How to create a locked photo album on android

Did you know that Google Photos on Android now has the option of creating a locked folder? Why would you even want this? Consider this: Over the past couple of years, millions of people across the globe have received COVID vaccinations and have been given cards to show as proof. You might not want to carry that card with you (to keep it safe). Instead, you might take a photo of the card so you have a digital copy on hand. 

However, you might not want just anyone to have access to that information. For such an image, you could also set up a locked folder in Google Photos on Android and tuck that image away for safekeeping. Once you do this, the only way to view that image is via your default screen unlock authentication (such as the fingerprint scanner). 

There is, of course, a caveat to using a locked folder. Any photo or video stored within that folder is not backed up to your cloud account. So choose the photos/videos you want to lock up wisely.

I'm going to demonstrate how to set up a locked folder in Google Photos on Android 12 running on a Pixel 6 Pro. This process should work in a similar fashion, no matter the device, so long as you're using Android 12.

Creating the locked folder

Open Google Photos on your Android device. From the main window (Figure 1), tap Utilities.

Figure 1

Sometimes you want to hide, move or archive pictures and videos from your photo album so they don’t appear in your main camera roll. Both popular mobile operating systems make this easy. Here’s how:

iOS: Create and Use Hidden Folders

Apple lets you scoot images or videos into a separate folder so they are not easily seen when flipping through your main album. They’re removed from your main albums and galleries but are safely stored in another location. This works on iPhones and iPads.

• Launch the Photos app
• Tap the album that you want to hide images (or videos) from
• Tap Select in the upper right corner.
• Tap to select all the photos and videos you want to hide
• Tap the Share button (the icon with the up arrow)
• Choose Hide from the list of options for the images (you may have to scroll down)
• You will be prompted to confirm that you want to hide the files

Later, to find your hidden photos and videos, scroll down to Other Albums and tap Hidden. The photos you’ve hidden from view will be stored here. You can unhide a file by tapping the Share button and selecting Unhide. For more details visit Apple’s support page.

How to create hidden folders on Android

Please note, every Android is not the same. If these steps do not work for you, do a search for “hide photos on {your phone model and Android version}.”

For most stock versions of the Android operating system, these steps should work:

• Open the Google Photos app.
• Select the images that you wish to hide.
• Tap the three-dot icon in the top right-hand corner.
• Tap Move to Archive in the drop-down menu.

This hides your photos and videos in a separate folder (called Archive). You can access this from your main Google Photos menu, but the contents of this folder will not be included in any of your other feeds. For more details and tips, visit Android Central.

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How do you make a hidden album on Android?

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