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How to hide photos on Android

Updated November 8, 2026

Android has no single hidden album. Depending on your phone you have up to three built-in options: the Locked Folder in Google Photos, Secure Folder on Samsung phones, and private space on Android 15 and later. They work differently, and most of them open with your screen lock.

Locked Folder in Google Photos

1. In Google Photos, open the photo.
2. Tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move.

To open the folder, go to Collections and tap Locked.

Photos in the Locked Folder don't show up in your library, in search, in albums or in other apps. The folder opens with your phone's screen lock and you can't give it a password of its own, so anyone who knows your PIN can open it.

Backup is up to you. With Back up Locked Folder turned on, the photos go to Google's cloud, where they aren't end-to-end encrypted, and they appear on your other devices signed in to the same account. With backup off, they exist only on this phone: a factory reset or uninstalling Google Photos deletes them.

Secure Folder on Samsung phones

Secure Folder is a separate space on Samsung Galaxy phones, with a PIN, password or pattern of its own. To set it up, open Settings and search for “Secure Folder”. To move a photo in, touch and hold it in Gallery, tap More, then Move to Secure Folder.

Its lock can be different from your screen lock, which already makes it harder to open than the Locked Folder. Samsung no longer supports backing up Secure Folder, so when you change phones you need Smart Switch.

Private space on Android 15 and later

Private space is a separate area at the bottom of the app list, for apps you want to keep apart. You'll find it in Settings › Security & privacy › Private space, but some manufacturers don't offer it. It can use your screen lock or a lock of its own. While it's locked, its apps disappear from the app list, recent apps, search and the photo picker.

Apps have to be installed inside private space: one you already have can't be moved in. There is no backup either, so deleting the space deletes everything in it.

Hiding albums in Samsung Gallery

Samsung Gallery can also leave albums out of the album list. That only hides them from view: there is no lock, and anyone can show them again from the Gallery menu.

Keep private photos encrypted with Demaratos

Demaratos keeps photos encrypted in a space of its own and opens with its own passphrase, never with your screen lock. If you turn on fingerprint or face unlock in Demaratos, there is no fallback to your PIN.

1. In Gallery or Google Photos, select the photos, tap Share and choose Demaratos.
2. Demaratos encrypts them. The originals stay where they were, and Demaratos reminds you to delete them.
3. Delete the originals in your gallery and empty its trash, where they would otherwise stay for 30 days.
4. If Google Photos backs up your phone, delete them there too and empty its trash, which also keeps them for 30 days.

To hide Demaratos itself, install it inside private space or Secure Folder before you add any files.