Photos app missing utilities

What has changed on your device, before you could no longer see Recently Deleted and Hidden?

Did you perhaps install a system upgrade?

The more recent system versions iOS17, iPadOS 17 and macOS 14 can be set to require face id or Touch ID to allow access to the Hidden album and recent deleted album. By default, the this protection is enabled. You can change this in the system settings. The Hidden album may be hidden on a Mac, you can change this in the View menu.

Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone

Hide photos from view in Photos on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

The "Utilities" section is gone in iOS 18 / iPadOS 18. Apple has changed the layout of the folders and albums, as has the Terminology. Apple has renamed many items that previously have been called albums or folders, they are now called "Collections", because Photos is curating the contents in these items and presenting a curated collection.

On an iPhone or iPad we can freely rearrange which collections are shown and pin the the collections we want to access frequently - you will have to do this first to find the missing collections, see this help age: Customize the Photos app on iPhone

Is this an iPhone or a Mac or an iPad? If this is an iPhone, it might be that the Utilities section has been hidden, as léonie suggested.. At the bottom of the screen there is a menu called Customize & Reorder:



It's usually below Utilities, but when you click on the Menu you get this:

You can see that I have unchecked Wallpaper Suggestions because I'm not interested. Even Utilities can be unchecked so it doesn't show up. Any of these sections can be moved to a different screen location as well.

Try looking in there and letting us know how it goes…

Strange, on my iPhone with iOS 18 the previous "Utilities" category is now called "Sonstige" (in German), which translates to "Others", not to "Utilities". I wish, they would translate the user interface consistently.

léonie wrote: Strange, on my iPhone with iOS 18 the previous "Utilities" category is now called "Sonstige" (in German), which translates to "Others", not to "Utilities". I wish, they would translate the user interface consistently.

I sure looked twice when you said the Utilities section was gone! How about on the Mac?

What device: iPhone, iPad, Mac?

What system level?

Maybe somebody can help you given those bits of information.

On the Mac it is also "Sonstige" (Others), not Utilities.

"Others" may be a better description. Then you don't have to explain why, on a Mac, Recently Edited is a Utility, but Recently Saved is not.