How to password protect a video on iPhone

Not directly. The Photos and Files apps have no option to lock one video with its own password. What iOS offers is a lock around a place that holds the video: the Hidden album in Photos, or a locked note in Notes. Each one is simple, and each has limits that are worth knowing before you rely on it.

1. 1Open Photos and open the video.
2. 2Tap the More button (three dots), then Hide, and confirm Hide Video. You can also touch and hold a video in the grid and choose Hide.
3. 3The video moves out of your main library and into the Hidden album: Albums, then Utilities, then Hidden.
4. 4On iOS 16 and later the Hidden album is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Check it under Settings, then Photos, and you can also turn off Show Hidden Album so it disappears from the album list. See how to find the Hidden album on iPhone if it is missing.

Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open the Hidden album, and an iCloud Photos library syncs it to your other devices. How to hide photos on iPhone explains what hidden really means.

1. 1In Notes, create a new note and tap the paperclip or camera button.
2. 2Choose Photo Library or Choose Photo or Video, and pick the video.
3. 3Tap More, then Lock, and set a password for notes or use Face ID.
4. 4Lock the note. The video is now only visible after unlocking.

The note keeps its own copy, but the original is still in Photos until you delete it. Long videos make a note heavy and slow to open, so this suits short clips. Details are in how to lock notes on iPhone.

If you want a passcode that is separate from your iPhone passcode, Lockboxy is an iPhone app that stores photos, videos and files in an encrypted vault.

1. 1Open Lockboxy and unlock it with its passcode.
2. 2Go to Media, tap +, pick the video and choose Hide.
3. 3iOS shows its own confirmation before the original is removed from your Photos library. Confirm it if you want the video to leave the library.
4. 4Open the video from Media for full-screen playback. To put it back, select it and tap Unhide.

You can also share a video into Lockboxy from Photos, Files or another app through the Share Sheet.

Videos in Lockboxy are encrypted with AES-256 on your device, and the vault key comes from the Lockboxy passcode, not from your iPhone passcode. The videos do not appear in the Photos app, in Memories or in search. There is no account and no server holding a copy, and the vault works offline.

That also means there is nothing to recover from for us: if you forget the passcode, nobody can open the vault unless you made a Recovery Key (Premium) beforehand.

Whichever option you choose, the original may still be in your library, Recently Deleted or an iCloud backup. Check these:

1. 1In Photos, delete the original if you moved the video elsewhere.
2. 2Open Albums, then Recently Deleted, and delete it there too. Otherwise it stays for up to 30 days. See how to permanently delete photos on iPhone, which also applies to videos.
3. 3Check chats and cloud services you may have shared the video through, since those copies are not touched.

• Hidden album and locked notes protect against casual viewing, not against someone who knows your iPhone passcode.
• Nothing here deletes copies you already sent to other people or apps.
• Videos are large. A vault copy uses storage on your phone like any other file, so move only what needs protecting.
• The free plan has room for up to 30 photos or videos and 10 files. The price of Premium is shown in the app before you buy; see the Premium page.
• Apple can rename menus between iOS versions. If a step does not match your screen, use Search in Settings.