Face ID Alternate Appearance: Should You Add a Second Person's Face?

What Alternate Appearance in Face ID is for

Apple describes Alternate Appearance as a way to help Face ID recognize you when your appearance can look very different. Its examples include changes such as facial hair, heavy makeup or wearing glasses.²

You find it under Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Set Up an Alternate Appearance. You then follow the Face ID setup process for the additional appearance.¹

The important part when considering a partner or family member is that Alternate Appearance is still part of your existing Face ID setup. It is not a separate iPhone user account with its own permissions.^1,2

What a second enrolled face can open

Once Face ID recognizes the added appearance, that face can satisfy the same Face ID authentication your iPhone uses. There is no separate set of Face ID permissions to choose for that additional appearance.^1,3

That distinction matters because adding someone's face is broader than giving them access to one app or one group of photos. For a closer look at those consequences, read about Face ID access and privacy.^1,3

Apple uses Face ID for unlocking the iPhone and can also use it for payments, purchases, password autofill and supported apps. An alternate appearance that Face ID accepts can satisfy Face ID authentication in those places when they are configured to use it.^1,3

Photos is relevant if you are adding another person's face for convenience. Apple's Hidden album can be opened with Face ID, so a face accepted by your Face ID setup can also satisfy that authentication. If private photos are the main concern, see how the iPhone Hidden album compares with a dedicated vault.^1,4

When adding a second person makes sense

Adding another person's face fits situations where you intend to give that person the Face ID access described above. Treat it as sharing Face ID authentication, rather than as a limited permission for one task.^1,3

If someone only uses your phone occasionally, you do not need to enroll their face just to lend them your iPhone. If the real concern is what they might see while using the phone, keeping photos private when lending your iPhone addresses that narrower situation.

How to remove an alternate appearance

If an alternate appearance is on your iPhone and you no longer want to keep it, Apple's documented path is to reset Face ID and then set up Face ID again.⁵

How to keep certain photos separate

Sharing Face ID does not give you a separate Face ID permission just for Photos, and the Hidden album itself uses Face ID. If you want selected photos kept behind a different credential, a separate photo vault gives them another place to live.^1,4

Secure Folder: Privacy Vault keeps imported photos, videos and files in its own gallery, which appears after the vault is unlocked. The vault has its own 6-digit PIN, set separately from the iPhone passcode, so the iPhone passcode does not open it. You can also see how Secure Folder's hidden gallery works.