PHOTOS · 3 NOVEMBER 2026
How to keep private photos out of Memories, widgets, and search
Hide the photo (fixes most of it)
Hidden photos do not appear in your Library, in albums, or in the Photos widget, and they are left out of Memories and Featured Photos. Select the photo, tap More (•••), and choose Hide. That alone solves most surprises.
Turn off Featured Content
If you would rather the Photos app did not surface photos on its own:
- Open Settings → Apps → Photos (or Settings → Photos on older versions).
- Under Memories & Featured Photos, turn off Show Featured Content.
This stops featured photos and memories from appearing in Photos and in widgets.
Remove a single photo from Featured Photos
In For You or the Featured Photos collection, touch and hold the photo and choose Remove from Featured Photos. For a memory, open it and choose Delete Memory, or Feature a Person Less if a particular person keeps appearing.
Check the Lock Screen and Home Screen
- Photo Shuffle wallpaper: long-press the Lock Screen, choose Customize, and check which albums or people the shuffle uses.
- Photos widget: long-press the widget to edit it, or remove it.
Keep photos out of search
To stop Photos content appearing in iPhone search results, open Settings → Apps → Photos → Siri & Search (or Settings → Siri & Search → Photos on older versions) and turn off the options that show content in search and suggestions.
The thorough option
All of these settings reduce surprises; none of them stop someone who opens your Photos app on purpose. Photos you never want to surface belong outside the library: move them into an encrypted vault and delete the originals. Vaultage's own search is encrypted inside the vault and never shared with Spotlight.