Showing someone your photos without surprises

You hand someone your phone to show a holiday photo. Then they swipe. This guide covers what your phone already does about that, where it stops, and what Facet adds.

What your phone already offers

• iPhone: the Hidden album. Hide a photo and it moves out of your main library into the Hidden album, which opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode on recent versions of iOS. You can also switch the album off in Settings, under Apps, then Photos, with Show Hidden Album.
• Android: Google Photos has a Locked Folder you move photos into. Some phones, such as Samsung, have their own private folder.
• Any phone: make an album with only the photos you want to show, and open that.

Where that falls short

You have to choose every photo yourself, one at a time or in batches. Screenshots, scans and photos taken last week are easy to forget. The moment you forget one, it's in the camera roll.

What Facet does

Facet is a separate gallery that sorts your photos automatically on your phone. Library only shows photos Facet is confident are fine to show. Anything it is sure shouldn't show goes to Filtered, and anything it isn't sure about waits in Review. Both open with Face ID or your phone's own lock.

Facet is cautious on purpose. It doesn't sort every photo perfectly, and a harmless photo sometimes lands in Review or Filtered. You choose which photos to show, and your choice always wins over Facet's verdict.

What Facet doesn't do

It doesn't change your Photos app, and it never moves, edits or deletes a photo. Someone who opens your Photos app will still see everything there. Open Facet when you show someone your phone. If you need photos gone from your phone's gallery entirely, a different kind of app is a better fit.

Analysis happens on your phone, and Facet collects no data.