The Honest Answer First: Your Phone Has a Lockable Drawer for Private Photos
Everyone has photos they do not want appearing on their screen at the wrong moment. A photo of a gift you are planning, a document with personal details, a picture you took for a doctor, or simply photos you would rather keep to yourself. On an Android phone, those photos do not have to sit in your main gallery where anyone scrolling through your phone can stumble across them. Google Photos has a feature called Locked Folder, and it moves chosen photos and videos into a separate, passcode-protected space that is hidden from the rest of your phone.
Photos in a Locked Folder do not appear in your photo grid, your albums, your memories, or your search results. They do not appear in other apps either, so they will not pop up when you attach a photo to a message or browse your files. They are not backed up to the cloud, and they are not shared with anyone. The only way to open them is to unlock your phone and then open the folder with your screen lock, your PIN, your fingerprint, or your face.
This guide covers the whole thing: setting up Locked Folder in Google Photos, moving photos into it, taking photos straight into it, and moving photos back out again. It also covers the built-in option on Pixel phones, Samsung’s separate Secure Folder, and the traps to avoid, because Locked Folder has one serious catch. Anything in it exists only on your phone, and if you lose the phone or wipe it without moving those photos out first, they are gone for good.
Before You Start: What Locked Folder Is and Is Not
Five facts will save you from the most common mistakes people make with Locked Folder, so read them before you move anything.
Step 1: Understand that Locked Folder photos are not backed up. This is the single most important thing in this guide. Photos in a Locked Folder are stored only on your phone. They are not uploaded to Google Photos, they are not included in your backup, and Google cannot recover them if your phone is lost, stolen, or factory reset. If a photo matters to you, keep a copy somewhere safe outside the folder, such as on your computer or an encrypted drive, before you lock it away.
Step 2: Check that your phone has a screen lock. Locked Folder is protected by your phone’s screen lock, so you need one set up before you can use it. Open Settings, then Security, and check that you have a PIN, pattern, password, fingerprint, or face unlock turned on. If you have no screen lock at all, Locked Folder will ask you to set one up first, and it will not work until you do.
Step 3: Check that you have Google Photos installed and updated. Locked Folder lives in the Google Photos app, which is pre-installed on most Android phones. Open the Play Store, search for Google Photos, and update it if an update is offered. Locked Folder needs a reasonably recent version of the app, and on older phones it needs Android 6 or later. If your phone does not have Google Photos, install it free from the Play Store.
Step 4: Know what Locked Folder hides, and what it does not. Locked Folder hides photos and videos from the Photos grid, from albums, from Memories, from search, and from other apps. It does not hide the fact that Locked Folder exists, and it does not protect photos stored outside Google Photos, such as images saved in a file manager or in another gallery app. If a photo lives in more than one place, locking the copy in Google Photos does not lock the other copy.
Step 5: Decide which photos actually belong in the folder. Locked Folder is best for a small number of sensitive photos, not for your entire library. Moving thousands of photos into it makes them unbacked-up and hard to find, and it slows the folder down. Pick the photos that genuinely need hiding, and leave the rest where they are.
Set Up Locked Folder in Google Photos
Setting up Locked Folder takes less than a minute, and you only do it once. After that, moving photos in and out is a matter of a few taps.
Step 6: Open Google Photos and go to Collections. Open the Google Photos app and tap “Collections” at the bottom of the screen. In older versions of the app this tab is called “Library”. The name changed in a 2024 update, so if you see Library instead of Collections, you are in the right place anyway.
Step 7: Tap Locked Folder under Utilities. On the Collections screen, scroll down to the “Utilities” section and tap “Locked Folder”. If you do not see Utilities, look for it under the “More” or “Tools” area on your version of the app. If there is no Locked Folder entry at all, update Google Photos as in Step 3, because the feature may not have reached your app version yet.
Step 8: Confirm your screen lock. The first time you open Locked Folder, Google Photos asks you to confirm your screen lock. Enter your PIN, pattern, or password, or use your fingerprint or face. This proves that you are the owner of the phone, and it sets the lock that will guard the folder from now on. Locked Folder always uses your phone’s screen lock, not a separate password, so anyone who can unlock your phone can open the folder too.
Step 9: Read the warning and tap Set up. Google Photos shows a short warning explaining that items in Locked Folder will not be backed up and will be deleted if you uninstall the app or clear its data. Read it, because it is the catch described in Step 1, and tap “Set up” or “Turn on Locked Folder” to finish. The folder is now ready, and it will appear as an empty folder until you add photos to it.
Move Photos and Videos into Locked Folder
There are two ways to get photos into Locked Folder: move photos that are already in your library, or take new photos straight into it. Moving existing photos is the one most people use.
Step 10: Select the photos you want to hide. In Google Photos, go to your photo grid and long-press the first photo you want to hide. It will be selected with a tick. Tap any other photos you want to hide to add them to the selection. You can select photos and videos together, and you can select as many as you like, but remember the advice in Step 5 and keep the number sensible.
Step 11: Tap the three dots and choose Move to Locked Folder. With your photos selected, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner and tap “Move to Locked Folder”. Google Photos will show a confirmation explaining again that the items will be removed from your backup and will only exist on this device. Tap “Move” to confirm.
Step 12: Check that the photos have disappeared from your grid. Go back to your photo grid and check that the photos you just moved are gone. Search for them by date or description too, because Locked Folder items are excluded from search as well. If a photo still appears, you may have selected a different copy of it, or the same photo may exist in another album, so check the other locations described in Step 4.
Step 13: Move photos from inside an album the same way. If the photo you want to hide is inside an album, open the album, long-press the photo, and use the same three-dot menu to move it to Locked Folder. Moving it out of an album also removes it from that album, which is what you want, because an album is one of the places Locked Folder hides things from, and leaving a copy there would defeat the purpose.
Step 14: Move a single photo from its detail view. If you are already looking at a photo full-screen, tap the three dots at the top and choose “Move to Locked Folder” from the menu. This is the quickest way to hide one photo without going back to the grid and selecting it. It works for videos too, from the video playback screen.
Take New Photos Straight into Locked Folder
On Pixel phones, you can skip the moving step entirely and have the camera save photos directly into Locked Folder. This is the most discreet option, because the photo never appears in your main gallery at all.
Step 15: Open the Pixel Camera app and tap the photo gallery icon. On a Pixel, open the Camera app and tap the small photo thumbnail in the bottom corner, the one that opens your recent photos. This is where the camera’s save settings live.
Step 16: Tap Locked Folder to set it as the save location. In the menu that appears, tap “Locked Folder”. From now on, every photo and video you take with the Pixel Camera app goes straight into Locked Folder until you change the setting back. A small Locked Folder icon appears on the camera screen to remind you that this is active.
Step 17: Switch the save location back when you are done. When you want normal photos again, open the Camera app, tap the photo thumbnail, and tap “Photo Gallery” to switch back. If you forget to switch back, your next holiday photos will vanish into Locked Folder and you will wonder where they went, so check the icon on the camera screen before you start taking pictures that you want to keep in the main gallery.
Step 18: Remember that this is a Pixel-only shortcut. The direct-to-Locked-Folder camera option is a Pixel feature. On other Android phones, the camera always saves to the main gallery, and you move photos into Locked Folder afterwards using Steps 10 to 14. Check your camera app’s settings for a similar option, because some manufacturers add their own private album features, but do not assume it exists.
Open Locked Folder and Move Photos Back Out
Getting photos out of Locked Folder is just as easy as putting them in, and you will need to do it whenever you want to share, edit, or back up a locked photo.
Step 19: Open Locked Folder the same way you set it up. Open Google Photos, tap Collections, then Utilities, then Locked Folder, and confirm your screen lock. Your locked photos and videos appear in a grid that looks like the normal gallery, but with a lock icon at the top to remind you where you are.
Step 20: View a locked photo full-screen. Tap any photo in Locked Folder to view it full-screen. You can swipe through your locked photos the same way you swipe through normal ones. You can also zoom in, but you cannot edit a locked photo, share it, or add it to an album until you move it out, because Locked Folder deliberately blocks all of those actions.
Step 21: Move a photo back to the main gallery. Long-press the photo you want to move out, tap the three-dot menu, and choose “Move out of Locked Folder”. The photo returns to your main gallery, appears in search and albums again, and is backed up to Google Photos on the next backup, if backup is turned on. Only move photos out when you are ready for them to be visible again.
Step 22: Share a locked photo by moving it out first. Because Locked Folder blocks sharing, the way to send a locked photo to someone is to move it out, share it, and then move it back in. Move it out as in Step 21, share it from the main gallery, then select it again and move it back to Locked Folder. It is a few extra taps, but it keeps the photo hidden the rest of the time, and it means you never accidentally share a private photo from the wrong folder.
The Pixel Built-In Option and Samsung Secure Folder
Locked Folder is not the only private space on Android. Pixel phones and Samsung phones each have their own additional option, and they work differently enough that it is worth knowing which is which.
Step 23: Understand what is Pixel-only and what is not. The Locked Folder described in this guide is the Google Photos feature, and it works on any Android phone with Google Photos installed. The direct-to-Locked-Folder camera option in Steps 15 to 17 is Pixel-only. On a non-Pixel phone, everything else in this guide still applies exactly as written.
Step 24: Try Android 15 Private Space for hiding whole apps. On phones running Android 15, including Pixel phones, there is a separate feature called Private Space, which hides entire apps rather than individual photos. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then Private Space, and set it up with a separate lock. You can move apps into it, including your gallery or a messaging app, and they disappear from your home screen and app drawer until you unlock the space. Private Space is for apps, Locked Folder is for photos, and they solve different problems.
Step 25: Use Samsung Secure Folder if you have a Galaxy phone. Samsung phones have Secure Folder, which is a separate, encrypted area of the phone protected by its own PIN or biometrics. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then Secure Folder, and set it up with your Samsung account. You can move photos, videos, files, and even whole apps into it. Unlike Locked Folder, Secure Folder has its own separate gallery and file manager, and items inside it can be backed up to your Samsung account, so it does not have Locked Folder’s no-backup catch. If you have a Galaxy phone and you want a private space with backup, Secure Folder is the stronger choice.
Step 26: Do not mix the two systems up. A photo moved into Google Photos Locked Folder is not in Samsung Secure Folder, and a photo in Secure Folder is not in Locked Folder. They are separate drawers in separate pieces of furniture. Pick one system for your private photos and stick to it, so you always know where a photo is, and so you do not end up with two copies in two locked places, one of which is backed up and one of which is not.
When Locked Folder Goes Wrong
Most Locked Folder problems come from the same cause: the photos exist only on the phone, and something happens to the phone. Here is how to deal with the common cases.
Step 27: If you cannot find Locked Folder, update Google Photos. The most common reason the Locked Folder entry is missing is an out-of-date Google Photos app. Update it from the Play Store as in Step 3, then check Collections, then Utilities again. If it is still missing, your phone may be running a version of Android older than Android 6, in which case Locked Folder is not available at all.
Step 28: If Locked Folder asks for a lock you do not recognise, check your screen lock. Locked Folder uses your phone’s screen lock, so if you recently changed your PIN or turned on a new fingerprint, Locked Folder follows the new one. If you have forgotten your screen lock, you will need to reset it through your phone’s settings or your Google account, and that process may wipe the phone, which would also delete everything in Locked Folder. This is another reason to keep a safe copy of important photos elsewhere.
Step 29: If you uninstall Google Photos, your locked photos are deleted. This is stated in the setup warning, and it is worth repeating. Uninstalling Google Photos, or clearing its storage from Settings, deletes everything in Locked Folder permanently. Before you uninstall or clear data for any reason, move every locked photo out first, using Step 21. The same applies before a factory reset or before handing the phone in for repair.
Step 30: If your phone is lost, your locked photos are lost too. Because Locked Folder photos are not backed up, Find My Device cannot recover them, and Google support cannot restore them. This is the price of the privacy: nobody else can see them, including Google, which also means nobody can get them back for you. If a photo is irreplaceable, keep a copy on your computer or an encrypted USB drive before you lock the only copy away on your phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can anyone open Locked Folder if they unlock my phone? Yes. Locked Folder uses your phone’s screen lock, not a separate password. Anyone who can unlock your phone, or who knows your PIN, can open the folder. Locked Folder protects your photos from someone casually scrolling through your gallery, not from someone who has full access to your unlocked phone.
Do locked photos appear in Google Photos on the web or on my other devices? No. Locked Folder items are not backed up, so they do not sync to photos.google.com or to Google Photos on another phone or tablet. They exist only on the phone where you locked them.
Can I back up my Locked Folder photos? Not from inside Locked Folder. To back a photo up, move it out of the folder, let Google Photos back it up, and then move it back in. That briefly makes it visible in your main gallery, so do it when nobody is looking over your shoulder, and move it back as soon as the backup finishes.
Does Locked Folder hide photos from other apps? Yes. Photos in Locked Folder do not appear in the photo picker of messaging apps, social media apps, or file managers, because they are hidden from the phone’s media store entirely. The only app that can see them is Google Photos itself, inside the folder.
What happens to a locked photo if I share my Google Photos library with a partner? Nothing. Partner sharing only shares photos from your main library, not from Locked Folder. Locked photos are never shared, even if you share your whole library.
Is Locked Folder the same as archiving a photo? No. Archiving removes a photo from the main grid but keeps it backed up, searchable, and in albums. Locked Folder removes it from the grid, from search, and from backup, and locks it behind your screen lock. Archiving is for tidying up. Locked Folder is for privacy.
Can I use Locked Folder on an iPhone? No. Locked Folder is an Android and Google Photos feature. On an iPhone, the equivalent is the Hidden album in the Photos app, which you can lock with Face ID by turning on “Use Face ID” for the Hidden album in Settings, then Photos. It works differently and it does sync to iCloud, so the rules about backup do not apply in the same way.
Final Thoughts
Locked Folder is a small feature that solves a real problem, and it solves it well, as long as you respect its one rule. It hides photos completely, from your gallery, from search, from other apps, and from anyone scrolling through your phone. That is exactly what most people want. The price is that the photos exist only on your phone, with no backup and no recovery, so a lost or wiped phone means lost photos. Set it up, move in only the photos that genuinely need hiding, keep a safe copy of anything irreplaceable somewhere else, and move photos out before you uninstall the app, reset the phone, or hand it in for repair. Do that, and Locked Folder does its job quietly in the background, which is all a privacy feature should ever do.
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