How to hide and lock videos on iPhone
Written for iPhone owners who want to hide or encrypt personal videos so they do not appear in Photos, widgets, iCloud or storage review screens
Short answer
You can hide a video in Apple Photos the same way you hide a still photo: touch and hold the video, tap Hide, and confirm. That moves the clip to Utilities > Hidden behind Face ID and your iPhone passcode. Unlike still photos, however, videos cannot be locked inside a password-protected Apple Note, and large videos left in the Photos library can still appear in iPhone Storage management lists. To lock videos behind a code separate from your iPhone passcode, move them into an on-device encrypted vault app and empty Recently Deleted.
On this page
Hiding a video on an iPhone looks identical to hiding a photo at first, until you run into three video-specific quirks in iOS: Apple Notes refuses to lock notes that contain videos, 4K videos are large enough to show up in iPhone Storage’s “Review Personal Videos” list, and video files carry their own QuickTime GPS and creation-date atoms inside the .MOV container.
Here is how each method for hiding videos on an iPhone behaves in practice.
Comparing the 4 ways to hide or lock videos on iPhone
| Method | Supports .MOV / .MP4 video playback? | Separate lock from iPhone passcode? | Leaves Apple Photos & iCloud? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Photos Hidden album (Apple Support 104987) | Yes | No (opens with Face ID or iPhone passcode) | No |
| Locked Apple Note (iPhone User Guide) | No (Notes refuses to lock a note containing a video) | Yes (for text/photos only) | No |
Saving to the Files app (Save to Files) | Yes | No (Files has no folder password; only Require Face ID on the whole app) | Leaves Photos, syncs to iCloud Drive unless saved to On My iPhone |
| Dedicated on-device encrypted vault | Yes (in-app encrypted playback) | Yes (separate pattern or PIN derives key) | Yes (once deleted from Photos & Recently Deleted) |
Method 1: Hide videos in the built-in iPhone Hidden album
If you just want a video out of your main camera roll and nobody else knows your iPhone passcode, follow the iPhone User Guide steps:
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone and find the video in your library or under Media Types, then Videos.
- Touch and hold the video thumbnail (or open the video and tap the three-dot More button in the top-right corner), then tap Hide and confirm Hide Video.
- Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Photos, and verify that Use Face ID is switched on; switch Show Hidden Album off if you want the Hidden row concealed from Utilities as well.
- When you want to watch the hidden video later, scroll to the bottom of Photos under Utilities, tap Hidden, and authenticate with Face ID or your passcode.
Why the Apple Notes trick does not work for videos
Many online articles recommend hiding private media inside a locked Apple Note. If you try that with a video clip on an iPhone, you will hit a hard wall: Apple Notes explicitly prevents locking any note that contains video, audio, PDF or file attachments (Lock your notes on iPhone). Only plain text and inline still images can sit inside a password-locked note.
The “Review Personal Videos” leak in iPhone Settings
Even after you hide a large video inside the Apple Photos Hidden album, watch out for one overlooked menu in iOS:
- Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Photos (Manage your photo and video storage).
- Under Recommendations, iOS generates a Review Personal Videos list showing your largest video files sorted by megabytes so you can delete big clips.
- Similarly, if you delete a video from Photos and forget to empty Utilities > Recently Deleted, the clip remains recoverable for 30 days behind the same device passcode.
Method 2: Move videos into an on-device encrypted vault
To remove a video completely from Apple Photos, Review Personal Videos, Spotlight and iCloud Photos, and lock it behind a code that is independent of your iPhone passcode:
- Import the video from your library into an on-device encrypted vault app (or record directly inside the vault’s camera so the clip never touches Apple Photos in the first place).
- Confirm the prompt to Remove from Photos once the vault finishes encrypting the file.
- Open Photos > Collections > Utilities > Recently Deleted, unlock with Face ID, and tap Delete All so the unencrypted original is erased immediately from both your iPhone and iCloud.
Questions
Can I lock a video inside a password-protected Apple Note on iPhone?
No. While Apple Notes lets you lock text and still photos with a password, Apple’s Notes app does not allow locking a note that contains video, audio, PDF or file attachments.
Where do hidden videos go on iPhone?
They move to Photos > Collections > Utilities > Hidden, alongside hidden photos. Opening Hidden requires Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode.
Do hidden videos still show up in iPhone Storage settings?
Videos inside the Apple Photos library count toward your Photos storage bar, and large clips can appear under Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Photos > Review Personal Videos for anyone who has your unlocked phone.
Do hidden videos sync to iCloud Photos?
Yes. If iCloud Photos is turned on, hidden videos upload to iCloud and sync to the Hidden album on your iPad and Mac, consuming your iCloud storage plan.
What happens after I import a video into a vault app and delete it from Photos?
Deleting a video from Apple Photos moves it to Collections > Utilities > Recently Deleted for 30 days. You must open Recently Deleted and tap Delete All to remove the unencrypted video from your iPhone and iCloud immediately.
Keep reading
How to hide photos on iPhone
Touch and hold a photo, tap Hide and confirm. Anyone who knows your passcode can still open the Hidden album.
GuideHow to lock photos on iPhone so nobody else can open them
Locking the Hidden album or the Photos app still falls back to your iPhone passcode. Here is how all four iPhone photo locks compare.
GuideHow iPhone photo storage works: local, iCloud and encrypted options
Local Photos, iCloud Optimize Storage, and separate encrypted vaults store your files very differently. Here is how each one works.
