Where the Hidden album is on a Mac
On a Mac, the Photos app keeps the Hidden album out of the sidebar until you show it. The album is locked by default too.
- Open the Photos app on your Mac.
- Click Library in the sidebar.
- In the menu bar, choose View, then Show Hidden Photo Album.
- In the sidebar, click Hidden, under Utilities.
- Click View Album.
- Use Touch ID, or type your Mac’s login password.
Don’t see Hidden in the sidebar? Move the pointer over Utilities, then click the small arrow that appears. On some older versions of macOS, the sidebar has no Utilities, and Hidden is under the sidebar’s Photos heading. To take the album out of the sidebar again, choose View, then Hide Hidden Photo Album.
Who can open the Hidden album on a Mac
The Hidden album has no password of its own. On a Mac, the album opens with Touch ID or your login password. Your login password is the password you type to unlock your Mac. Your Apple Account password is a separate password, for iCloud and the App Store.
- Anyone who knows your login password. The password that unlocks your Mac also opens your Hidden album. So anyone who knows that password can open the album.
- Any fingerprint saved for Touch ID. Touch ID opens your Hidden album with any fingerprint saved to your user account: the account you log in to on the Mac. One user account can save up to 3 fingerprints.
- Anyone at your Mac, if the album’s lock is off. One setting in the Photos app locks the Hidden album and Recently Deleted, where deleted photos wait for 30 days. With that setting off, both albums open without asking, for anyone using your Mac while it’s unlocked.
With iCloud Photos on, the same hidden photos are on your iPhone too, and on any iPad that uses your Apple Account. On an iPhone, Face ID, Touch ID or the iPhone passcode opens the Hidden album. On iCloud.com, in a web browser, signing in to your Apple Account is enough to open the album. You can keep your photos off iCloud.com.
Check that the lock is on
One setting in the Photos app locks both the Hidden album and Recently Deleted. On a Mac, the setting is on by default.
- Open the Photos app on your Mac.
- In the menu bar, choose Photos, then Settings.
- Click General.
- Under Privacy, make sure Use Touch ID or password is selected.
With Use Touch ID or password off, anyone using your Mac while it’s unlocked can open the Hidden album and Recently Deleted.
If other people use your Mac
If someone else knows your login password, the same password opens your Hidden album for them. Apple suggests a separate user account for each person who uses a Mac.
- An account for each person. Each user account has its own login password, so nobody else needs yours. Apple’s steps for adding a user
- A new login password. If others know your login password, give them their own accounts first. Then change your login password, so the old one no longer opens your Mac or your Hidden album. Apple’s steps for changing your login password
- Only your own fingerprints. To see the fingerprints saved to your user account, open System Settings, then click Touch ID & Password. To delete a fingerprint, click the fingerprint, then follow the steps on the screen.
If you don’t need your photos on the Mac, you can turn off iCloud Photos on the Mac only. Your iPhone keeps using iCloud Photos. The steps are on our page about a shared iPad or Mac.
Keep private photos off your Mac
With iCloud Photos on your iPhone and Mac, the photos in your iPhone’s Photos app are on your Mac too, hidden ones included. We make Underlock, a private vault for photos, videos, files and notes. Underlock is for iPhone only: there is no Underlock for Mac.
Underlock is coming soon to the App Store. Here’s how it will work.
- Not on your Mac. Photos in your vault aren’t in the Photos app, so they’re not in iCloud Photos, and your iPad, Mac and iCloud.com don’t show them.
- No syncing to your Mac. Underlock doesn’t sync your vault to an iPad or Mac.
- Your own pattern. You open your vault by drawing a pattern on a grid of dots. Your iPhone passcode, Face ID and Touch ID don’t open your vault.
- Originals out of the Photos app. Underlock copies the photos you choose into your vault. Then Underlock asks whether to remove the originals from the Photos app: you choose Remove or Keep.
- 12 words to get back in. At setup, Underlock shows you 12 words to write on paper. If you forget your pattern, the 12 words open your vault. If you also lose the 12 words, nobody can open your vault, not even us.
See how Underlock’s setup works, step by step.
Questions people ask
The Photos app on a Mac keeps the Hidden album out of the sidebar at first. In the Photos app, choose View, then Show Hidden Photo Album. The album then shows in the sidebar, under Utilities.
Yes, if that person knows your Mac’s login password, or if their fingerprint is saved to your user account. And if the album’s lock is off, anyone using your unlocked Mac can open the album.
Yes, if your iPhone and Mac both use iCloud Photos with the same Apple Account. The photos then go to the Hidden album on your Mac. To check your Mac, open System Settings, click your name, then iCloud, then Photos. If Sync this Mac is off, your Mac doesn’t get the photos from your iPhone.
In the Photos app, Control-click the photo (hold down the Control key as you click), then choose Hide Photo. Confirm when the Mac asks. To unhide a photo, open the Hidden album, Control-click the photo, then choose Unhide Photo. With iCloud Photos on, the change shows on your iPhone too.
No. Underlock is for iPhone only, and Underlock doesn’t sync your vault to a Mac. Photos in your vault aren’t in the Photos app, so your Mac doesn’t show them.
Yes. Underlock is free forever: one vault, no file limit. If the free plan ever changes, you keep the plan you started with. More vaults come with Pro, Underlock’s paid plan.
