A date scrolled too far in your camera roll
Show someone a single photo without giving them your whole library, and tidy up what a stray swipe can reveal.
Open the photo, start Guided Access with a triple-click, turn off Touch in Session Settings and tap Start. The photo stays on screen and swipes do nothing. For everyday safety, hide the photos you would hate to have swiped to.
You pass your phone across the table to show a picture of your dog. Your date swipes left, because that is what people do with photos, and now you are both looking at last month’s screenshots of your ex or a picture from a very different kind of evening.
Set up the one-photo trick in advance
Guided Access locks the iPhone to one app, and it can also shut off touch.
- Open Settings and tap Accessibility, then Guided Access. Turn it on and set a passcode.
- Open the photo you want to show.
- Triple-click the side button. If a panel appears, tap Guided Access.
- Tap Session Settings and turn off Touch.
- Tap Start.
Now hand the phone over. Swiping does nothing, and leaving the app takes your Guided Access passcode or Face ID. Triple-click to end it.
This takes practice the first time. Try it at home so your thumb knows the sequence when you are at a bar.
Sort the camera roll before the next date
Most of the risk comes from photos you took recently, because those are a few swipes away from whatever you are showing. Spend ten minutes on this:
- Tap Select in your library.
- Choose the pictures you would hate to have seen, including screenshots of chats, medical photos and anything intimate.
- Tap the More button, then tap Hide.
Hidden photos leave the library, other albums and the Photos widget. To remove the Hidden album from view, open Settings, tap Apps, tap Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album.
Check the other places photos appear
The library is the obvious place, but your phone has other routes to the same pictures:
- Memories and featured photos. In Photos, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner and turn off Show Featured Content.
- A particular person. Open a photo of them, tap the More button, tap Don’t Feature a Person and choose Never Feature This Person. An ex can stop turning up this way.
- Messages. Photos in a chat stay in the chat. If the person scrolls through a thread, hiding the library copy changes nothing.
- Recently Deleted. Photos stay there for 30 days unless you remove them for good.
Bigger worries than a swipe
The tricks here protect you from a casual swipe. They do little if your date knows your passcode, because the Hidden album opens with it. If you shared intimate photos with someone and that person now uses them against you, go to this page on threats.
Frequently asked questions
Can I show one photo without someone swiping?
Yes, with Guided Access. Turn it on once in Settings under Accessibility, then start a session on the open photo and turn off Touch. The screen ignores all touches until you end the session.
Do hidden photos show up in Memories or the widget?
Apple says hidden photos do not appear anywhere else in Photos, including the Library, other albums and the Photos widget on your Home Screen.
They already saw something. What do I do?
That part is a conversation, and an awkward one. If the photo was of someone else, or they took a picture of your screen, consider telling the person affected. If someone threatens to share an image, read our page on threats.