Disable Memories for Dates or People in iOS 16

The Photos app in iOS 16 provides granular controls to prevent specific people, recurring dates, or locations from appearing in automated Memories and Featured Photos. Whether you want to avoid painful reminders or simply declutter your feed, Apple allows you to reduce the frequency of specific subjects or block them entirely directly within the Photos interface.

How to Hide Specific People from Memories

You can configure iOS 16 to show a person less often or block them from appearing in automatically generated collections entirely.

  1. Open the Photos app and tap the Albums tab.
  2. Scroll down to the People & Pets (or People) album and select it.
  3. Tap the person you want to exclude.
  4. Tap the More button (three dots) in the upper-right corner.
  5. Tap Feature This Person Less.
  6. Select your preferred option:
    • Feature This Person Less: Reduces appearances of the person in individual memories, group memories, and the Photos widget.
    • Never Feature This Person: Completely prevents the person from appearing in any Memories, Featured Photos, or widgets.
  7. Tap Confirm.

You can also perform this action directly from a memory by tapping the More button while the memory is playing, selecting Feature Person Less, and choosing the desired restriction.

How to Hide Specific Dates from Memories

If you want to prevent memories from being generated around specific calendar days, anniversaries, or events, you can block that date directly from the "For You" tab.

  1. Open the Photos app and select the For You tab.
  2. Under the Memories section, tap the memory generated for the date you wish to suppress.
  3. While viewing the memory, tap the More button (three dots) in the top-right corner.
  4. Select Feature Less.
  5. Choose Feature a Date Less (or Feature This Day Less).
  6. Confirm the selection to ensure Photos stops generating curated content for that specific calendar day.

How to Reset Excluded People and Dates

If you later decide to restore blocked content, you can reset your preferences through the device settings.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap Photos.
  3. Scroll down and tap Reset Suggested Memories or Reset People Suggestions.
  4. Tap Reset to confirm.

Resetting these settings will allow the Photos algorithm to include previously restricted dates and contacts in future memory generation.