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Remove Screenshots From iPhone Photos Without Deleting Them

Name: Pizazoo
Author: Pizazoo

Hide screenshots from your iPhone camera roll with View Options or the iOS 27 Captured by Me filter, how Hidden differs, and how to move them out.

October 6, 20265 min read

Muhammed BasilFounder & maker of Pizazoo

To remove screenshots from your iPhone Photos library without deleting them, open Photos, tap the Sort and Filter button, tap View Options, then tap Screenshots. Your Library stops showing them, but nothing is deleted: they are still in Collections, Media Types, Screenshots. In iOS 27 there is a second option, the Captured by Me filter, which shows only what your Camera app took.

The steps below follow Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and iOS 26, with notes for iOS 18 and iPad.

How do I hide screenshots from my iPhone camera roll?

On iOS 26 and iOS 27:

Open Photos and go to your Library.
Tap the Sort and Filter button, then tap View Options.
Tap Screenshots to hide them. Tap it again to bring them back.

The same menu can also hide From My Mac (photos and videos synced from your Mac) and Shared with You (photos and videos shared with you in Messages). Apple documents these steps for iOS 27 and iOS 26, and lists hiding screenshots among the View Options in Browse your photo library on iPhone.

On iOS 18, swipe down on the photo grid first, then tap the Filter button, View Options and Screenshots (Apple, iOS 18 guide).

On iPad with iPadOS 27, tap Library, then the Sort and Filter button, View Options and Screenshots (Apple).

What hiding with View Options does not do

It only changes what the Library grid shows. The screenshots are not deleted, they still sync with iCloud Photos, and they still take up space: Apple notes that items in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage and your device storage (Apple). When you want them, open Collections, Media Types, Screenshots (Apple).

What does the Captured by Me filter do in iOS 27?

iOS 27 lets you filter the Library by categories such as Edited, Rating and Captured by Me, and its Media Types filter shows only photos, videos or screenshots. Tap the Sort and Filter button, then tap a filter; tap Remove Filters to see everything again. You can apply several filters at once (Apple). The same filters work inside a collection (Apple).

Captured by Me is stricter than hiding screenshots. 9to5Mac describes it as including "only media that's been captured by your Camera app," so "you won't see screenshots, images your friends sent you, or any other types of content." MacRumors notes it is also a new Utilities collection with the images you took with the Camera app "on your current or past iPhone."

Which one to use:

View Options, Screenshots: you want everything except screenshots, including images you saved from other apps.
Captured by Me: you want only your own camera photos and videos.

Should I put screenshots in the Hidden album?

Usually not, unless they are private. To hide a screenshot, open it (or tap Select and choose several), tap the More button, then tap Hide. Apple says hidden photos move to the Hidden collection and "You can't view them anywhere else." The Hidden collection is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode by default, and with iCloud Photos, items you hide are hidden on all your devices (Apple).

That makes Hidden a good home for screenshots of bank details, IDs or passwords, and an awkward one for everyday clutter, because every look means unlocking it. To unhide, tap Collections, tap Hidden (below Utilities), tap View Album, unlock, tap the screenshot, tap More, then Unhide. To take the Hidden collection out of view entirely, go to Settings, Apps, Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album (Apple).

Can I move screenshots out of Photos instead of hiding them?

Not inside Photos. Adding screenshots to an album does not take them out of your Library, and Remove from Album only takes a screenshot out of that album (Apple).

A real move takes two steps: copy the screenshots somewhere else, then delete them from Photos.

Copy them out. Apple's guide covers exporting unmodified originals to an external drive or memory card: select the items, tap Share, tap Export Unmodified Original, then choose the device (Apple).
Delete them from Photos. Follow how to delete all screenshots on iPhone at once. Deleted items stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days, and with iCloud Photos on, they are deleted on all your devices (Apple).

Hide, filter, Hidden or move: which one fits?

	View Options: Screenshots	Captured by Me (iOS 27)	Hidden album	Move out of Photos
What leaves the Library view	Screenshots	Anything not from the Camera app	The items you hide	The items you move
Still in Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes, locked	No
Uses iCloud storage (with iCloud Photos)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Getting them back in view	Tap Screenshots again	Remove Filters	Unlock, then Unhide	Import them again
Best for	A clean camera roll	Browsing only your photos	Private screenshots	Fewer items in Photos

How do I keep screenshots in Pizazoo instead of Photos?

If you want screenshots out of Photos for good but still searchable, a screenshot organizer can be the place they move to. We make Pizazoo, so read this section as the developer's description.

Pizazoo for iPhone and iPad is free on iOS and iPadOS 17 or later. It picks up the screenshots in your photo library when you open the app, sorts them into categories with on-device AI and indexes the text inside each one for search, with results in iOS Spotlight too, and Siri can open a search in the app.

In Pizazoo's Settings, turn on Remove from Photos after import.
A confirmation sheet asks before anything is removed ("Remove N from Photos").
Removed originals go to Photos' Recently Deleted, where they stay for 30 days.
For images from other apps, Save to Pizazoo in the share sheet lets you add a category, tags and a note, and its Remove from Photos toggle moves the original to Recently Deleted the next time you open Pizazoo.

The result is a camera roll with your photos in it and a screenshot library you can search. One caution: with iCloud Photos on, removing from Photos applies on all your devices, and Pizazoo's copies reach your iPad or Mac only with iCloud Sync, part of the one-time Pro upgrade and off by default.

Related guides:

Get Pizazoo for iPhone on the App Store. Free, iOS 17+, on-device.