What Hidden is

Hidden is a separate, locked place inside Paperwise for the things you’d rather nobody stumbled on: IDs, medical papers, private photos and videos, secure notes. It looks and works like the rest of your vault, but its items have their own keys and open only with Face ID (and your Hidden passcode or pattern, if you add one).

What it is

Think of it like the Hidden album in Photos, with a real lock on it. Everything Paperwise stores on your iPhone, your vault included (All items, your folders, the shelves), is encrypted with its own key, kept in this iPhone’s Keychain. Hidden goes further:

Its own keys, behind Face ID. Every item in Hidden is encrypted on your iPhone with its own key. Those keys are locked behind Face ID, and behind your Hidden passcode or pattern if you set one. Without them, the files are unreadable.
Kept apart from everything else. Hidden items never appear in All items, your folders, the shelves, the vault’s search, the AI helper or notifications, and nothing from Hidden is ever sent to AI. Paperwise has no widgets that could show them.
Locks itself. Hidden locks when you leave the app, after 5 minutes without use, or when you tap ••• → Lock now.
Screenshots blocked. Hidden screens block screenshots and screen recording, and the app switcher shows a cover instead of your content. This is best effort: iOS can’t stop every capture, such as another camera pointed at the screen.

	Your vault	Hidden
Protected by	Paperwise’s encryption, with a key kept on this iPhone (not behind Face ID), and the app lock (Face ID) when it’s on	Paperwise’s encryption, with keys behind Face ID (and your Hidden passcode, if set)
Shows in the vault’s search	Yes	Never
Can be sent to AI	Only when you allow it (Pro)	Never
Deleting	Goes to Recently deleted for 30 days	Gone at once
Opening	Face ID, when the app lock is on. IDs, medical, bank and tax papers always ask	Always Face ID, plus your code or pattern if you add one

Inside Hidden you’ll find one grid with the chips All, Documents, Photos and Notes. At the bottom, the Camera button opens the private camera and + adds scans, files, secure notes, and moves things in from Photos or from the vault.

When to use it

Passports, ID cards, residence permits, medical results and anything you’d hate to see on screen while someone looks over your shoulder.
Private photos and videos you want out of the Photos app.
Notes with passwords, account numbers or other details you only want behind a lock.

Your vault is locked with Face ID. IDs, medical, bank and tax papers get extra care automatically: their previews are blurred, opening, sharing or exporting them asks for Face ID, and AI never names them automatically. Anything nobody should even know exists goes in Hidden.

Your vault’s documents are encrypted too, but their key isn’t behind Face ID, so sync and the backup work with the app lock off. That also means something running as Paperwise on your unlocked iPhone could read the vault. Turn the app lock on, and put what needs more in Hidden.

Step by step

On the Vault, scroll to More and tap Hidden (or go to Account → Lock and privacy → Open Hidden if you’ve turned off “Show Hidden in vault”).
The first time, tap Set up Hidden and save your recovery key. See Set up Hidden.
After that, Face ID opens it. Add things with Camera or +.

Free and Pro

Hidden is free: one space, Face ID with an optional code or pattern, the private camera, the Lock Screen camera, and moving photos and videos in from Photos.

Pro: up to 9 more spaces (10 in all), each opened by its own passcode, an emergency passcode for each space, the disguised app icon, share links from hidden items and sync across iPhone and iPad.

Privacy

Everything Paperwise stores on your iPhone (pages, files, photos, thumbnails and the database of titles, text, notes and tags) is encrypted with its own key, kept in this iPhone’s Keychain for this device only. Readable copies exist only while you scan, view, edit or share. Hidden adds keys only Face ID, your Hidden passcode or your recovery key open.
Hidden items are encrypted on your iPhone as they’re saved. Their keys stay on your devices, behind Face ID and your Hidden passcode if you set one.
If you use sync (Pro) or the encrypted iCloud backup, hidden items travel only as ciphertext, under their own Hidden keys. A space is restored on another iPhone only with its recovery key.
Our server can count your synced hidden items and see their sizes; it can’t open them. The details are in the security whitepaper.
By default Hidden opens with Face ID alone, so anyone who can pass Face ID on your phone can open it. Add a code or pattern for a second lock. See Unlock options.

Tips

Use Move to Hidden on any document (••• → Move to Hidden) to move it from the vault into Hidden.
Turn on Save to Hidden on the scan review screen to send a new scan straight to Hidden, with no copy in the vault.
Keep your Hidden recovery key somewhere other than your iPhone.

What if…

What if I don’t see Hidden on the Vault?

“Show Hidden in vault” is off. Turn it back on in Account → Lock and privacy, or open Hidden from there with Open Hidden. See Show Hidden in vault.

What if I delete something in Hidden by mistake?

Deleting in Hidden is immediate: there’s no Recently deleted, and the app asks you to confirm Delete forever first for that reason. If you only want something out of Hidden, use Unhide instead, which moves it back to your vault.

What if someone else can pass Face ID on my phone?

With Face ID only (the default), anyone who can pass Face ID on that iPhone can open Hidden: Hidden is exactly as strong as that check. Add a Hidden passcode or pattern for a second factor: then Face ID alone, or the phone’s own passcode, isn’t enough.