How to hide photos on Android, with what's already on your phone.

The quickest way to hide photos on Android is the Locked Folder in Google Photos: select the photos, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder. It works on Android 6 and later. If your phone runs Android 15 or later and its maker supports it, Private space can hide a whole set of apps and files behind a second lock. Files by Google has a Safe folder with its own PIN or pattern. On a Samsung Galaxy there’s also Secure Folder. Here is how each one works, and where it falls short.

Google Photos Locked Folder

Needs: Android 6 or later, a screen lock, the Google Photos app.

1. Open Google Photos and select the photos or videos.
2. Tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move.
3. To view them, tap Collections, then Locked, and unlock with your screen lock.

Trade-offs. The password is your phone’s screen lock, and Google says you can’t use a different one. Anyone who knows your PIN can open it. Backup is optional. Photos you don’t back up exist only on the phone and are lost if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its data or reset the phone. Details are in the Google Photos Locked Folder guide.

Android Private Space (Android 15 and later)

Needs: Android 15 or later on a phone whose maker hasn’t turned it off, a phone that isn’t managed by an organization, the device’s main user, and no supervised account signed in on the main space.

1. Open Settings, then Security & privacy, then Private space.
2. Unlock with your screen lock, tap Set up, then Got it. Signing in to a Google Account is optional.
3. Choose a lock for the space: Use device screen lock, or Choose new lock for a different one. Tap Done.

Private space is mainly for apps. When it’s locked, its apps are hidden from the launcher, recents, sharing and Settings, and they stop running. Apps aren’t moved in, so you install them again inside the space and sign in again. Google’s Android site says you can also bring in files with the Add files shortcut, choosing copy or move for each. With move, the original is deleted from your main gallery.

To hide the space itself when it’s locked, open its settings and turn on Hide private space when it’s locked.

Trade-offs.

• Google says there’s no recovery if you forget the private space lock. You can reset it from System settings with your device PIN, and that deletes the apps and their on-device data.
• Private space data isn’t included in device backups.
• Google says that in some cases you can’t hide that private space exists, for example from someone with a computer connection (adb) to the phone, or from device logs.
• If you sign in with a Google Account that’s also used elsewhere, photos that sync can show up outside the space.

Files by Google Safe folder

Needs: Android 8.0 or later and the Files by Google app.

1. Open Files by Google and scroll to Collections.
2. Tap Safe folder, then choose PIN or Pattern and set it.
3. To add files, press and hold them in grid view, tap More, then Move to Safe folder, and enter your PIN or pattern.
4. To open it later, go to Collections > Safe folder. To take files out, use Move out of Safe folder.

Trade-offs. Google’s page says Safe folder keeps files secure using Android storage with encryption, and also warns that anyone who gains unauthorized access to the phone’s internal storage may be able to reach them. Google also says that, on rare occasions, files in Safe folder can become corrupt or get deleted, and then no one can open them. It warns against clearing storage or cache with other apps. Because nothing in Safe folder can be backed up from inside it, don’t make it the only place you keep a photo you can’t lose. If you forget the PIN or pattern, you can’t access the files. The only option is Reset your Safe folder, which permanently deletes them. Sharing and backing up to Google Drive aren’t available from inside it, and installed apps can’t be moved in. Google warns against copying the encrypted files from an old phone to a new one, and the page doesn’t say what happens if you uninstall the app, so move photos out first.

Samsung Secure Folder

On Galaxy phones, Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder sets up a separate area with its own lock. In Gallery, touch and hold photos, tap More, then Move to Secure Folder. Samsung says it’s protected by Knox, which encrypts what’s stored there. If you forget the lock and didn’t turn on Reset with Samsung account, Samsung says you can’t get back in. Samsung also says backup is no longer available. See the Samsung Secure Folder guide or the shorter how to hide photos on Samsung.

The .nomedia trick

You may see advice to add a file called .nomedia to a folder of photos. Samsung’s support pages describe it as a file that can stop the Gallery app from scanning a folder. Photos in that folder then don’t show up in Gallery.

That’s all it does. It doesn’t encrypt anything and it has no lock. Samsung’s troubleshooting pages treat it as a reason photos are missing from Gallery, and tell people to find it in My Files (with Show hidden system files turned on) and delete it to bring the photos back. Anyone who opens a file manager can see the folder and the photos and, with hidden files shown, the .nomedia file. If your goal is to keep photos private from another person, it protects nothing.

Which option fits?

• Quickest, and you already use Google Photos: Locked Folder. Remember your screen lock opens it.
• A second lock, plus apps: Private space, if your phone has Android 15 or later. A Samsung phone has Secure Folder for the same job.
• Any phone from Android 8, not tied to a Google Photos account: Files by Google Safe folder.
• Just tidy the gallery: .nomedia, knowing it protects nothing.

None of these removes copies elsewhere. If you shared a photo or backed it up, those copies stay. Before sharing a photo you’ve taken out, you can view the data inside it or remove it.

Questions

Which is the safest built-in way to hide photos on Android?

Private space, Safe folder and Samsung Secure Folder can each have a lock of their own, while Locked Folder uses your screen lock. Check each one’s recovery rules before you rely on it. Safe folder, Private space and Secure Folder all say that a forgotten lock can mean losing what’s inside.

Does hiding photos in the Gallery app make them private?

Not by itself. Hiding only changes what Gallery shows. Samsung’s pages describe hidden albums and .nomedia as reasons photos go missing from Gallery, not as security features.

Can I hide photos on an older Android phone?

Private space needs Android 15. Locked Folder needs Android 6 or later, and Files by Google Safe folder needs Android 8.0 or later.