How to hide photos on Samsung and Android

Wondering how to hide photos on Samsung or any other Android phone? You have more built-in choices than iPhone owners do, and they work quite differently. Samsung Galaxy phones have Secure Folder, a Private album in Gallery on newer software, and a basic Hide albums switch. Every Android phone with Google Photos has Locked Folder. This guide shows each one step by step, then the part most guides skip: what happens to those photos if you lose the phone or forget the lock.

The options at a glance

How to hide photos on Samsung with Secure Folder

Secure Folder is a separate, locked space on the phone with its own copy of Gallery, My Files and any apps you add. Samsung says it’s protected by its Knox security platform, which encrypts what’s stored there.

To set it up:

1. Open Settings, tap Security and privacy, then More security settings.
2. Tap Secure Folder, then Continue, and allow the permissions it asks for.
3. Sign in to your Samsung account if asked.
4. Choose a lock: a PIN, password or pattern.
5. Decide on Reset with Samsung account. With it on, your Samsung account can reset a forgotten lock. With it off, Samsung says you won’t be able to get into Secure Folder if you forget the lock.

To move photos in:

1. Open Gallery.
2. Touch and hold the photos you want to hide.
3. Tap More, then Move to Secure Folder.

The photos leave your main Gallery and appear in the Gallery inside Secure Folder. Samsung notes that files saved only in your cloud account can’t be moved; they need to be on the phone or SD card first.

The catch is backup. Samsung’s own support page now says backing up Secure Folder data is no longer supported, though you can still restore from older backups. Secure Folder can also only be opened on the phone itself, not from the web or a computer. So if the only copy of a photo is in Secure Folder and the phone is lost, stolen or broken, plan on that photo going with it.

Samsung Gallery: Private album and Hide albums

On selected Galaxy phones running One UI 8.5, Gallery has a Private album. Samsung says it’s protected by your device’s security lock and that screenshots are blocked inside it.

1. Open Gallery and tap the Menu button at the bottom right.
2. Tap Private album and follow the setup steps.
3. To add photos, select them in Gallery, tap More, then Move to private album, and tap Move.

It’s quicker than Secure Folder, but it opens with the same screen lock as your phone, so anyone who knows your PIN or pattern can get in.

Gallery’s older Hide albums switch is different again. In Gallery, go to Albums, tap View all, open the menu and tap Hide albums, then toggle the albums you want out of sight. There’s no lock at all. It’s useful for tidying, not for privacy, and Samsung’s own troubleshooting page tells people with “missing” photos to check this switch first.

How to hide photos on Android with Google Photos Locked Folder

Locked Folder works on any phone running Android 6 or later with the Google Photos app. Photos in it don’t appear in your main grid, search, albums or memories, and other apps that can see your photos can’t see these.

To move a photo in:

1. Open Google Photos and tap Photos.
2. Select the photo or video.
3. Tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move.

The first time, you’ll be asked to set it up. To open it later, tap Collections, then Locked, and unlock with your screen lock. Google says the Locked Folder password is always your phone’s screen lock; you can’t set a different one. That means anyone who knows your screen lock can open it.

Now the important part. Backup for Locked Folder is a separate switch. To turn it on, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, Backup, Back up Locked Folder. With it off, Google is plain about what happens: items stay only on that phone, and you lose them if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its data, factory reset, or the phone is damaged or lost. Google also warns that moving an item into Locked Folder deletes its existing Google Photos backup if Locked Folder backup is off.

Two more details. Only the original moves, so copies and edited versions stay where they were, including anything in the trash, which Google keeps for 30 days. And Google describes Locked Folder as protected by its standard encryption practices, not as a separate encrypted space with a key only you hold.

What these options have in common

• Who else can open it? Locked Folder and the Private album open with your screen lock. Secure Folder can have its own lock, which is better if people around you know your phone PIN.
• What if the phone is gone? Locked Folder keeps working if you turned its backup on. Secure Folder no longer backs up. A hidden album is still in Gallery, so it follows whatever Gallery does.
• What if you forget the lock? Secure Folder can be reset through your Samsung account if you allowed it. Our guide on what to do when you’ve forgotten a photo vault password covers the rest.

If you also have an iPhone, the built-in options there work differently again; our guide on how to hide photos on iPhone covers Apple’s Hidden album.

What Hideroom will add on Android

Until then, the sensible setup on Android is Locked Folder with its backup turned on, or Secure Folder with its own lock and a second copy of anything you can’t replace.