Where’s my ipad’s Hidden folder?
Q
In Issue 612’s Problems Solved, you answered Michael Duffy’s question about restricting photo access to apps installed on his ipad. His question and your reply both mentioned an ipad Photos folder called Hidden. There was no more detail about this folder, which is fair enough because Michael already knew about it. However, I’m wondering if you could tell me how to enable this feature? Len Wentworth
A
You’re right – the reason we didn’t go into the detail about the Hidden folder is because Michael already knew about it – but we’re happy to explain here. It may seem confusing given its name and purpose, but the Hidden folder doesn’t actually need to be enabled because it’s enabled by default. What’s more, it’s not really hidden. Instead, photos in the Hidden folder won’t appear in an iphone or ipad’s normal photo library, photo widgets and so on. The folder itself is easy to find for anyone who has physical access to your device – unless you hide the folder itself – but we’ll explain all as we go.
First, to check that your Hidden folder is enabled as it should be, launch Settings and then, on the left, tap Photos. Next, on the right, find the Hidden Album switch. If necessary, tap to switch it to its On position (see screenshot above).
Even when you have enabled the Hidden folder, it won’t reveal itself until you send one or more photos its way. To do this, launch the Photos app. Tap to select a photo or, if you want to send several to the Hidden folder, choose Select then tap to tick all those you wish to hide. Next, tap the Share icon – the little box with an up arrow – then Hide, followed by Hide Photo or Photos (see screenshot above).
Now the Hidden folder will appear in the left-hand pane of the Photos app’s home screen (you might need to tap the Utilities heading to see it). Tap it to see the photos you’ve ‘hidden’.
Bear in mind that these photos are not really hidden – they simply won’t appear in some places the ipad (or iphone) would normally show them. If you want to hide the Hidden folder itself, return to Settings and flip the Hidden Album switch to Off (while remembering that anyone who has physical access to your device and knows how to do it could simply switch it back on!).