Privacy and security
How to Hide Photos on Android (Free and Encrypted Options)
By the llcloud team 5 min read
Quick answer
The free way is Google Photos Locked Folder: open Photos, go to Collections, tap Locked and set it up with your screen lock. Samsung phones also have Secure Folder, and Android 15 and newer has Private space. If you want photos encrypted with their own key, a decoy vault or a recovery phrase, an encrypted vault app such as Velum, coming soon, is the stronger option.
Whether it is ID scans, medical photos or pictures that are simply nobody else's business, you probably do not want them one swipe away in your gallery when you hand your phone to someone. Android now has several free ways to hide photos. They differ in how well they hide, whether they back up, and what happens if you forget the lock.
What are the free ways to hide photos on Android?
| Option | Works on | What it hides | Backup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Photos Locked Folder | Any phone with Google Photos | Photos and videos | Optional, to Google Photos | Uses your screen lock |
| Samsung Secure Folder | Supported Galaxy phones | Photos, files and whole apps | Samsung's own options | Needs a Samsung account |
| Android Private space | Android 15 and newer | Whole apps and their files | Depends on the apps inside | Separate lock possible |
| Gallery "hide" option | Some brands | Photos | Varies | Often hides only, no lock |
Google Photos Locked Folder
- Open Google Photos and go to Collections.
- Tap Locked (on some versions, Locked Folder under Utilities) and follow the setup. You need a screen lock on the phone.
- To move a photo in, open it, tap the three-dot menu and choose Move to Locked Folder.
Items in Locked Folder do not show in your gallery, search or the photo picker of other apps. Backup is optional. You can turn it on later under Photos settings > Backup > Back up Locked Folder. Google warns that items you have not backed up exist only on that device, and you can lose them by uninstalling Photos.
Samsung Secure Folder
- Open Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder. On older One UI versions it is under Biometrics and security.
- Sign in with a Samsung account and choose a PIN, pattern or password.
- Turn on Reset with Samsung account if you want a way back in when you forget the lock. Samsung says that without it, a forgotten lock means no access.
- Move photos in from the Gallery's share or move options, or open Gallery inside Secure Folder.
Secure Folder is a separate space with its own apps, so it hides more than photos. If the option does not appear, your Galaxy model does not support it.
Private space (Android 15 and newer)
Private space is a locked area for whole apps. You can install a gallery or file manager inside it.
- Open Settings > Security & privacy > Private space.
- Unlock with your screen lock, tap Set up and choose whether to add a separate Google account.
- Pick a lock for the space, either your screen lock or a different one.
It is meant for apps more than for individual photos, and Google notes that someone who can install apps or connect the phone to a computer may still tell that a Private space exists.
When is an encrypted vault the better option?
The free tools are good choices for many people. A dedicated vault makes sense when you want any of these:
- Files encrypted with a key that comes from your own pattern, not just tucked away behind the phone's lock.
- A way back in that needs no account, like a recovery phrase.
- A decoy vault to open when someone insists on looking.
- A vault that does not look like a vault.
Velum is our encrypted vault for Android, coming soon to Google Play. Here is what it does, in plain terms.
Encryption on the phone. Every photo, video, thumbnail and file name is encrypted on your phone with AES-256-GCM, using Google's Tink library. The key comes from the pattern you draw, stretched with Argon2id so guessing it is slow.
Proof you can see. "What others see" shows any photo next to the same file as it is stored on your phone: random noise, no name, no type.
Nothing lost on import. Every import is decrypted back and checked against the original before Velum offers to remove it from your gallery. Your phone asks once to confirm that removal.
A 9 word recovery phrase. If you forget your pattern, nine words open your vault. There is no account and so no reset email. Write the phrase on paper.
Encrypted backup. Back up for free to a folder, memory card or USB drive. With Pro, Velum can back up on its own to your Google Drive, in a hidden app space only Velum can read. What is copied is already encrypted.
Private camera and quick lock. Photos taken inside Velum never touch your gallery. Screenshots are blocked, and Velum locks when you leave or lay the phone face down.
Pro, by month or year with a 7-day free trial or once for life, removes the free limit of 100 photos or files and 10 videos and adds more vaults (each with its own pattern, for a decoy), a duress pattern and a disguise as a working calculator, notes or weather icon.
What Velum cannot do
Encryption protects the files, not your phone. Someone who watches you draw your pattern can open the vault. If you lose both the pattern and the recovery phrase, nobody can recover the files, including us. Anyone who knows Velum exists knows hidden vaults can exist, so a decoy works best with ordinary photos in it.
Which option should you pick?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Free, simple, backed up to Google | Locked Folder |
| Hide whole apps on a Galaxy | Secure Folder |
| Hide whole apps on Android 15 and newer | Private space |
| Encryption with your own key, a recovery phrase and decoys | Velum (coming soon) |
Does hiding photos free up storage?
No. Hidden photos still live on the phone. If space is the real problem, see how to free up storage on Android and how to clear cache on Android. Broomie finds duplicate and similar photos, so clean those up before you move the rest into a vault, and you will not encrypt three copies of the same shot.
Privacy goes beyond your gallery. Apps send data to tracking domains in the background, and our guide on blocking trackers without a VPN shows how to stop most of it with Android's Private DNS setting or Repel.
Sources
Questions
How do I hide photos on Android for free?
Use Google Photos Locked Folder. Open Google Photos, go to Collections, tap Locked and follow the setup, which uses your phone's screen lock. Move photos in from the photo's menu. They disappear from your gallery, search and other apps. Samsung users can also use Secure Folder, and Android 15 and newer phones have Private space for whole apps.
Will I lose Locked Folder photos if I uninstall Google Photos?
You can, if they are not backed up. Google says items in Locked Folder that you have not backed up exist only on that device, and uninstalling Photos can remove them. Turn on Back up Locked Folder in Photos settings if you want a copy in your account, or keep a separate backup.
Is hiding photos the same as encrypting them?
Not always. Many vault apps just move files into a hidden folder behind a passcode, and anyone with a file manager or a computer may find them. Encryption scrambles the file itself so it is unreadable without the key. Android's own storage encryption protects a locked phone, but once the phone is unlocked, files in ordinary folders are readable.
What happens if I forget my vault password?
It depends on the tool. Locked Folder uses your screen lock, and Samsung Secure Folder can be reset with your Samsung account if you turned that on during setup. An encrypted vault with no account cannot be reset by anyone, which is why Velum gives you a 9 word recovery phrase when you create a vault. Write it on paper.
Can someone tell that I am hiding photos?
Often, yes. Locked Folder appears in Google Photos, Secure Folder has an icon unless you hide it, and Google says some people may still detect that a Private space exists. Velum Pro offers decoy vaults that open with a different pattern, and a disguise that shows a working calculator instead of the Velum icon.
