The Lock Screen camera

The Lock Screen camera lets you take photos and videos into Hidden without unlocking your iPhone. Each shot is encrypted the moment it’s taken, and the camera itself can’t see anything already in Hidden.

What it is

Paperwise adds a camera control to iOS that you can place in three spots:

the Lock Screen (in place of the flashlight or camera button at the bottom)
Control Center
the Camera Control button, on iPhones that have one

The control comes in two names that do exactly the same thing:

Paperwise private camera
Quick Camera: a neutral name, useful if you use a disguised app icon

It opens Paperwise’s private camera, with Photo and Video modes, even while your iPhone is locked. A small count (“Taken this session”) shows how many shots you’ve taken, with no thumbnails of earlier ones. When you’re done, the camera says “Saved encrypted to Hidden. Open Paperwise to see them.”

Your shots appear in Hidden the next time you open it.

When to use it

When a moment won’t wait for Face ID and unlocking.
When you don’t want a photo to touch the Photos app at all, even for a second.
When you’d rather not open Paperwise in front of other people.

Step by step

Add the control

This needs iOS 18 or later.

Lock Screen: touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, choose the Lock Screen, tap one of the two buttons at the bottom to replace it, then search for Paperwise private camera or Quick Camera.
Control Center: open Control Center, touch and hold an empty area, tap Add a Control, then search for Paperwise.
Camera Control button: in the iOS Settings app, go to Camera → Camera Control and choose Paperwise as the app it opens.

(These are iOS screens, so their wording can change slightly between iOS versions.)

Take photos and videos

With the iPhone locked or unlocked, tap the control (or press the Camera Control button).
Choose Photo or Video and take your shots.
Lock the iPhone again or tap Open Paperwise.

See them in Hidden

Open Paperwise and go to Hidden. Face ID (and your Hidden code or pattern, if you use one) opens it.
Paperwise imports the waiting shots into Hidden and deletes them from the camera’s holding area. They’re under the Photos chip.

Choose which space receives them

In Hidden settings, the switch Lock Screen camera saves here decides whether this space takes in Lock Screen shots. It’s on for your first space. If you use separate spaces (Pro), new spaces start with it off. Shots wait, encrypted, for the space opened last with this switch on.

Free and Pro

The Lock Screen camera is free.

Privacy

The capture camera runs separately from the app and works while the iPhone is locked. It encrypts every photo and video the moment it’s taken, using a public key: a key that can lock things but not open them. It holds no key that opens Hidden and can’t read anything already in Hidden.
Shots are never saved to the Photos app or iCloud Photos.
The holding area contains only encrypted data until Hidden imports it. An emergency passcode unlock replaces the camera’s key, so shots not yet imported are lost. Open Hidden soon after taking them.
With a Hidden passcode on, that public key is shared by all your spaces, so it doesn’t reveal which space was open last.
Seeing what you took always needs the app, Face ID and your Hidden passcode if you use one. Unlocking the iPhone during a session doesn’t show you earlier shots.

Tips

If you use a disguised icon, add Quick Camera rather than Paperwise private camera. Some places still say “Paperwise”, such as the text iOS shows when you take photos with the iPhone locked.
If the switch in Hidden settings reads Shared items save here instead, this iPhone can’t use the Lock Screen camera (it needs iOS 18 or later). The switch then only decides where items shared to Hidden go.

What if…

What if my shots don’t show up in Hidden?

They wait for the space opened last with Lock Screen camera saves here on. Open that space. If you’ve just set up Hidden, open it once so the camera has a key to encrypt to.

What if I can’t find the control?

Make sure Paperwise is installed and has been opened at least once, and that the iPhone runs iOS 18 or later. Then search for “Paperwise” or “Quick Camera” when adding a control.

What if someone uses the control on my locked iPhone?

They can take new photos into your Hidden, but they can’t see anything already there, not even earlier shots from the same session.