Short answer. No. iPhone has no equivalent of Samsung’s Secure Folder: no separate, password-protected space with its own photos, files and apps. What it has is a Hidden album, locked notes and locked or hidden apps. Together they cover some of the same ground, but each one opens with your phone passcode and each one tells a curious person that something is being kept from them.
What Samsung’s Secure Folder does
On Galaxy phones, Secure Folder is a separate, encrypted space with its own PIN, password or fingerprint. You can keep photos, files and even second copies of apps in it, and hide its icon. That is the thing people mean when they ask for a “secure folder on iPhone”.
The closest options on iPhone
1. The Hidden album (photos and videos)
Select photos in Photos, tap More (•••), then Hide. They move to Utilities › Hidden, which asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. In Settings › Apps › Photos you can turn off Show Hidden Album, so the album itself is out of sight.
2. Locked notes (photos, scans and text)
In Notes, open a note, tap More (•••) and choose Lock. A locked note can use your iPhone passcode or a separate Notes password, and photos or scans you add inside it are locked with it. It is the only built-in place on iPhone that can have its own password.
3. Locked and hidden apps (iOS 18 and later)
Touch and hold an app and choose Require Face ID, or Hide and Require Face ID for most apps. Hidden apps move to a Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library and open only after Face ID or your passcode.
How to make a “secure folder” on iPhone
- Put photos and videos in the Hidden album and turn off Show Hidden Album.
- Put documents, scans and anything that needs its own password in a locked note with a separate Notes password.
- Lock (or hide) any app that holds private things.
Where that falls short
| Option | Own password | Looks ordinary | Decoy if someone insists | Kept off the cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden album | No (passcode works) | No (“Hidden”) | No | Not if iCloud Photos is on |
| Locked notes | Optional | No (shows a lock) | No | Not if iCloud Notes is on |
| Hidden apps | No (passcode works) | No (“Hidden” folder) | No | n/a |
| VaultSec | Yes, its own PIN | Yes: looks like an ordinary app | Yes | Yes, no cloud at all |
The pattern: Apple’s tools are built to keep things out of the way, not to keep them secret from someone who has your phone and your passcode. If that is your situation, you need a vault that has its own key and doesn’t look like a vault. Our seven checks for photo vault apps show how to tell a real one from a PIN screen in front of unencrypted files.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the secure folder on iPhone?
There isn’t one. The nearest equivalents are the Hidden album in Photos (under Utilities), locked notes, and the Hidden folder in the App Library.
Can I lock a folder on iPhone with a password?
Not a Files or Photos folder. A locked note can have its own password, and photos inside it are locked with it.
Can I put a password on the Photos app?
You can lock it with Face ID (touch and hold the icon, then Require Face ID), but the passcode still opens it.
Is the Hidden album encrypted?
All iPhone data is encrypted at rest, but the Hidden album has no key of its own: anyone who can unlock the phone can open it.
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