Android has more built-in ways to hide photos than you might expect, though they differ by phone maker and app version. Here are the four options worth knowing, how to set each one up, and how much privacy each really gives you.
Quick answer: in Google Photos, select the photos, tap More (•••) and choose Move to Locked Folder. They disappear from your grid and open only with your screen lock. For a key that’s separate from your screen lock, plus decoy vaults, use an encrypted vault such as Sigilock.
Option 1: Google Photos Locked Folder
- Open Google Photos, go to Collections (or Library) and open Locked Folder. Follow the prompts to set it up.
- Back in your photos, select what you want to hide, tap More (•••), then Move to Locked Folder.
- On some Pixel phones, the camera can also save new shots straight into the Locked Folder.
Locked photos stay out of your grid, albums, search and other apps. The catch: the folder opens with your phone’s screen lock, so anyone who knows your PIN or pattern can open it. And unless you turn on its backup, uninstalling Google Photos or clearing its data erases what’s inside.
Option 2: Samsung Secure Folder
On Galaxy phones, Secure Folder is a separate, locked space with its own apps, gallery and camera. Find it in Settings under Security and privacy (the exact menu varies by One UI version), set it up, and choose its own lock type. Then move photos in from the Gallery app with Move to Secure Folder.
It’s the strongest built-in option, but it only exists on Samsung phones, its icon shows that it’s there, and it has no decoy.
Option 3: Safe folder in Files by Google
The Files by Google app has a Safe folder protected by its own PIN or pattern. Open Files, find Safe folder under Collections, set your lock, then select files and choose Move to Safe folder. It’s simple and free, though it’s a file manager first: viewing large photo collections there is basic, and there are no decoys or failed-attempt alerts.
Option 4: an encrypted vault with its own sigil
Sigilock keeps photos, videos, files and notes in vaults encrypted with AES-256, opened by a sigil, a pattern on a 5×5 grid that has nothing to do with your screen lock. Every sigil opens its own vault, so you can keep a believable decoy, and a duress sigil that quietly locks away everything else.
- Install Sigilock and draw your sigil. The strength meter shows when it’s hard to guess.
- Write down your 12-word recovery phrase and keep it somewhere safe. Nobody can reset it for you.
- In Settings, turn on Remove originals after import. Then tap Add and choose your photos and videos; once they’re encrypted, Sigilock asks to delete the originals.
- If Google Photos backup is on, the photos may already be in your Google account. Delete them in Google Photos and empty its Trash, where deleted items otherwise wait for up to 60 days.
- Use the camera inside Sigilock for anything new and private. Those shots never reach your gallery or your backups.
Side by side
| Feature | Locked Folder | Secure Folder | Safe folder | Sigilock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Separate from your screen lock | ||||
| Decoy vaults | ||||
| Duress mode | ||||
| Logs failed attempts | ||||
| Camera straight into the vault | Some Pixels | |||
| Works on any Android phone | Samsung only | |||
| Also on iPhone | ||||
| Price | Free | Free | Free | 7 days free |
A few more privacy tips
- Check which apps have access to all your photos in Settings, and switch them to selected photos where you can.
- Shared albums and partner sharing in Google Photos stay visible to the people you share with.
- Keep your recovery phrase offline. A screenshot of it in your gallery defeats the point.