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Sealed vs the iPhone Hidden album
The Hidden album is free, built in and good at one job: keeping a photo out of the main grid. Sealed is built for a different job: making a file unreadable to anyone without your passphrase.
Point by point
| Point | Sealed | Hidden album |
|---|---|---|
| Each file encrypted with its own keyOn the phone, before it is saved | ✓ | Ordinary photo |
| Separate from your iPhone passcodeA different secret to get in | ✓ | Passcode opens it |
| Kept out of iCloudNot synced to other devices or iCloud.com | ✓ | Syncs when iCloud Photos is on |
| Out of your photo libraryCan remove the originals after adding | ✓ | Stays in your library |
| Documents and any filePDFs, IDs, records | ✓ | Photos and videos only |
| Encrypted file and folder namesNames say nothing on disk | ✓ | — |
| Slows down guessingLonger waits after wrong tries | ✓ | ✓ iPhone passcode limits |
| Face ID lockQuick unlock | ✓ | ✓ Since iOS 16 |
| Built in, nothing to install | ✗ | ✓ |
| FreeSealed is weekly or a one-time purchase | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works across your devicesSealed stays on one iPhone | ✗ | ✓ iPhone, iPad and Mac |
The honest case for the Hidden album
It's free, it's already on your iPhone, and since iOS 16 it can sit behind Face ID. There's no app to install and no one to trust beyond Apple. If all you want is to keep a photo from popping up when you hand someone your phone to look at a picture, it does that well, and you don't need Sealed.
Hidden isn't encrypted
A hidden photo is still an ordinary photo in your library. It moves to a different album, not into separately encrypted storage. Sealed encrypts each file on your phone with its own key before it's saved, so the file on disk is unreadable without your passphrase.
It follows iCloud Photos
If iCloud Photos is on, hidden photos are part of your iCloud library. They sync to your other devices, and unless you've turned on Advanced Data Protection, Apple holds the keys to that library. Sealed has no cloud: your vault stays on your iPhone and is kept out of iCloud backups.
Your passcode is the whole lock
The Hidden album opens with Face ID, and Face ID falls back to your iPhone passcode. Anyone who knows your passcode can open it. Sealed uses its own passphrase, so knowing your passcode isn't enough.
What you give up with Sealed
- It costs money: weekly or a one-time Lifetime purchase.
- It stays on one iPhone. No syncing to your iPad or Mac, and the vault can't move to a new phone.
- You must remember your passphrase, or keep your recovery key. There's no reset.
Bottom line
For keeping a photo out of casual view, the Hidden album is free and fine. For photos and documents that must stay private even from someone who knows your passcode, gets your backups, or copies your phone's files, you need encryption, and that's what Sealed is for.
The Hidden album details reflect Apple's Photos app on iOS 16 and later. Check Apple's own documentation for your iOS version.