Google Photos Locked Folder: Hide Private Photos with Your Screen Lock

Introduction

Your photo gallery is often the first thing someone sees when they borrow your phone. Family photos, personal documents, and private pictures all sit together in one grid. Google Photos has a free built-in solution: the Locked Folder. Photos moved there disappear from your main gallery and can only be opened with your phone's screen lock.

Locked Folder keeps private photos out of your main gallery.

What Is the Locked Folder?

The Locked Folder is a private space inside the Google Photos app. Photos and videos moved there:

• Do not appear in your main photo grid, search results, albums, or Memories.
• Cannot be opened without your phone's PIN, pattern, or fingerprint.
• Are not shown to other apps that can normally see your photos.

It is not a separate app and costs nothing — it is part of Google Photos on Android.

How to Set Up Locked Folder

1. Open Google Photos and tap "Library" at the bottom.
2. Tap "Utilities", then tap "Locked Folder".
3. Tap "Set up Locked Folder" and confirm with your phone's screen lock.
4. The folder is now ready. You can open it any time from Library, then Utilities, then Locked Folder.

(On some phones the path is slightly different, but it is always under Library and Utilities.)

How to Move Photos into Locked Folder

1. In Google Photos, long-press a photo (or select several photos).
2. Tap the three-dot menu and choose "Move to Locked Folder".
3. Confirm. The photos leave your main gallery immediately.

To move a photo back, open the Locked Folder, select the photo, tap the menu, and choose "Move out of Locked Folder".

Move photos in a few taps — they leave the main grid at once.

Four steps to hide photos in Locked Folder.

What Locked Folder Does — and Does Not — Do

• It does hide photos on this phone. Anyone scrolling your gallery will not find them.
• It does not back them up. Photos in Locked Folder are stored only on this device and are not uploaded to your Google account. That is good for privacy, but it means they are not protected if you lose the phone — so keep a separate copy somewhere safe if the photo truly matters.
• It does not hide photos from everything. If you shared a photo before moving it, the shared copy still exists. And screenshots of the Locked Folder itself are blocked, which is another privacy bonus.
• It needs your screen lock. If you remove your phone's PIN or fingerprint, you will be asked to set one again before using the folder.

Only your screen lock opens the folder.

Tips for Using Locked Folder Well

• Move, do not copy: Moving removes the photo from the main grid. If you only want a second copy somewhere, use a separate album instead.
• Clean up regularly: Every few weeks, check your recent photos and move anything private straight away — it is easy to forget.
• Do not use it for everything: Keep everyday photos in the main gallery so Locked Folder stays quick to check and truly private.

Related Tip

If your Google account is running out of space, read our guide on how to free up Google storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos.

Final Words

Locked Folder is the simplest way to keep private photos private on Android, and it takes less than two minutes to set up. If you ever hand your phone to someone else, it is worth having.

Do you already use Locked Folder, or do you hide private photos another way? Tell us in the comments.