How to hide photos on Android

Option 1: Google Photos Locked Folder

Locked Folder is built into Google Photos. Photos you move there disappear from your photo grid, memories, search and albums, and other apps that can see your photos can’t see them.

How to set it up

1. Open Google Photos and go to Collections.
2. Tap Locked, then Set up Locked Folder, and unlock with your screen lock.
3. To move a photo in, open it, tap the More button and choose Move to Locked Folder.

Google’s Locked Folder help page has the details for your version.

Backup is off unless you turn it on

This is the part people miss. Items in Locked Folder that you don’t back up stay only on that phone, and Google says they are deleted if you factory reset, clear the Photos app’s data or uninstall Photos. To back them up, go to Photos settings, then Backup, then Back up Locked Folder. Once backed up, they open on other devices signed in to the same Google Account.

What it protects

• The lock is your phone’s screen lock. You can’t set a separate password, so anyone who knows your PIN or pattern can open it.
• Encryption is Google’s standard. Google describes it as protected by Google Photos' standard encryption practices. It doesn’t claim end-to-end encryption, so backed-up items are readable by Google’s systems in the usual way.

Option 2: Samsung Secure Folder

On Samsung Galaxy phones, Secure Folder is a separate, locked area for apps and files, built on Samsung Knox.

How to set it up

1. Go to Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder.
2. Sign in to your Samsung account if asked, and choose a PIN, password or pattern (fingerprint works too on supported phones).
3. To move photos in, open Gallery, touch and hold the photos, tap More and choose Move to Secure Folder.

You can also hide the Secure Folder icon from the Apps screen through Quick Settings. Samsung’s Secure Folder guide has the full steps.

What it protects

• A separate lock. Unlike Locked Folder, Secure Folder can have its own PIN, password or pattern.
• Device-only. Samsung says Secure Folder can only be accessed on your phone or tablet.
• Watch the backup. Samsung now says that data backup is no longer available for Secure Folder and points you to Smart Switch for moving to a new phone. Plan for how you’d get your photos out before you rely on it.
• Samsung only. It doesn’t exist on other Android phones, or on iPhone if you ever switch.

Option 3: Android Private Space (Android 15 and later)

Private Space is a separate, lockable profile on your phone. When it’s locked, its apps stop completely and disappear from the launcher, recent apps, sharing and Settings.

How to set it up

1. Go to Settings, then Security & privacy, then Private space.
2. Unlock, tap Set up, and optionally sign in to a separate Google Account.
3. Choose Use device screen lock or Choose new lock, then tap Done.

Then install a gallery or file app inside the private space and move photos there. Google’s Private Space help page lists the requirements: Android 15 or later and a phone that isn’t managed by work or school.

What it protects

Private Space is strong at hiding that apps exist and can have its own lock. But deleting the private space deletes its apps and data with no backup, so it is not a place to keep the only copy of anything.

Option 4: an encrypted vault app

A vault app keeps your photos encrypted inside the app, behind a lock that has nothing to do with your phone’s screen lock, and works the same on any Android phone.

Here is how it works with Umbra:

1. Install Umbra from Google Play and draw a pattern. That pattern becomes the key to your vault.
2. Save your 12 recovery words somewhere off the phone. They restore the vault if you forget the pattern or change phones.
3. Add photos from your gallery. Each file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM and its own key.
4. Let Umbra remove the originals. Android shows its own dialog naming the files, so you can see exactly what is deleted.
5. Export an encrypted backup from Settings and keep it somewhere safe, like Google Drive. It stays encrypted, and only your recovery phrase opens it.

What a vault adds

• Its own lock and keys. Your phone’s PIN doesn’t open it.
• Encrypted backups you control, which restore on any Android phone, iPhone or iPad.
• Hidden vaults. Each pattern opens a different vault and nothing lists them.
• Screenshot blocking. With it on, screenshots and screen recordings of Umbra come out black.
• A break-in log, plus a silent intruder photo with Pro.
• A duress pattern and disguise icons with Pro. The disguise changes both the icon and the name in your app drawer, for example to Calculator.

Which one should you use?

Questions

Checked against public pages on 20 October 2026. Details change, so check the linked pages before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.