To be honest, in most cases the answer will be no. Unless you have significant tech experience and are prepared for possible glitches, bugs, and the like, you should not upgrade to iOS 15 beta or any other beta releases from any company, Apple or otherwise.

Beta software is, by definition, a pre-release of software to be tried and tested under real-life conditions and circumstances. It is unfinished. It’s being released so tech-savvy users who are eager to give feedback and help with the process can do so. Again, this is not for everyone.

The reason for this is that there are many risks and factors that come with upgrading to beta software.

Beta upgrade risks

• Possible bugs and glitches, up to possible shut-down. Glitches and bugs are always to be expected with any beta upgrade.
• Possible data loss. Making sure you have your data safe is extremely important.
• Possible loss of extra time and energy. Upgrading to beta takes extra time and energy. Downgrading from beta takes even more time and energy. If you don’t have the free time for this, don’t upgrade to iOS 15 beta.
• Commitment. Upgrading to beta software comes with time, energy, and commitment. It isn’t as simple as upgrading and enjoying the software. You have to be patient with what obstacles come your way. Beta releases often last weeks or months before the official software is launched.
• Obstacles in daily convenience. Because you may experience bugs and glitches, you should consider what this means to your productivity and the features that you depend on to be productive. If you depend on a feature for daily use, and that feature has a bug, how will that impact you overall?

Having said that, upgrading to the beta can be an enjoyable experience if you consider yourself capable and aware of the risks. My goal is to make sure you know them so that you can avoid a commitment that you aren’t ready for.

Now that you know the risks, it’s important to know how to prevent some of the risks mentioned and how to protect your Apple devices and data as much as possible. There are a few things you should do anytime you upgrade (beta or not), and a few things you should specifically do in regard to iOS 15 beta and all iOS betas.

Beta prep steps

• Before you do anything, backup. Back up your iOS device and make sure the backup was successful. If you need some help backing up, check out our guide on how to back up your iPhone. This should be done for every upgrade you do. There is always the potential for data loss with any upgrade you do on any Apple product you have. Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t. With beta upgrades, this is especially crucial. You can only leave beta (without full data loss) if you have an upgrade to restore from in the event that you need it.
• Jot down the date and time of the backup. Because a beta software could potentially be on your product for months before the official iOS release, it is important to note the time and date. Remember, you may lose data that was not included in this backup if it is not in iCloud.
• Make sure you have enough storage for the upgrade to install and your product to function. The golden rule is that you should always have an absolute minimum of 500 MB on your iOS product for the device to be functional (I would shoot for at least 1GB). You will also need enough space for the upgrade, depending on the size. The iOS 15 public beta is about 5GB. This means you need to have about 6GB of free space on your iOS product.
• Make sure you have at least 50% battery.

Here we go! We are upgrading to iOS 15 beta, so let’s get started:

1. Enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program. By clicking the link, you will be forwarded to Apple’s official website where you can enroll. Make sure to do this directly on the product you hope to install the beta software. If you’ve done this before, sign in with the same Apple ID previously used. It also needs to be the same Apple ID signed in to your iOS product.
2. Download the profile.
3. Open Settings.
4. Go to “general.”
5. Click “profile.”
6. Install the profile.
7. Confirm the profile install by reading the terms and clicking install again.
8. Restart the iOS device (you will be prompted to do this, so just restart via the prompt). The restart finalizes the profile install that makes the beta available to your device.

Once the profile is installed, you can continue with the upgrade to the iOS 15 public beta.

1. Open Settings.
2. Click “general.”
3. Select “software update.”
4. Click “Download and install.”
5. Wait for the upgrade to complete. This beta software takes, on average, around 45 minutes to complete.

You did it! Now, try it out and see how it goes.

First and foremost, go to your homescreen on your iPhone and open the Photos app.

Once you are in the Photos app, look for the photos you are hoping to find. Once you find the photo, select it.

How to select several photos or albums

If you are looking to hide several photos or an entire album, don’t worry! You can definitely hide an entire album or several photos in the Photos app. Here’s how:

How to hide several photos

You can also select several photos to be hidden at the same time! This is a time saver if you have a lot of photos your hope to hide.

1. While in the “all photos” library in the Photos app, click “select” in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Select all of the photos you want to hide.

How to hide an entire album

1. While in the Photos app, click the “albums” option on the lower right-hand corner.
2. Select the album you wish to hide.
3. Click “select” in the upper right-hand corner.
4. Click “select all” in the upper left-hand corner.

Continue to the next steps!

Select the share button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. This selection will bring up the hide option we are looking for.

Scroll down a bit until you see the “hide” option and select it.

Here you are asked to confirm that you do want to hide the photo(s). The notification will let you know that you can access the hidden photo(s) in the hidden album, which you can also choose to hide if you want. The only way to access the photo(s) is via the hidden album, but I will get into that in the next step!

You’ve hidden your photo(s)! Now, you need to make sure that you know how to access the photo(s), know how to hide them in the albums section of your Photo Library, and know how to unhide them if you want to have access to them later.

How to hide your hidden album

Because your hidden photo(s) are meant to be accessed through the hidden album in your Photo Library, you will still be able to see the photo(s) in the albums section of the Photo Library on your iPhone. This may or may not be ideal for you, since you are trying to hide them. Here is how to hide the hidden album from view:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and click on the Photos app settings.
3. You will see a “hidden album” option. Make sure this feature is off. If not, turn it off. If you enable that feature, it will show the hidden album in your albums in the Photos app. If not, you will not be able to see the hidden album.

How to unhide the hidden album

If you want to access your hidden photo(s), and you have turned this feature off so that the hidden album does not appear, you will need to turn this feature on temporarily to view the picture(s). Make sure that when you are done viewing the photo(s), you turn this feature back off.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and click on the Photos app settings.
3. Turn on the “hidden album” feature.
4. View your hidden photo(s).
5. When done, turn the “hidden album” feature back off.

As long as the “hidden albums” feature is turned on, you can access your photo(s). It’s super easy!

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select “albums” in the lower right-hand corner.
3. Scroll down until you see “utilities.”
4. Click “hidden.”

It will look like pictured. Then, you can access your hidden picture(s) until you turn the hidden album feature back off.

There are two different options that will allow you to remove the app from the home screen, but first things first, go to your home screen. Once you are there, try one of the following options (both options achieve the same result, only a slightly different notification prompt):

First option:

1. Press and hold any free space on the home screen until the apps begin to jiggle.
2. Then, click the minus sign on the app you wish to remove.

Second option:

1. Press and hold the app you wish to remove until the dropdown appears.

If you chose the first option you will see “remove from home screen.” If you chose the second option, you will see “remove app.” Click whichever of the two appear for you. Either one will remove the app from the home screen.

Voila! Now the app is no longer on the home screen.

To use the app you just hid on the home screen, you will swipe to get to the screen furthest to the right on your iPhone. This will take you to your App Library.

Once there, find the app and open it, or you can swipe furthest to the left on your home screen and type the app into the search bar. That will also reveal the app so you can access it. I prefer using the App Library.

However, if you want to add the app back, continue with this guide and I will show you how.

While in the App Library, look for the app you want to add back to the home screen (since it was previously removed/hidden). Once you find it do the following:

1. Press and hold the app until the drop-down appears.
2. Click “add to home screen.”

Done! Now the App is back on the home screen. It will not populate in its original position on the home screen. You may have to move it where you like.