Apple wants you to remember. Every time you open your phone, it shows you old photos—snapshots of your life. A beach trip with friends. An anniversary dinner. Moments that mattered. The iPhone calls it “featured content.” It pulls these memories from your library and places them in front of you. Not just in the Photos app, but everywhere—on your home screen, in search, in widgets.

That’s fine, until it isn’t. Until an old photo surfaces at the wrong time. A picture you’d rather forget. A moment best left buried. You don’t want to be caught off guard, not while showing your phone to someone else. It’s a problem. But it’s one you can fix. If you don’t want these photos appearing where you least expect them, here’s how to stop it.

Manage Who Appears in Your Featured Photos

If someone’s in your photos a lot, your iPhone thinks they matter. It will show their face in memories, in featured photos, everywhere. Most times, that’s good. You see the people you love. You remember the moments that mattered. But sometimes, things change. Maybe you don’t talk to them anymore. Maybe you don’t want to see their face when you least expect it. You could delete every photo, but that takes time. Too much time. There’s a better way. Open the Photos app. Find a picture of them. Tap the three dots in the corner. Hit Feature This Person Less. Then they’ll start to fade.

You have two choices.

Feature This Person Less—Their face won’t show up alone, but group photos might still appear.

Never Feature This Person—They disappear. No photos, no videos, not even in a crowd.

Disable Memories and Featured Photos Completely

Not every surprise photo is an old lover or a lost friend. Maybe it’s something foolish. Maybe it’s something worse. If you don’t want memories creeping up on you, stop them for good.

Go to Settings. Find Photos. Turn off Show Featured Content. That’s it. No more surprises. No more ghosts.

Additional Ways to Prevent Random Photos from Appearing

This is a good start. But you can do more.

Get rid of the Photos widget. It shows featured pictures, and you don’t control what appears. Maybe it’s harmless. Maybe it’s not. Remove it. Or pick a widget that doesn’t pull from featured photos.

Hide collections in the Photos app. With iOS 18, you can keep certain albums out of sight. Go to Customize & Reorder. Choose what stays. Hide what you don’t want to see—Recent Days, People & Pets, Trips. If you’ve already turned off featured content, some collections will be grayed out. Fewer surprises. Fewer mistakes. More control.

Turn off holiday memories. Maybe you don’t want to see Christmas. Maybe Thanksgiving isn’t what it used to be. Go to Settings > Photos and switch off Show Holiday Events.

Stop photos from showing in search. Type something, and a picture might appear. One you don’t want to see. One you don’t want others to see. Fix it. Go to Settings > Photos. Turn off Show App in Search and Show Content in Search.

Don’t use a featured wallpaper. In iOS 18, your lock screen can cycle through photos all day. Maybe that’s fine. Maybe it’s not. Pick a different wallpaper. No surprises. No regrets.

Conclusion

Your iPhone means well. As a friend who narrates the wrong story at the wrong time. It wants to warm your heart, not stop it cold with a photo that should not be there. A bad memory. A face you’d rather forget. An error that does not require any reminding. Fix it. Change your settings. You’re not erasing the past – you are just choosing the time when you will want to confront it. Avert an ex. Mask the holidays. Leave that wild weekend where it belongs. These tools give you control. Technology should be a tool that helps you, not a tool that turns against you. Take five minutes. Make the changes. This way you will save yourself from the panic of swiping too late. There are some memories that should be left buried and untouched and put under the category of Not Today in your life.

FAQs

Q1: Why does my iPhone keep showing me old photos I’d rather forget?

A: Your iPhone’s “featured content” is supposed to bring back the good memories but it has no feelings to differentiate between “the time you went to the beach with your friends” and “the time your ex cheated on you”. Apple does not want to make you recall the moments that may lead to a therapy session. The Photos app chooses images that it believes will be best for you and your emotional state, but it doesn’t consider the emotional significance of the pictures.

Q2: How can I stop seeing photos of specific people?

A: Did you cringe each time you encounter your ex’s face? There’s a fix for that. Go to the Photos app, select the photo of a person whom you would like to reduce the frequency of seeing, right-click and select “Feature This Person Less.” Decide between meeting them less often or not at all with “Never Feature This Person.” Your iPhone will pick up on this and will spare you the emotional roller coaster ride of memories.

Q3: How do I prevent photos from appearing in search results?

A: It is rather annoying to type ‘dinner’ to search for a restaurant and end up with pictures from the disastrous dinner party of the previous year. To do this, open Settings > Photos and toggle the options of “Show App in Search” and “Show Content in Search” off. This helps to prevent your private photo gallery from interrupting your regular phone usage. It is similar to training your phone that certain information is private, and the search bar does not require it.

Q4: What should I do about the Photos widget on my home screen?

A: Photos widgetfeatures random photos – which can be anything from the pet to the infamous karaoke night. The solution? Remove it or change it with another widget that does not display the featured photos.