Hiding photos and files · Android
How to hide photos on Android, from built-in options to vault apps
Android is made by many companies, so there is no single “hide photos” button. What you get depends on your Android version and on who made your phone. This guide covers the options most phones have, what each one hides, and where each one lets you down.
Menu names and positions vary by phone maker and Android version. If a step below doesn’t match your screen, use the search box in Settings.
Option 1: the locked folder in your gallery app
Many gallery apps have a locked folder. The one described in its official help page works like this:
- Photos you move in disappear from the main grid, memories, search and albums, and from other apps on your phone that can read your photos.
- It opens with your device screen lock. You can’t give it a separate PIN. Anyone who knows your screen lock can open it.
- It needs Android 6 or later.
- To use it, open the gallery app, go to the collections or library area, find Locked or Locked Folder, set it up, then select photos and choose to move them in.
Watch three things before you rely on it:
- Backup. By default, items that aren’t backed up are stored only on that phone. You lose them if you uninstall the app, clear its data, factory reset or lose the phone. Locked folder backup is a separate switch you can turn on.
- Moving deletes the cloud copy. If a photo was already backed up and locked folder backup is off, moving it in deletes that backup.
- Copies stay behind. Edited versions and duplicates aren’t moved with the photo. They stay in your normal gallery until you move or delete them too.
Option 2: private space (Android 15 and later)
Private space is a separate area of the phone for apps. It isn’t a photo feature, but it is useful when the app that holds your photos goes inside it.
- You need Android 15 or later, hardware that supports it, and a phone that isn’t a managed device.
- To set it up, open Settings, then Security & privacy, then Private space.
- You can use your screen lock or choose a separate lock just for private space.
- When it is locked, the apps inside are stopped and hidden from the launcher, recent apps, search, Settings and the photo picker. You can also hide the space itself.
The help page is frank about the limits: in some cases you can’t hide that a private space exists, for example from someone who installs apps on your phone or connects it to a computer, or from other apps that can detect it. Deleting it deletes the apps and their data with no backup, and a private space isn’t restored when you restore the phone from a backup.
Option 3: your phone maker’s secure folder
Several makers add their own secure folder, gallery lock or hidden album, and they work differently. Questions to answer from your maker’s help page:
- What unlocks it: your screen lock, or a separate one?
- Is it encrypted, or just hidden?
- Is it included in the maker’s cloud backup, and is that backup encrypted?
- What happens when you reset the phone?
If you can’t find a clear answer to the second question, assume hidden, not encrypted.
What none of these do
- Replace a screen lock that others know. A locked folder tied to your screen lock is only as private as that lock.
- Control your cloud. A photo you already uploaded can still exist in your cloud account. See is cloud photo backup encrypted.
- Prove anything. You usually can’t check how a built-in folder stores your files.
When a vault app is the better choice
Think about a vault app if someone else knows your screen lock, you want a lock that is separate from the phone’s own, or you want to know how files are stored, not just that they’re hidden. The difference between hiding and encrypting is explained in how photo vault apps work, and the checklist in are photo vault apps safe helps you vet one.
Silo, an encrypted vault for iPhone and Android that is coming soon, has its own PIN, encrypts on the phone and publishes its file format. Moving photos in safely is covered in move photos into a vault safely. On iPhone? See how to hide photos on iPhone.
Questions
What is the safest built-in way to hide photos on Android?
It depends on what you fear. Private space on Android 15 and later isolates a whole app and can use a separate lock. A gallery app's locked folder is simpler but uses your phone's screen lock. Neither is a substitute for checking how the data is stored.
Can someone with my screen lock open my locked folder?
Yes. On the gallery apps that offer one, the locked folder uses your device screen lock, so anyone who knows your PIN, pattern or password can open it. Private space can use its own separate lock instead.
Will I lose locked folder photos if I reset my phone?
Possibly. If the locked folder isn't backed up, its photos live only on that phone and can be lost if you uninstall the app, clear its data, factory reset or lose the phone. Check the backup setting before you rely on it.
Does my phone's secure folder encrypt photos?
Makers describe their secure folders differently, and menus vary. Read your maker's help page for exactly what it encrypts and who can unlock it, because the answer isn't the same on every phone.
Are hidden photos still in my cloud backup?
It depends on the feature and its backup setting. Moving a backed-up photo into some locked folders deletes its cloud copy unless folder backup is on, so read the prompt before you confirm.