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How to hide photos from iCloud

·Written by the developer of Stash

Photos you hide on iPhone still sync to iCloud and to your other devices, so hiding them in the Photos app does not keep them out of iCloud. To hide photos from iCloud you have to stop them from being in your synced library at all. Here are the options, from the simplest to the most private.

Why hiding is not enough

With iCloud Photos on, your whole library, including the Hidden album, is stored in iCloud and appears on every device signed in to your Apple Account and on iCloud.com. Hiding a photo only moves it into the locked Hidden album on each of those devices. There is no switch to exclude a single photo from sync.

Option 1: turn off iCloud Photos on this iPhone

  1. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud > Photos.
  2. Turn off Sync this iPhone (called iCloud Photos on older versions).
  3. Choose to download your originals if you want to keep the full library on the phone.

New photos then stay on this iPhone. Two caveats: photos already in iCloud stay there until you delete them, and if iCloud Backup is on, your Photos library is included in the device backup when iCloud Photos is off.

Option 2: Advanced Data Protection

If you mainly worry about who can read your photos in iCloud, turn on Advanced Data Protection in Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Apple then uses end-to-end encryption for iCloud Photos, so the keys stay on your trusted devices. Your photos still sync everywhere, and the feature is not available in every country. Read Apple's recovery requirements before you switch it on.

Option 3: keep private photos outside the Photos library

If you want iCloud Photos on for everyday pictures but a few photos never in it, store those few somewhere that does not sync:

  • Files, On My iPhone. Save the photo to a folder under On My iPhone, not iCloud Drive. It is not encrypted beyond your phone's normal protection, and anyone with your passcode can browse it; you can lock the Files app with Face ID in iOS 18 and later.
  • A vault app. The photo lives in the app's own storage, behind its own code.

Either way, delete the original from Photos and empty Recently Deleted; otherwise the iCloud copy stays for about 30 days.

Shared Albums

Photos you add to a Shared Album are stored in iCloud even with iCloud Photos off. Check Settings > Apps > Photos > Shared Albums if you want nothing in iCloud.

Where Stash fits

Stash is our app. Photos you import into Stash are encrypted on your iPhone with AES-256 and kept inside the app, not in your Photos library, so iCloud Photos does not upload them. If you choose to back up your vault, Stash uploads the files encrypted to your own iCloud Drive or Google Drive, and they can only be decrypted with your PIN. It looks and works like a calculator until your PIN opens the vault.

FAQ

Do hidden photos sync to iCloud?

Yes. They stay hidden, but they are in iCloud and on all devices that use iCloud Photos.

If I delete a photo on my iPhone, is it gone from iCloud?

It moves to Recently Deleted on all your devices for about 30 days. Empty Recently Deleted to remove it sooner.

Can I hide photos on iCloud.com?

Yes. Select the photo on iCloud.com, open the More menu and choose Hide. It is still stored in iCloud.

Is turning off iCloud Photos risky?

Your photos then exist only on this phone (and in your device backup, if you have one). Make sure you have a backup you trust.