How to see hidden photos on a Mac
Written for macBook and iMac users looking for photos they hid on their Mac or iPhone, or troubleshooting why the Hidden album is missing from the sidebar
Short answer
Unlike on iPhone, Apple Photos on a Mac hides the Hidden album from the sidebar by default. To see your hidden photos on a Mac, open the Photos app, click View in the top menu bar, choose Show Hidden Photo Album, click Hidden under Utilities in the left sidebar, and unlock it with Touch ID or your Mac login password. When you finish, click View > Hide Hidden Photo Album so the row disappears from the sidebar again.
On this page
If you hide a photo on your iPhone (or press Command + L on a photo on your Mac) and then look at the left-hand sidebar of the Photos app on your MacBook or iMac, you will not see a Hidden album anywhere.
Nothing is broken: Apple Support documents that while iPhone shows the Hidden album under Utilities by default, macOS hides the Hidden album row by default until you reveal it from the top menu bar.
Where hidden photos live on Mac (Photos app vs Finder)
How to view hidden photos on Mac in four steps
Follow Apple’s macOS Photos User Guide steps to reveal, unlock and unhide items inside the Photos app:
- Open the Photos app on your Mac and look at the very top macOS menu bar (next to the Apple logo and Photos menu).
- Click View in the top menu bar and select Show Hidden Photo Album.
- Look at the left-hand sidebar of the Photos window under the Utilities heading, click Hidden, and click View Album to authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac login password.
- To return a photo to your main library, Control-click (right-click) the photo and choose Unhide Photo (or press Command + L), then click View > Hide Hidden Photo Album when you finish so the sidebar row is concealed again.
Troubleshooting: why the Hidden album is empty or won’t unlock on Mac
| Symptom on your Mac | Cause | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
Show Hidden Photo Album is greyed out in the View menu | You have zero hidden photos in the currently open Photos library, or you are looking at a secondary .photoslibrary file. | Hold Option while launching the Photos app to check which .photoslibrary is marked as your System Photo Library. |
| Photos hidden on your iPhone are not showing in Hidden on your Mac | iCloud Photos is turned off on one of the devices, or iCloud sync is paused. | Open Photos > Settings > iCloud on your Mac and verify that iCloud Photos is ticked on both your Mac and your iPhone. |
| The Hidden album opens immediately without asking for Touch ID or a password | The lock toggle was switched off in Photos settings, or you already unlocked Hidden during the current app session. | Open Photos > Settings > General on your Mac and tick Use Touch ID or password for the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. |
| You hid loose files in Finder, not in the Photos app | Files starting with a dot (.photo.jpg) or marked chflags hidden live in Finder, not inside the Photos library. | Open the folder in Finder and press Command + Shift + Period (.) to toggle invisible files into view. |
What the Mac Hidden album does NOT protect against
Just like on iPhone, the macOS Photos Hidden album uses your Mac user login password rather than a separate password:
- Anyone who knows your Mac login password (or sits down at your unlocked MacBook and types that password when prompted) can click View > Show Hidden Photo Album and open every hidden photo, including the ones synced over from your iPhone!
- If you want to lock a folder of photos on a Mac with a separate password, use macOS’s built-in Disk Utility to create an AES-encrypted disk image (
.dmgor.sparsebundle), as detailed in our guide on how to hide photos on Mac. - If you want photos taken on your iPhone never to sync onto your Mac at all, move them out of Apple Photos on your iPhone into a local encrypted vault app and empty Recently Deleted.
Questions
Why is the Hidden album not showing in the Photos sidebar on my Mac?
According to Apple Support, on Mac the Hidden album is turned off in the sidebar by default. Open Photos, click View in the top menu bar at the top of your screen, and click Show Hidden Photo Album to make it appear under Utilities.
What password unlocks the Hidden album on a Mac?
Since macOS Ventura, the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums in Photos are locked by default and open with Touch ID on your Mac keyboard or your macOS user account login password.
How do I unhide a photo on Mac once I open the Hidden album?
Inside Utilities > Hidden, Control-click (right-click) the photo or video thumbnail and choose Unhide Photo, or select the item and press Command + L on your keyboard.
Why are photos I hid on my Mac still missing?
If iCloud Photos is turned on, check that your Mac is connected to Wi-Fi and that the bottom of your Library view says Synced with iCloud. Also check Utilities > Recently Deleted in case the photos were deleted rather than hidden.
How do I view hidden Finder files and folders on a Mac (not inside the Photos app)?
If you hid loose image files inside a Finder folder using a leading dot (such as .photos) or chflags hidden, open the folder in Finder and press Command + Shift + Period (.) to toggle hidden files on and off.
Keep reading
How to hide and lock photos on a Mac
Press Command + L for Apple Photos' Hidden album, or create an encrypted disk image in Disk Utility when someone shares your Mac login.
GuideHidden photos on iPhone: where they go and who can see them
Where do hidden photos go on iPhone, how do you open them in iOS 18+, and who can still see them? The full breakdown.
GuideHidden photos disappeared on iPhone? How to get them back
Check these 5 places in order when your iPhone Hidden album or hidden photos seem to have vanished.
