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The new iPhone is set up, your photos are there, and then you wonder: did the hidden ones come across? And if they did, are they still hidden, or are they now sitting in the Library for anyone who picks up the phone?

In most cases they arrive hidden. But Apple only says so for one way of moving photos, and the old iPhone is the only safe copy until you’ve checked. This guide covers what Apple says about each transfer method, what changes on the new phone, and a short check to do before you erase anything.

With iCloud Photos, they arrive still hidden

Apple says that when you use iCloud Photos, any photos you hide are hidden on all your devices. It also says changes to your library on one device show up on your other devices signed in to the same Apple Account.

A new iPhone is simply one more of those devices. Once you sign in and turn on Sync this iPhone in Settings → your name → iCloud → Photos, your library downloads, and the photos you hid stay in the Hidden collection. Give it time: a big library can take a while to download, and the Hidden collection fills in with the rest.

This is the one route where Apple’s own words cover the hidden status.

What Apple says about the other ways to move

Quick Start. Apple’s Quick Start page says you can either transfer your data directly from your previous iPhone or have your apps and data download from iCloud. It doesn’t list photos by name, and it says nothing about the hidden status. Expect your photos to come across, but treat “still hidden” as something to check.

An iCloud backup. Apple says iCloud Backup doesn’t include your photos when iCloud Photos is on, because they’re already in iCloud. When iCloud Photos is off, Apple says iCloud Backup may include the photos in your library. Apple doesn’t say whether a restored backup keeps photos hidden.

A computer backup. Apple says a computer backup includes almost all of your data and settings, but not photos already in iCloud Photos or photos synced from a computer. It doesn’t say whether hidden status survives a restore.

Moving from Android. Apple says the Move to iOS app transfers camera photos and videos and photo albums. It says nothing about photos you hid or locked on the Android phone, so after the move, check whether they arrived and whether they’re showing in your Library.

What changes on the new phone

The lock is on. Apple says the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections are locked by default and open with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. The switch is Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) in Settings → Apps → Photos. Set up Face ID on the new phone first, then check the switch is on.

The album is visible. Apple says the Hidden album shows by default on iPhone. If you’d turned it off on the old phone, check Show Hidden Album in Settings → Apps → Photos on the new one.

Shared Library photos are hidden for everyone. If you hid a photo that’s in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, Apple says it moves to the Hidden album for every participant, and they can view it or stop hiding it. That doesn’t change with a new phone. Do Hidden Photos Show Up in Shared Albums on iPhone? covers the details.

Check before you erase the old iPhone

1. Let both phones finish syncing. In Photos, tap Collections and look at your account picture in the top-right corner. A partly filled blue circle around it means photos are still uploading to iCloud. Tap your account picture to see when the phone last synced.
2. Open the Hidden collection on both phones. Tap Collections, then Hidden (below Utilities), then View Album. Compare a few photos and the rough count.
3. Scroll the new phone’s Library. Make sure none of the hidden photos are showing there.
4. Check Recently Deleted on the old phone. Anything you deleted in the last 30 days is still there, unless you already removed it for good. Decide whether you need it before the old phone is gone.
5. Sign out, then erase. Apple warns that while you’re signed in to iCloud, deleting photos by hand removes them from iCloud and all your connected devices. So don’t clean up the old phone photo by photo. Sign out first, then use Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings.

If something is missing, keep the old phone as it is and wait for iCloud to finish, or move the photos again. For a photo vault app rather than the Hidden album, the steps are different: see How to Move a Photo Vault to a New iPhone Without Losing Photos.

Hidden still isn’t locked away

A new phone is a good moment to ask whether “hidden” is enough. The Hidden album opens with the same passcode as the phone, so anyone who knows that passcode can open it, as Is the iPhone Hidden Album Encrypted? explains.

A vault keeps photos out of your library completely. Hidlet keeps them in encrypted vaults that open only with a pattern you draw, never with your iPhone passcode. With encrypted backup turned on, a vault moves to a new iPhone too: install Hidlet, draw your pattern, and the vault downloads. Restoring with your pattern needs iCloud Keychain turned on; if it’s off, the vault’s 9-word recovery phrase brings it back instead. Hidlet is available on the App Store.

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