Velum vs Google Photos Locked Folder: Which Hides Photos Better?

If you have Google Photos on your phone, you already have a free way to hide photos: Locked Folder. For many people it is enough. Velum, a vault app coming soon to Google Play, exists for the cases where it is not. This comparison is as of October 2026 and uses Google's own Google Photos help page for every Locked Folder fact.

Velum vs Locked Folder at a glance

Where does Locked Folder win?

It is free, it is already there, and it is simple. Google's help page says Locked Folder works on Android 6 and later, so almost any phone with Google Photos has it. You move a photo in from Photos with Add to > Move to Locked Folder (the wording differs by version, look for Locked Folder in the photo's menu), and it is hidden from your main photo library.

Backup is also a strength. You can turn on automatic backup for Locked Folder, and then open it from other devices signed in to your Google Account. That is real convenience if you use Google Photos on a tablet or the web.

What are Locked Folder's limits?

Google is upfront about them:

• Same code as your phone. Your Locked Folder password is your device screen lock, and you cannot set a separate one. Anyone you have shared your PIN with, or who sees you unlock the phone, can open it.
• Photos and videos only. The help page describes it as a place for sensitive photos and videos, not documents.
• No editing or sharing inside. Items in Locked Folder cannot be added to albums, edited, shared or moved to the trash until you move them out.
• Lost without backup. If backup is off, items exist only on that phone and are lost if you uninstall Photos, clear its data, reset the phone, or it is lost or damaged.

How does Velum differ?

Velum is a separate vault with its own lock. You draw a pattern that has nothing to do with your screen lock, and Velum turns it into an encryption key with Argon2id, which makes guessing slow. Every photo, video, thumbnail and file name is then encrypted on the phone with AES-256-GCM using Google's Tink library. A screen called "What others see" shows any photo next to the same file as stored on the phone, which is random noise with no name and no type.

It holds more than photos: PDFs, ZIPs, voice memos and other files, with encrypted notes in Pro. Its private camera saves photos and videos straight into the vault, never to your gallery. Screenshots are blocked, and it locks when you leave or lay the phone face down.

Our guide on how to hide photos on Android covers Locked Folder step by step alongside other methods.

How does backup compare?

Locked Folder's backup goes to your Google Account, and you can open it on other devices. It is easy, but it depends on that account.

Velum has no account. It backs up an already encrypted copy free to a folder you choose: your phone, a memory card or a USB drive. With Pro, it backs up automatically to Google Drive, in a hidden app space only Velum can read. You restore on a new phone with your pattern or your 9 word recovery phrase. Velum cannot be opened from a browser or a second device, which is the price of having no account.

Whichever you use, turn backup on. A phone can always be lost, broken or reset.

What about someone forcing you to open it?

Locked Folder opens with your screen lock, so if you unlock your phone for someone, they can open it too. Velum Pro lets you add more vaults, each with its own pattern, so you can show a decoy with ordinary photos in it. No list of vaults exists anywhere in the app. A duress pattern can open one vault and quietly remove the keys to every other vault, which cannot be undone. And the disguise can show a working Calculator, Notes or Weather icon instead of Velum's.

Which should you choose?

Use Locked Folder if:

• You want something free that is already on your phone.
• Nobody else knows your screen lock.
• You only need to hide photos and videos.
• You want to reach them from other devices through your Google Account.

Choose Velum if:

• You want a vault code that is different from your screen lock.
• You want to hide documents and other files too.
• You want no account and encryption you can see.
• You want decoy vaults, a duress pattern or a disguised icon.

Using a Samsung phone? See Velum vs Samsung Secure Folder. Comparing paid vault apps? See Velum vs Keepsafe. If clearing out old photos is part of the plan, our guide to freeing up storage on Android and clearing app cache will help.

Sources

• Google Photos Help: Hide sensitive photos and videos in Locked Folder