How to lock the gallery on Android, without a new app.

Android has no single switch that locks the gallery, but most phones can do it with what’s already on them. On a Samsung phone with One UI 8.5, open Gallery, tap Menu, then Private album. On older Galaxy phones, use Secure Folder. On Xiaomi and Redmi phones, go to Settings > Apps > App lock and lock the Gallery app. On any phone with Google Photos, select photos and tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder.

Some of these lock the photos by moving them somewhere that needs a PIN, pattern or fingerprint. Xiaomi’s App lock locks the app instead: the gallery asks for a password, but the photos stay where they were.

The options at a glance

Option	Unlocks with	If you forget it
Samsung Private album (One UI 8.5)	Screen lock or fingerprint	Samsung’s page doesn’t say
Samsung Secure Folder	Its own PIN, password or pattern	Only Reset with Samsung account gets you in
Xiaomi App lock (locks the app)	App lock password	Xiaomi Account, or a factory reset
Xiaomi Private album	Privacy protection password	Xiaomi’s FAQ doesn’t say
Google Photos Locked Folder (Android 6+)	Screen lock	It is your screen lock
Private space (Android 15+)	Screen lock or a new lock	No recovery
Files by Google Safe folder (Android 8.0+)	Its own PIN or pattern	Reset deletes the files

How to lock the gallery on Samsung

Private album (One UI 8.5). It’s in the Gallery app on select Galaxy devices with One UI 8.5, behind your phone’s security lock. Samsung says screenshots are disabled inside it.

1. Open Gallery and tap the Menu button at the bottom right.
2. Tap Private album and follow the on-screen instructions.
3. If you don’t have a screen lock, a Security and privacy window appears. Tap Lock screen and choose a pattern, PIN or another method.
4. Set up your Notification style, then tap Done.

To lock photos, select them in Gallery, tap More (three dots), then Move to private album, then Move.

Because Private album uses your screen lock, anyone who knows your PIN can open it. Samsung’s page doesn’t say how Private album is backed up or what happens to it in a reset, so don’t make it the only place a photo you can’t lose is kept.

Secure Folder (most Galaxy phones). If your phone doesn’t have Private album, or you want a lock that’s different from your screen lock, use Secure Folder.

1. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder.
2. Follow the setup and choose a PIN, password or pattern. Turn on Reset with Samsung account when it’s offered.
3. In Gallery, touch and hold photos, tap More, then Move to Secure Folder.

Samsung says that without Reset with Samsung account, a forgotten lock means you can’t get back in. It also says backing up Secure Folder is no longer supported, and uninstalling Secure Folder removes all of its contents, so move photos out first. The Samsung Secure Folder guide has the details.

Both are built in, so you don’t need an extra app. Samsung’s help pages don’t describe a password for the Gallery app itself.

How to lock the gallery on Xiaomi and Redmi

App lock puts a password in front of the Gallery app. Xiaomi’s steps for the Xiaomi 14T:

1. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Apps.
2. Tap App lock, then Turn on, and set a password.
3. Add your Xiaomi Account now or later. Add it now (see the warning below).
4. Select Gallery. From then on, the password is needed to open it.

Before you rely on App lock: Xiaomi says a Xiaomi Account is the only way to restore App lock if you forget the password. Without one, you can only reset the password after a factory data reset, and Google’s Android Help says a factory reset erases all your data from your phone. That includes any photos that aren’t backed up somewhere else.

Xiaomi describes App lock as restricting access to apps, and doesn’t say it hides your photos anywhere else. Another app that can show your photos, such as a file manager or Google Photos, isn’t locked unless you add it too.

Private album locks the photos themselves. Set its password in Settings > Fingerprints, face data, and screen lock > Privacy protection password. To add a photo, open it in Gallery, tap the three-dot icon, then Add to album, Private album and OK. To see the album, tap Albums in Gallery and swipe down. Xiaomi writes these FAQs per model, so names can differ on older phones.

Lock photos on any Android phone with Google Photos

If your gallery is Google Photos, Locked Folder is the built-in lock. It works on Android 6 and later.

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

Google says the Locked Folder password is the same as your screen lock. You can’t set a different one.

Read this before you move photos in: Google says that if Back up Locked Folder is off, the Google Photos backups of the items you move are deleted. Items that aren’t backed up are lost if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its data, lose or damage the phone, or factory reset it. To keep a copy, turn on backup first: tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup, then Back up Locked Folder.

The Google Photos Locked Folder guide covers backup and switching phones.

Lock a whole gallery app with Private space (Android 15 and later)

Private space is a separate area for apps, with its own lock. You can put a gallery app inside it, and when the space is locked, its apps are hidden and stop running.

1. Open Settings, then Security & privacy, then Private space.
2. Unlock with your screen lock, tap Set up, then Got it.
3. Choose Use device screen lock, or Choose new lock for a different one. Tap Done.
4. In All Apps, touch and hold your gallery app and tap Install app in Private space.

Google says this installs a new copy of the app, and your photos aren’t copied in. Use Add files inside the space to copy or move them; moving deletes the original. To lock it automatically, open the space’s settings, tap Lock private space automatically and pick Every time device locks.

Google is clear about the risks: a forgotten private space lock can’t be recovered, private space isn’t included in device backups, and deleting it deletes its apps and data with no backup. Before you move photos in, make sure they’re backed up somewhere else.

Can you lock a folder on Android?

Android’s help pages don’t describe a way to put a password on an ordinary folder. What they offer instead are places that need a lock: Locked Folder, Secure Folder, Private space, and Safe folder in Files by Google.

Safe folder needs Android 8.0 or later. Open Files by Google, scroll to Collections, tap Safe folder and choose a PIN or Pattern. To move photos in, touch and hold them, tap More, then Move to Safe folder.

Google warns that if you forget the PIN or pattern, you can’t access your files, and resetting Safe folder permanently deletes them. Google also says that on rare occasions files there can become corrupt or get deleted, and that Back up to Google Drive isn’t available inside it. Keep another copy of anything you can’t lose.

What a gallery lock doesn’t cover

Every option here locks photos on your phone only. None of them reaches copies you already shared, or copies in a cloud backup. The lock is also only as private as its code: Private album and Locked Folder open for anyone who knows your screen lock. If you plan to share a photo after you take it out, you can see what’s hidden inside it or remove that data first. For more ways to keep photos out of sight, see how to hide photos on Android.

Questions

How do I lock the gallery on a Samsung phone?

On One UI 8.5, open Gallery, tap Menu, then Private album. On other Galaxy phones, set up Secure Folder and move photos in with More > Move to Secure Folder.

What happens if I forget my gallery lock password?

It depends on the option. Xiaomi needs your Xiaomi Account, or a factory reset that erases the phone. Secure Folder needs Reset with Samsung account. Private space has no recovery, and resetting Safe folder deletes its files.

Does locking the Gallery app hide my photos from other apps?

Not necessarily. Xiaomi’s App lock locks the app you choose. Moving photos into Private album, Secure Folder or Locked Folder is what takes them out of the normal photo views.