How to hide photos on Android: built-in options and a photo vault app

Updated November 10, 2026

Steps at a glance

• Google Photos: tap Collections, then Locked, then Set up Locked Folder. Select photos, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder.
• Files by Google: scroll to Collections, tap Safe folder and choose PIN or Pattern. Touch and hold photos, tap More, then Move to Safe folder.
• Private space: open Settings, Security & privacy, Private space, and tap Set up. On recent Android versions, add photos with Add, then Add files.
• Samsung Galaxy: open Settings, Security and privacy, More security settings, Secure Folder. The Samsung guide has the steps.
• Vaultopaz: draw a new pattern to make a vault, write down the nine recovery words, then import photos through the system file picker.

Option 1: Google Photos Locked Folder

Locked Folder is a section of the Google Photos app, on Android 6 or newer. Photos and videos you move there no longer show in the Photos grid, search, albums or memories, and other apps that can read your photos cannot reach them. It opens with the phone’s own screen lock, so the phone needs one first.

1. Open Google Photos and tap Collections, then Locked, then Set up Locked Folder.
2. Unlock with your screen lock when asked.
3. To hide a photo, tap Photos, select it, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move.
4. Optional: tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, Backup, Back up Locked Folder. Regular backup has to be on first.

On a Pixel 4 or newer you can also touch and hold the preview of the photo you just took and choose Locked Folder.

Option 2: Files by Google Safe folder

Safe folder is part of the Files by Google app on Android 8.0 or newer. It keeps files on the phone’s internal storage, out of search results and categories, and third-party apps cannot open them. It opens with a PIN or pattern you choose for Safe folder.

1. Open Files by Google and scroll to Collections.
2. Tap Safe folder, choose PIN or Pattern, then enter it and confirm it.
3. To move photos in, touch and hold them, tap More, then Move to Safe folder, and confirm with your PIN or pattern.

Option 3: Android private space

On Android 15 or newer, private space is a separate space on the phone with its own apps and files. While it is locked, the apps inside are kept out of the app list, recent apps, search and settings. It opens with your screen lock or with a separate pattern, PIN or password.

1. Open Settings, tap Security & privacy, and under Privacy tap Private space.
2. Confirm with your screen lock, then tap Set up and Got it.
3. Choose the lock: your screen lock, or a new lock just for private space.
4. On recent Android versions you can add photos: open private space, tap Add, then Add files, and choose Copy or Move. They land in the private space Downloads folder.

Where the built-in options fall short

• Locked Folder shares your screen lock. Anyone who knows that lock can open it, and Google says you cannot set a separate password.
• Locked Folder items without backup stay on one phone. They are lost if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its app data, factory reset the phone, or lose or damage it, and they are not carried over to a new phone.
• Safe folder has no backup and no way back in. The Back up to Google Drive option does not work for Safe folder files. If you forget the PIN or pattern, the only route Google describes is a reset that deletes the files.
• Private space needs Android 15 or newer and the main user. It is left out of the device backup, and a forgotten private space lock cannot be recovered. Google adds that its existence can still be found through computer access, device logs and apps that check for it.

Using a vault app

A photo vault app keeps encrypted copies of your photos behind a lock of its own. In Vaultopaz it works like this:

1. Draw a pattern to make a vault. The grid is 5 by 5, and a pattern needs at least six dots with a change of direction. Every pattern opens its own vault, and the unlock screen never lists vaults. See one pattern, one vault.
2. Write down the nine recovery words. They are shown once, at setup. If you forget the pattern, tap Use recovery phrase under the grid; the words reopen the vault on the same phone. See recovery phrase.
3. Import your photos. Pick them through the Android system file picker. Vaultopaz stores an encrypted copy and does not delete the originals, so you remove them from your gallery yourself once you have checked they arrived.
4. Or take new photos inside the vault. A photo taken with the camera in Vaultopaz is encrypted at once and never reaches the gallery.
5. Set Auto-lock. In the open vault, tap the menu and choose Auto-lock: immediately, 30 seconds, 2 minutes or 5 minutes. Lock is always one tap away, and screens with vault content refuse screenshots and screen recording. See auto-lock and screenshot block.
6. Make an encrypted backup. Tap the menu, choose Encrypted backup and seal the file with a password of at least twelve characters or your nine recovery words. A backup holds the vault that is open when you export, so make one for each vault. See encrypted backup.

Everything in a vault is encrypted with AES-256-GCM on the phone, with keys wrapped by the hardware keystore; see encryption on the device. Vaultopaz has no account and no internet permission. Its viewer opens photos, videos, text files and notes; PDFs and other documents are stored and can be exported, but they do not open inside the vault.

Which option fits you

Compare in detail

Read how Vaultopaz compares with Google Photos Locked Folder, Samsung Secure Folder and Keepsafe. Thinking about a calculator vault instead? See how calculator photo vaults compare. On a Samsung phone, follow how to hide photos on a Samsung phone.