Secure folder on a Google Pixel: private space, Locked Folder and Safe folder

Updated November 10, 2026

Steps at a glance

• Private space: open Settings, Security & privacy, Private space, tap Set up and choose a lock. On recent Android versions, add files with Add, then Add files.
• 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 files, tap More, then Move to Safe folder.
• Vaultopaz: draw a pattern to make a vault, then import files through the system file picker.

Option 1: Private space

Private space is the closest thing to a secure folder on a Pixel. It is a separate space on the phone, technically its own Android profile, with fresh installs of the apps you put in it and their own data. While it is locked, those apps are kept out of the app list, recent apps, search and settings. It can lock every time the phone locks, 5 minutes after the screen times out, or only after a restart.

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. Optionally sign in to a Google Account. Google recommends a separate account just for private space, because a shared one can let synced data, history and passwords show outside it.
4. Choose your screen lock, or a new pattern, PIN or password for private space, and tap Done.
5. On recent Android versions you can add files: open private space, tap Add, then Add files, and choose Copy or Move.
6. Optional: turn on hiding private space while it is locked. To find it again, scroll to Private space in the app list, or go to Settings, Security & privacy, Private space.

Option 2: Google Photos Locked Folder

Locked Folder is a section of Google Photos. 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.
3. On a Pixel 4 or newer, touch and hold the preview of the photo you just took and choose Locked Folder.

Option 3: Files by Google Safe folder

Safe folder is part of the Files by Google app, on Android 8.0 or newer. Files in it stay on internal storage, out of search results and categories, and third-party apps cannot open them.

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

Where the built-in options fall short

• Private space does not come back from a backup. It is left out of the device backup, and if you forget its lock it cannot be recovered; Reset private space removes its apps and data with no backup. Google is also clear that its existence can be found through computer access, device logs and apps that check for it.
• Private space has conditions. It is only for the phone’s main user, not for managed devices, and some launchers do not support it.
• Locked Folder shares the screen lock. Anyone who knows it can open Locked Folder. Items that are not backed up are lost if you clear Google Photos’ app data, factory reset, or lose the phone, and they are not carried over to a new phone.
• Safe folder has no backup. Back up to Google Drive does not work for its files, and a forgotten PIN or pattern leaves only a reset that deletes them.

Using a vault app

A vault app gives you something closer to separate locked folders, each with its own key. In Vaultopaz:

• Each pattern is a vault. You draw a pattern on a 5 by 5 grid, at least six dots with a change of direction, and it opens its own vault. The unlock screen never lists vaults. See one pattern, one vault.
• No account. Vaultopaz has no sign-up, no servers and no internet permission.
• Files and photos. Import any file through the system file picker, or take photos inside the vault so they never reach the gallery. Vaultopaz does not delete the originals; you do that yourself. Folders, notes and name search help you keep order.
• Encryption on the device. AES-256-GCM, with keys wrapped by the phone’s hardware keystore. See encryption on the device.
• Recovery and backup. Nine recovery words reopen the vault on the same phone through Use recovery phrase (recovery phrase). For a new Pixel, choose Encrypted backup in the open vault and use Import encrypted backup on the new phone (encrypted backup). A backup holds the vault that is open when you export.
• Auto-lock. The vault locks immediately or after 30 seconds, 2 or 5 minutes, and Lock is one tap away. See auto-lock and screenshot block.

Which option fits you

Compare in detail

Coming from a Samsung phone? See how Vaultopaz compares with Samsung Secure Folder and with Google Photos Locked Folder. For more on folders, read how to lock a folder on Android.