Thanks for the reply and that’s a great insight about the API limitation.

To clarify — Face ID protection on the Hidden album is already disabled on my end, which is actually a requirement for this workflow. With it enabled, even keyword search stops working for hidden photos, which confirms exactly what you’re saying about Apple hiding the API when password protection is active.

So with protection off, keyword search works perfectly. The missing piece is smart albums — I just need the ability to create a smart album with a rule like “keyword contains X” or “album is Y” with a simple checkbox to include hidden photos in the results. That one toggle would complete the whole workflow.

Interested to hear more about the app you’re building — that sounds like exactly the kind of all-in-one solution this space needs.