Delete or Hide People Album Photos on iPhone

If you use the People album in the Photos app on your iPhone, you may want to remove someone who appears incorrectly, hide a person you don’t want to see, or delete photos from that album entirely. This guide walks you through both hiding and deleting people and their photos, and it covers what actually happens to the underlying photos so you can manage your library with confidence.

What You’ll Need

An iPhone running iOS 16 or later (steps are similar on older versions but menu names may differ slightly).
The Photos app with iCloud Photos enabled if you want changes to sync across your devices.
Your device passcode or Face ID/Touch ID if you have sensitive photos hidden.

Step-by-Step

Hide a Person from the People Album

Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
Tap the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down to the People & Places section and tap People.
Tap the person you want to hide to open their individual album.
Tap the three dots (•••) in the top-right corner of the screen.
From the menu that appears, choose Hide from People Album.
Confirm by tapping Hide in the pop-up. The person will no longer appear in the People album, but their photos remain in your library.

Unhide a Person

Return to the People album.
Tap Show All (or scroll to the bottom and tap Show All if you have many people).
Find the hidden person under the Hidden section.
Tap the person, then the three dots (•••).
Choose Unhide from People Album.

Delete Photos from a Person’s Album

Open the People album and tap the person whose photos you want to delete.
Tap Select in the top-right corner.
Tap each photo you want to delete (a checkmark appears). You can also tap Select All if you want to remove everything from that person’s album.
Tap the trash icon at the bottom.
Confirm by tapping Delete. The photos are moved to the Recently Deleted album.

Important: Deleting a photo from a person’s album deletes it from your entire Photos library, not just from that album. If you only want to remove the photo from the People album but keep it in your library, you should hide the person instead (as described above) or remove the face tag from the photo.

Remove a Face Tag (Keep the Photo, Remove from Person’s Album)

Open the photo in your library.
Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
Tap the three dots (•••) in the top-right corner of the editing screen.
Choose Markup? No, instead choose Remove from People (or Not this person if it’s a misidentified face).
Confirm. The photo stays in your library but is removed from that person’s album.

Common Mistakes

Deleting instead of hiding: Many users tap delete when they really want to hide. Hiding removes the person from the People album but keeps all photos; deleting removes the photos from your entire library.
Forgetting to confirm: On some iOS versions, you must tap Hide or Delete in a confirmation pop-up. Skipping this step means nothing happens.
Not checking Recently Deleted: Deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. If you change your mind, you can recover them from there.
Assuming hidden means deleted: Hidden people are not deleted. They are simply moved to a separate section that you can unhide later.

Tips

Use the Hidden folder for sensitive photos: If you want to hide specific photos from your main library, select them, tap the share icon, and choose Hide. They move to the Hidden album under Utilities.
Merge duplicate people: If you have two entries for the same person, open one person’s album, tap the three dots, and choose Merge with Another Person to combine them.
Turn off People album entirely: Go to Settings > Photos and toggle off People Album to disable face recognition on your device.
iCloud sync: Changes you make to People albums sync across your Apple devices if iCloud Photos is enabled. This includes hiding and deleting.

Troubleshooting

Hidden person still appears: If a person you hid still shows up in the People album, try force-quitting the Photos app (swipe up from the bottom and pause, then swipe the app away) and reopening it. If that doesn’t work, restart your iPhone.

Delete option is grayed out: This can happen if you’re trying to delete a photo that is part of a shared album or if the photo is still uploading to iCloud. Wait for the upload to finish, or remove the photo from the shared album first.

Can’t find the three dots: On some iOS versions, the three dots are located in the top-right corner of the person’s album, but on older versions you may need to tap Edit first. If you don’t see the dots, tap the person’s name at the top of the album.

Person won’t unhide: Make sure you are looking in the Hidden section of the People album. If you don’t see it, scroll down to the bottom and tap Show All.

Deleted photos still in Recently Deleted: If you want to permanently delete them now, go to Albums > Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the photos, and tap Delete again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does hiding a person delete their photos?

No. Hiding a person only removes them from the People album. All their photos remain in your library and in any other albums.

Can I delete a photo from a person’s album without deleting it from my library?

Yes. Use the Remove from People option in the photo’s edit menu. This removes the face tag but keeps the photo.

How do I recover a photo I deleted from a person’s album?

Go to Albums > Recently Deleted, select the photo, and tap Recover. You have 30 days before it’s permanently deleted.

Why is a person showing up in my People album that I don’t know?

Face recognition can sometimes group similar faces together. Open the person’s album, tap the three dots, and choose Review to confirm or reject the person. You can also hide them.

Will hiding a person sync to my other devices?

Yes, if you have iCloud Photos enabled, hiding and unhiding people syncs across all your Apple devices.

Can I hide the entire People album?

Yes. Go to Settings > Photos and toggle off People Album. This hides the album from your Photos app, but your photos remain untouched.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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