How do I disable background photos in photo albums on iPhone?

With the recent updated, ALL my photo albums now have background photos from that particular album. THIS IS VERY AGGRAVATING AND DISTRACTING. We, as $$$$ Iphone owners, should have the option to have a background album photo or not. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]



iPhone 15 Pro

Posted on Apr 25, 2025 01:05 PM

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6 replies

Apr 26, 2025 12:19 PM in response to Trudi-Marie

Trudi-Marie wrote: … We, as $$$$ Iphone owners, should have the option to have a background album photo or not. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea?

Almost everybody in this users forum also has a "$$$$ Iphone," so it's hard to get too impressed.


This is not the way albums on my $$$$ Iphone work, but I've seen one other report of this. Here's a screenshot of one of my album pages:

Could you show us how yours looks?

May 20, 2025 07:04 AM in response to b1598

It looks like other users, even some very experienced users, are experiencing this, as well, though it still hasn't happened with me. You are in aspect ratio mode rather than square grid-- is that right?


Unfortunately, the only fix I've seen is to find a non-distracting picture to use as the Key Photo. You choose a Key Photo for an album with a long press on the picture and choosing Make Key Photo from the pop-up menu. You could even make an all black or all white pictures, and put that in all the albums, making that the Key Photo.


In the meantime, you should let Apple know here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Apr 26, 2025 04:30 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

>Richard Taylor, I think you might have misunderstood my comment. I am not bragging about spending $$$$ on an iphone or trying to impress anyone. I am pointing out that, when spending that kind of money, especially with updates, a consumer should have options. This is something new, obviously, with the latest updates. I also do not have the option under Settings>Apps>Photos to turn off the "Automatic" option under "Background". As you can see from my screenshot, it is very distracting, as I mentioned in my original post.

Apr 27, 2025 06:01 AM in response to Trudi-Marie

Trudi-Marie wrote: …>Richard Taylor, I think you might have misunderstood my comment.

I think I understood. We are not Apple; folks who read these posts are just users like you. Some of us hang around here from time to time in case our experience may help someone. We don't get paid and we don't have a schedule, and the Apple engineers don’t read the stuff, here. Leaving an angry post with ALL CAPS won't encourage us to offer any help. On this site we only answer the questions we want to. When you ask someone for help, Apple, or anybody, really, you're more likely to get results by being polite and serious, and  stating your concern without emotional outburst. Remember that the person who reads your post probably is in no way connected with the cause of your rant.


I certainly agree that having that background stuff looks awful but, again, I don't see it. You appear to be in Square Grid mode. What happens in Aspect Ratio Grid mode?


Have you tried a forced restart? 

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

This is different from a simple Power Off. I had to continue holding the button down past the "slide to power off" message, and then I released the button only after  the Apple Logo appeared indicating a re-start. 




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How do I disable background photos in photo albums on iPhone?

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