Guide to Set Up a Locked Folder and Hide Your Pictures in Google Photos

Google Photos’ Locked Folder is initially limited to Google Pixel 3 and later models

Guide to Set Up a Locked Folder and Hide Your Pictures in Google Photos

Finding a way to hide your photos from others on your phone can use the Google Photos app's Local Locked Folder feature. It lets you hide your photos and videos in a password-protected area. This will allow you to keep your media content hidden when someone views photos and videos stored on Google Photos or another app on your phone. You can also move your existing photos to a locked Google Photos folder to protect your device from screen lock.

Introduced in May, Locked Folder was initially available as a special feature for Google Pixel phones. However, Google announced in late October that this feature would be introduced to all Android users in the near future. It will reach iOS users early next year.

Images hidden in a locked folder will not appear in Google Photo Grid, Memories, Search, or Albums. You won't find them in any of the other installed apps that have access to your regular photos and videos.

In this article, we describe the steps you need to take to configure a locked folder to hide your photos in Google Photos.

How to set up Locked Folder and hide your pictures in Google Photos

Before starting with the tutorial, it is important to note that the experiment is currently limited to Google Pixel 3 and later models. So, if you have a qualified device, you can go ahead and follow the steps below to set up the Locked Folder feature on Google Photos to hide your photos. Make sure your phone has the latest version of Google Photos installed.

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Go to Library > Utilities and then tap Set up Locked Folder.
3. Google Photos will now show you a screen to detail the characteristics of the Locked Folder feature. Tap Set up Locked Folder to proceed.
4. 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.

Once these steps are successfully followed and the setup is complete, you can move your existing photos and videos to the lock folder by tapping the Move Items option. It will show you all the media content available on your device.

After selecting images to move to locked images, you will receive a message with a hint stating that the transferred items will not be backed up or shared and that they are yours Will not appear in Google Photo Grid, Search, and other apps. You can proceed with your choice by pressing Move.

It is worth noting that the photos you hide in the lock folder will not be backed up or shared via Google Photos. Also, people who have access to unlock your device's screen can unlock the locked folder on the app and view hidden media files.

Images in a locked folder can also be moved back by selecting a folder and tapping the Move button.