How to Lock Videos Behind Face ID on iPhone

Option 1: the Hidden album

Select a video in Photos, tap the three-dot menu and choose Hide. The Hidden album is locked with Face ID by default on iOS 16 and later (check Settings > Apps > Photos > Use Face ID). It is quick, but the video was visible in Recents before you hid it, it still syncs to iCloud Photos, and anyone who knows the trick can find the album in the Utilities section and be prompted for Face ID.

Option 2: a locked note

You can attach a video to a note and lock the note with Face ID. It works, but Notes is not a video player, large files make iCloud sync slow, and you still have to delete the original from Photos.

Option 3: record into a Face ID-locked library

If the videos are ones you record yourself, the simplest route is a camera whose library is locked from the start. Multi-mode Video Recorder keeps every recording inside the app rather than in Photos, and a single switch puts the whole library behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.

1. Open the app, tap the gear to open Settings.
2. Under Privacy, turn on Lock library with Face ID. iOS verifies you once to enable it.
3. From now on the library asks for Face ID whenever you return to the app, and it locks again when you leave.
4. Turning the lock off also requires Face ID, so nobody can quietly disable it.

The app never sees your face data or your passcode; it only receives a yes or no from iOS. Recordings are additionally encrypted with iOS data protection while the phone is locked.

Which option should you pick?

• Videos already in Photos that you rarely watch: the Hidden album.
• A short clip attached to private notes: a locked note.
• Videos you record going forward and want kept out of Photos entirely: a locked recorder library.