. A wallpaper or widget can expose an image even when the rest of the phone stays locked.

Limit what works while iPhone is locked

1. Open Settings, then tap Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode.
2. Under Allow Access When Locked, review options such as Today View, Notification Center, and widgets.
3. Turn off access you do not want available from the Lock Screen.

Apple’s Lock Screen features guide notes that turning off Lock Screen access to a feature can prevent someone with your iPhone from viewing personal information it might contain, such as an upcoming event in the Calendar widget. It also removes quick access for you. Notification previews on the Lock Screen are a separate control; see how to limit notifications before screen recording for preview settings that also affect banners and the Lock Screen.

What these steps do not do

• Hiding or turning off featured content does not delete photos or guarantee that every copy disappears from iCloud, shared albums, Messages, or backups.
• Locking or hiding the Photos app does not remove widgets or wallpaper you already configured. See how app lock differs from file privacy.
• A separate encrypted vault keeps items out of the main Photos library only after you import them there; it does not change Apple’s Lock Screen by itself. Read Hidden album vs an encrypted vault and what happens to originals after import.

Ego is in development for iPhone; its public App Store release has not launched. When available, it is designed as separate on-device encrypted vaults with their own passcodes, not as a Lock Screen or widget filter for Apple Photos. Read the current product and availability details; do not assume a vault blocks Lock Screen previews of items that remain in Photos or other apps.