Secure Folder on iPhone: What iOS Can Lock and What It Can't

Short answer: iPhone has no Secure Folder like Samsung’s. iOS can lock some things on their own: notes, the Hidden photo album, individual apps and individual PDFs. Most of them open with your iPhone passcode, and none holds all your files in one locked place. For that you need a vault app, such as Cubbylock (in development).

This guide is for anyone moving from Android, or anyone who wants IDs, scans and private files out of plain view. It covers every built-in option, what each one really protects, and when a separate app makes sense. Steps checked against Apple’s documentation for iOS 26 and later.

What iOS can lock today

What	Where	What it opens with
Individual notes	Notes > note > More (…) > Lock	iPhone passcode, or a separate Notes password
Photos and videos	Photos > Hidden album (under Utilities)	Face ID, Touch ID or iPhone passcode
Whole apps	Touch and hold an app icon > Require Face ID	Face ID, Touch ID or iPhone passcode
Individual PDFs	Files > open the PDF > Lock PDF	A password you choose

Lock notes

Notes is the closest thing iOS has to a locked folder. You can put text, checklists, photos and scanned documents in a note and lock it.

1. Open Settings > Apps > Notes > Password.
2. Choose Create Password to use a password that is different from your iPhone passcode, and add a hint. Turn on Face ID if you want it.
3. Open a note, tap More (…), then tap Lock.

A note can’t be locked if it has tags, contains a PDF, audio, video, or a Pages, Numbers or Keynote file, or is shared with someone. The full walkthrough is in how to lock notes on iPhone.

Hide photos in the Hidden album

1. In Photos, select the photos or videos.
2. Tap More (…), then Hide, and confirm.
3. To see them, open Utilities > Hidden and unlock with Face ID.

To keep the album out of sight, turn off Settings > Apps > Photos > Show Hidden Album.

Lock or hide an app

1. Touch and hold the app icon.
2. Tap Require Face ID to lock it, or Hide and Require Face ID to also move it into the Hidden folder in the App Library.

You can lock the Files app this way, so opening it needs Face ID. Only apps you downloaded can be hidden; built-in apps such as Files can be locked but not hidden.

Lock a PDF

1. Open the PDF in Files.
2. Tap the file name at the top, then Lock PDF.
3. Enter a password twice and tap Done.

This works one PDF at a time, and only for PDFs.

What iOS can’t lock

• A folder in Files. There is no lock for folders, on the iPhone or in iCloud Drive.
• Files other than PDFs. Word files, spreadsheets, images saved in Files and ZIP archives can’t be locked one by one.
• Mixed content in one place. Your passport scan ends up in Notes, its photo in the Hidden album and the PDF in Files, each with its own lock.

More on this in how to hide files on iPhone.

What this doesn’t protect

• Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode. Locked apps, the Hidden album and passcode-locked notes all fall back to the passcode. A partner, child or coworker who has seen you type it can open them.
• Signs that something is hidden. A hidden app’s name still shows in Screen Time, battery usage and your App Store purchase history. The Hidden album shows up if Show Hidden Album is on.
• Other devices on your Apple Account. Locked notes and hidden photos sync through iCloud, so anyone using your Mac or iPad with your login sees the same protections, and the same passcode or password opens them. App locks stay on the device where you set them.
• A forgotten Notes password. Apple can’t open notes locked with a password you forgot. Resetting the password only applies to notes you lock afterwards.

How to keep files in a real secure folder

If your private items are mostly text and scans, a note locked with a separate Notes password is free and works well. If they include PDFs, other files, or a mix of things you want in one place, use a vault app. Look for:

1. Encryption on the device, before anything is stored or backed up.
2. Its own unlock code, separate from your iPhone passcode.
3. A recovery method you control, so a new phone or a forgotten code doesn’t lock you out for good.
4. An encrypted backup, so losing the phone doesn’t mean losing the files.
5. No account and no ads, so your files aren’t tied to a profile.

Cubbylock is designed around those five points: every item is encrypted on your iPhone, opens with a code separate from your passcode, and can be restored with a recovery phrase. It is in development; see the planned features.

How we checked this

We checked every step against Apple’s own documentation (support.apple.com) on 25 Oct 2026, for iOS 26 and later. We haven’t tested this guide on a device yet.

Methods compared

Method	Hidden from people using your phone	Needs more than your iPhone passcode	Works for files and documents
Locked note (Notes password)	Content hidden, title of the note visible	Yes, with a separate Notes password	Text, photos and scans; not PDFs
Hidden album	Yes, if Show Hidden Album is off	No	Photos and videos only
Locked or hidden app	Locked: no. Hidden: mostly	No	Whatever the app holds
Locked PDF in Files	No, the file is visible	Yes, its own password	PDFs only, one at a time
Cubbylock (in development)	Designed to keep items inside the app only	Designed to use its own code	Designed for files, PDFs, photos, scans and notes

If you only need to lock a few notes, start with Notes. If you want IDs, documents and files together behind one code that isn’t your passcode, a secure folder app is the missing piece.