Google Photos users who want to keep their photos private from others on their phone can use the app’s inbuilt Locked Folder functionality. It allows you to hide your photos and videos in a password-protected area.
This feature allows you to keep your media content hidden when someone looks at the photos and videos you’ve saved on Google Photos or another app on your phone. You may also move existing photos to the locked folder in Google Photos to protect them with the screen lock on your device.
Locked Folder was initially available only on Google Pixel phones. Google, however, in late October announced that this feature will be available to all Android users in the near future. It will be available to iOS users early next year.
Pictures in the locked folder will not be shown in the Google Photos grid, memories, search, or albums. They will also be unavailable in any other installed apps that have access to your regular images and videos.
How to set up Locked Folder and hide your pictures in Google Photos
We will walk you through the steps necessary to set up the Locked Folder in Google Photos to hide your photos.
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that the experience is now limited to Google Pixel 3 and later models. So, if you have a compatible device, you may go ahead and set up the Locked Folder feature on Google Photos to hide your photos by following the steps below. Just make sure that your phone is running the most recent version of Google Photos.
- Open Google Photos.
- Go to Library > Utilities.
- Then tap Set up Locked Folder.
- Google Photos will now show you a screen to detail the characteristics of the Locked Folder feature. Tap Set up Locked Folder to proceed.
- Now, use your current device’s screen lock option, which can either be fingerprint unlock, pattern, alphanumeric password, or numeric PIN to set up the locked folder.
Following the completion of the setup, you may move your existing pictures and videos to the locked folder by tapping the Move items option. This will display all of the media content on your device.
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- How To Save Photos And Videos From Instagram
- Google Photos: How to Delete Or Restore Photos And Videos
After you select photos to move to the locked photos, you will be prompted with a message stating that the objects moved will no longer be backed up or shared and will no longer appear in your Google Photos grid, search, or other apps. You can proceed with your pick by using the Move button.
It is important to note that the photos you hide in the locked folder will not be backed up or shared through Google Photos. Additionally, anyone with access to your device’s screen can unlock the locked folder on the app and view the hidden media files.
Pictures in the locked folder can also be moved by selecting them in the folder and hitting the Move button.
