# The Use Face ID switch is missing

> No Use Face ID switch in your iPhone Photos settings? You may be on iOS 15 or earlier, in the wrong Settings screen for iOS 18, or have Touch ID. How to tell.

Source: https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/use-face-id-toggle-missing/ · Updated 2026-11-01 · By VaultForYou

![Photos settings with Use Touch ID highlighted](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/img/fix--use-face-id-toggle-missing.png)

- 3 causes

The switch has three names and two homes, and it doesn't exist before iOS 16.

- **Causes:** 3
- **Steps:** 3

**Short answer:** Look for **Use Face ID**, **Use Touch ID** or **Use Passcode**: the name follows how your iPhone unlocks. On **iOS 18 and later** it is in **Settings › Apps › Photos**, not the old Settings › Photos. If none of the three is there, your iPhone runs **iOS 15 or earlier**, which can't lock the Hidden album.

Causes

## Causes, most likely first

| Cause | How to tell | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| iOS 15 or earlier | Settings › General › About shows 14.x or 15.x | Update to iOS 16 or later, if your model can |
| Looking for the wrong name | You see Use Touch ID or Use Passcode | That is the same switch |
| Wrong Settings screen on iOS 18+ | No Photos row on the main Settings page | Settings › Apps › Photos |

3 steps

## Find the switch on iOS 18 and later

1. **Open Settings › Apps › Photos.** Open **Settings**, tap **Apps**, then **Photos**.
2. **Turn on Use Face ID.** Switch **Use Face ID** on. iPhones without Face ID show **Use Passcode** instead.
3. **Test the lock.** Open Photos, go to Utilities and tap Hidden. It should ask you to unlock before showing anything.

These models stop at iOS 15 and never get the switch: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE (2016), iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus. For a lock on them, use a locked note.

Did that fix it?

Good. People usually do this next:

- [Lock the Hidden album](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/guides/lock-hidden-album-iphone/)
- [What else it locks](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/shows-in/recently-deleted/)

Find your fix:

- [I'm on iOS 15](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/ios/ios-15/)
- [Check my model](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/iphone/)

> Tired of fixing the Hidden album? Try a vault with its own lockVaultForYou keeps the photos, videos and documents you choose in a private vault that opens only with a pattern you draw. [Get VaultForYou](https://www.vaultforyou.app/)Free to download · iPhone, iOS 16 or later

Questions

## Use Face ID switch missing: questions

### Why don't I have Use Face ID in Photos settings?

Either your iPhone runs iOS 15 or earlier, where the Hidden album has no lock, or you are in the wrong place. On iOS 18 and later the switch is under Settings › Apps › Photos. On iPhones with Touch ID it is called Use Touch ID, and some show Use Passcode.

### Which iPhones can't lock the Hidden album?

Models whose newest software is iOS 15: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and the first iPhone SE. Apple added the Hidden album lock in iOS 16, so these models never get the switch. A locked note with a password is the built-in alternative.

Checked against Apple's documentation

- [Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphb4defbde9/ios)
- [Hide photos with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987)

## Go deeper

- [iPhone 7Stops at iOS 15](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/iphone/iphone-7/)
- [iPhone 8Has the lock (iOS 16)](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/iphone/iphone-8/)
- [Touch ID](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/glossary/touch-id/)

## Other fixes

- [Not in Utilities](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/hidden-album-not-in-utilities/)
- [Not asking for Face ID](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/hidden-album-not-asking-for-face-id/)
- [Empty after update or restore](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/hidden-album-empty-after-update/)
- [Can't find Utilities (iOS 18)](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/cant-find-utilities-ios-18/)
- [Not on my Mac](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/hidden-album-not-on-mac/)
- [Not syncing to iPad](https://hiddenalbumiphone.com/fix/hidden-album-not-syncing-to-ipad/)