Gallery lock on Android: lock your photos away from the gallery

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.
• Samsung Galaxy: set up Secure Folder under Settings, Security and privacy, More security settings. In Samsung’s Gallery, select photos, tap More options, then Move to Secure 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: set it up under Settings, Security & privacy, Private space. On recent Android versions, add photos with Add, then Add files.
• Vaultopaz: draw a pattern to make a vault, import photos through the system file picker, then delete the originals from your gallery yourself.

Option 1: Google Photos Locked Folder

Locked Folder is a section of the Google Photos app, on Android 6 or newer. Items in it do not 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 screen lock.

1. Open Google Photos and tap Collections, then Locked, then Set up Locked Folder.
2. Select a photo, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move.

Option 2: Samsung Secure Folder

On supported Galaxy phones and tablets, Secure Folder is a private area with its own PIN, password or pattern, and its own Gallery for the photos you put in it.

1. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder, and choose a lock.
2. In Samsung’s Gallery, select photos, tap More options, then Move to Secure Folder.
3. To view them, open Secure Folder and use its Gallery.

Option 3: Files by Google Safe folder

Safe folder lives in the Files by Google app, on Android 8.0 or newer. Files in it are kept out of search results and categories, and third-party apps cannot open them. It opens with a PIN or pattern you choose for it.

1. Open Files by Google, scroll to Collections and tap Safe folder.
2. Choose PIN or Pattern and set it.
3. Touch and hold the photos, tap More, then Move to Safe folder.

Option 4: Android private space

On Android 15 or newer, private space is a separate locked area on the phone for apps and files. It opens with your screen lock or a separate pattern, PIN or password, and while it is locked the apps inside are kept out of the app list, recent apps and search. Apps inside it are fresh installs with their own data, so private space does not put a lock on the gallery you already use.

1. Open Settings, tap Security & privacy, and under Privacy tap Private space.
2. Confirm with your screen lock, tap Set up and Got it, and choose a lock.
3. On recent Android versions, add photos: open private space, tap Add, then Add files, and choose Copy or Move.

Where the built-in options fall short

• Locked Folder uses your screen lock. Google says you cannot give it a separate password, so anyone who knows the screen lock can open it.
• Some photos live on one phone only. Locked Folder items that are not backed up are lost if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its app data, factory reset the phone, or lose or damage it.
• No new Secure Folder backups. Samsung’s US help page says backing up Secure Folder data is no longer supported.
• A forgotten Safe folder lock costs the files. Google describes only a reset that deletes them, and Back up to Google Drive does not work for Safe folder.
• Private space is left out of the device backup. A forgotten private space lock cannot be recovered either.

Using a vault app

Vaultopaz does not lock your gallery app. It keeps encrypted copies of the photos you choose in vaults of its own, and each vault opens with its own pattern on a 5 by 5 grid. See one pattern, one vault.

1. Import the photos. Pick them through the Android system file picker. Vaultopaz makes an encrypted copy and leaves the original alone.
2. Delete the originals yourself. Once you have checked that the copies are in the vault, remove the originals in your gallery app. Vaultopaz does not do that for you.
3. Take new photos inside the vault. A photo taken with the camera in Vaultopaz is encrypted at once and never reaches the gallery.
4. Browse like a gallery. Image cards show small previews that live only in memory and are wiped on lock. In the viewer you pinch to zoom a photo, play, pause and seek a video, and swipe to the next item. A slideshow shows each photo and note in a folder for five seconds. Folders, name search and sorting keep things in order.
5. Set Auto-lock. In the open vault, tap the menu and choose Auto-lock: immediately, 30 seconds, 2 minutes or 5 minutes. Tap Lock when you are done. See auto-lock and screenshot block.
6. Keep a backup. Tap the menu and choose Encrypted backup. 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; see encryption on the device. Videos play straight from the encrypted file with the phone’s own decoder. 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, Keepsafe and calculator photo vaults. If you mainly want to hide a few pictures, see how to hide photos on Android.