iOS 18 packs several exciting features to enhance the user experience, and the Photos app is no exception. The redesigned iOS 18 Photos app lets you filter edited photos, exclude screenshots from your photo library, customize the order of collections, and more.
Additionally, the Utilities collection now displays more image types such as Recently Saved, Recently Viewed, Recently Edited, and Recently Shared items. You can also pin these collections to Pinned Collections for quicker access.
In iOS 26, the Recently Viewed feature remains available with similar functionality.
What are Recently Viewed Photos?
Recently Viewed photos are images you’ve looked at recently within the Photos app. iOS 18 and iOS 26 keep track of these photos to make them easily accessible for quick reference. However, unlike the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums, there is no option to lock Recently Viewed using Face ID or a passcode.
How Can I Remove Recently Viewed Pictures on My iPhone?
While this feature is convenient, there may be times when you want to clear your Recently Viewed history for privacy reasons or to reduce clutter in the Photos app.
Though you can’t disable Recently Viewed photos on your iPhone, you can remove photos from the Recently Viewed album without deleting them from your library. Fortunately, iOS 18.2 and later introduced some small yet crucial changes, including the ability to clear the Recently Viewed and Recently Shared albums.
Let’s see how to remove Recently Viewed photos in the Photos app on iOS 18.2 or iOS 26.
NOTE: Clearing Recently Viewed photos does not delete the actual images from your library.
How to Clear Recently Viewed Photos in iOS 18 and iOS 26
Important: Before proceeding, make sure your iPhone is running iOS 18.2 or later (including iOS 26).
- Open the Photos app.
- On iOS 18: Scroll down to the Utilities section.
- On iOS 26: Tap the Collections tab, then scroll down to Utilities.
- In Utilities, swipe left and tap on the Recently Viewed album.
- To remove all Recently Viewed photos at once, tap the ellipsis button (3 dots) at the top right and select Remove All from Recently Viewed.
- Tap Remove All from Recently Viewed again to confirm.
That’s it. All items will be removed from Recently Viewed but will remain in your photo library.
TIP: You can also remove individual photos if you prefer not to clear them all.
To do this:
- Go to the Recently Viewed album and open the photo or video you wish to delete from Recently Viewed.
- Tap the 3-dot menu at the top right and select Remove from Recently Viewed.
- Confirm to proceed.
Similarly, you can select multiple photos and remove them in one go.
Hide Recently Viewed in iOS 18 Photos App
Note: The option to hide collections (such as Utilities) is no longer available in iOS 26.
Unlike Recently Deleted, the Recently Viewed album cannot be secured using Face ID or a passcode. However, you can hide the Recently Viewed section by disabling the Utilities collection in the Photos app.
To hide Recently Viewed in Photos on iOS 18:
- Open the Photos app, scroll to the bottom, and tap Customize & Reorder.
- Uncheck the checkbox next to Utilities to hide it.
Additionally, remove Recently Viewed from your Pinned Collections to further minimize visibility.
Doing this helps limit access to your Recently Viewed and Recently Shared history. That said, anyone familiar with the redesigned Photos app may still be able to view the hidden sections.
ALSO READ: How to Go Back to the Old Screenshot Method in iOS 26
