How to Make iOS 18 Photos App Less Annoying

Design changes to frequently used apps are not always well received, and the iOS 18 Photos app updates have been heavily criticized. What many don’t realize is that you can now completely customize the Photos app. While you cannot get the old app back, you can hide any features you don’t use, highlight your favorites, and reorder everything in a way that works best for you.

Jump To:

• How to Customize the Photos App
• Tips to Declutter the Photos App
• FAQ

How to Customize the Photos App

We’ve had many iPhone Life readers ask, “Can I restore the old Photo app in iOS 17?” While you might be able to revert to an older iOS version, we do not recommend doing so for security reasons. Instead, we recommend that you customize the Photos app to make it look more like it used to or even better than before.

1. Open the Photos app.

   
   

2. Scroll to the very bottom and tap Customize & Reorder.

   
   

3. Here you will see a list of collections, which is what the sections of the Photos app are called. If a circle has a check mark, that collection will be visible, while collections with empty circles are hidden.

   
   

4. The three lines on the right, known as the hamburger icons, can be used to move the collections up or down in the list.

   
   

Customizing and mindfully arranging your Photos app makes it super easy to access everything quicker, and you’ll never have to scroll through things you don’t care about to get to what you want. Be sure to check out our free Tip of the Day newsletter for more valuable iPhone tips. 

Tips to Declutter the Photos App

If you are a minimalist, I recommend removing everything except for Albums, Media Types, and Utilities. Other users prefer to keep more collections but simply eliminate Wallpaper Suggestions, Trips, Memories, and Featured Photos. The best way to organize the Photos app depends on you, so I recommend trying out a few different options and seeing how that works for you.

My preference is to only keep Media Types, Utilities, and Albums in that order so that I can quickly access the type of file or the specific album that I am looking for. Another option is to keep those up top and enable everything else below that so you can keep scrolling to discover new things. The default version of the iOS 18 Photos app reminds me of various social media platforms because they show you your content in new ways, sometimes reminding you of something you may have forgotten.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with the Media Types and Utilities collections while you customize because both sections have some new options. You can either swipe left over Media Types and Utilities to see more options or tap on the little arrow next to the name of the collection.

I really like the Recently Viewed, Recently Edited, and Recently Shared Utilities sections because they can help you find something you’ve recently interacted with but may have lost track of. Plus, I really like looking at the Map to see all the different locations where I’ve taken photos.

Now you know how to give your cluttered Photos app a less annoying look and an easier way to navigate. If you ever realize you’re missing something, you can always go back into your customization settings and change things around. Next, learn how to create Reminders in the Calendar App.