In iOS 18 there’s a hidden way to sort your photos so the most recently saved pic will show up in the bottom of the grid, no matter when the photo was taken, and it’s my favorite setting in the new Photos app.
When iOS 18 launched in September, the update included a revamped Photos app that brought more collections and albums to the forefront of the app. You could still access a grid filled with all your photos if you swiped down. But these weren’t my favorite changes. Instead, sorting photos by when they were added to Photos is the top of my list.
Read more: An Expert’s Guide to iOS 18
Before, if someone sent me a photo and I saved it, the photo would be placed in chronological order — based on when the picture was taken — alongside all my other photos by default. So if a family member sent me a photo from last summer and I saved it, the photo would be lost in a sea of other photos.
I’d scroll through hundreds of pics and videos to find it, and sometimes I’d give up. But I found a toggle in Photos called Sort by Recently Added that lets you sort your pics based on when they were saved to your device, not when they were taken.
Here’s how to sort your photos to when they were saved to Photos so you don’t lose a pic again.
How to sort your photos based on when they were saved
1. Open Photos.
2. Scroll up into your photos until the grid takes up your whole screen.
3. Tap the up and down arrows in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
4. Tap Sort by Recently Added.
Once you’ve tapped that option, you may see your photos shift to adjust to the setting change. Your most recently saved or taken photo will now be at the bottom of the grid, even if your most recent saved photo was from your wedding years ago.
For more iOS 18 tips and tricks, here’s how to make sure RCS messaging is enabled on your iPhone and how to bring the volume bar back to your lock screen. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
