How to Sort Photos by Recently Added in iOS 18

The Photos app in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 got a major redesign that is confusing some users and bothering others, creating a “Who Moved My Cheese” scenario for iPhone and iPad owners who have been accustomed to the longstanding behavior of the prior Photos app. One of the major frustrations for some users is that Photos app defaults to sorting by the creation date of photos and videos in the library now, rather than sorting by date added. With sorting by creation date enabled, if someone AirDrops you a handful of photos from a gathering a week prior, that media is going to be tucked away back in time in your Photos library, making them harder to find, rather than at the very bottom of the camera roll, as most users have come to expect where new photos and videos added to their device should appear.

While it may not be obvious, there is a way with iOS 18 to sort Photos by Recently Added, instead of by Date Captured (creation date, the new default setting), and this little adjustment alone resolves many complaints you might hear about the new Photos app.

How to Sort Photos by Date Added in iOS 18 Instead of Date Created

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone as usual
2. Scroll up in your camera roll slightly to reveal the bidirectional arrow icon in the bottom left corner, which is the sorting button that automatically hides/shows itself depending on where you are in the Photos app
3. Tap the now visible bidirectional arrow button, then choose “Sort by Recently Added” to change the sorting of the photos and videos so that anything recently saved, AirDropped, or added is now appearing at the bottom of the photos app camera roll as expected

You can change this back to the new default setting by going back to the bidirectional arrow and choosing “Sort by Date Captured” if you wish, or if you prefer the new default photo sorting setting.

We mentioned this little toggle as one of the iOS 18 features you should use, especially if you’re not particularly thrilled with the Photos redesign.

Apple also offers a video tutorial on this feature along with some other sorting and filtering functionality in the newly redesigned Photos app, and this video may help some users even further. Judging by the unhappy user comments on the YouTube video though, it is clear that many iPhone users are not pleased with the Photos app redesign.

Does changing the Photos sorting by recently added help your usage of the Photos app in iOS 18? Do you have other issues or complaints with how Photos app functions on iPhone and iPad now with the redesign? Share your thoughts and comments below!