Hide images in Google Photos

In this section, we discuss how to hide private photos on Android and how to hide images on Google Photos. Almost every Android phone comes with Google Photos installed. You can set up a locked folder in Google Photos to hide your private pictures from the main gallery. When you move the photos to the folder, they will no longer be visible in any image browser on your device.

To set it up, go to Library > Utilities > Locked Folder and follow the on-screen instructions. You just need to unlock it with your fingerprint or PIN, then  tap on Move items . Select the photos and videos you want to add, then tap Move and tap Move again .  To move them back out of the folder, select them and tap Move . You can also delete content from the folder.

Hide private photos

The locked folder is a great feature, but others can grab your wrist if you’re not careful. Google Photos acts as a cloud-based image backup service, but the contents of your private folder are not backed up (and will be deleted if they have already been backed up). To transfer images to the cloud, you need to remove them from the locked folder.

In the next part of how to hide private photos on Android, we will check how to hide photos using file manager. If you prefer to use a different solution, there are other options, but the process is a bit more complicated.

You can use a file manager to do some tricks or rely on non-native tools that specialize in hiding content. Some non-native gallery apps also have this feature. Let’s first check two file manager tricks to hide files.

Create a new folder

Before starting, you need to install a high-quality file manager on your phone.

After deciding and installing the file manager, activate the program. You must create a new folder that starts with a dot (for example, PrivateFiles or .Secret ).

Then, move all the photos you want to hide to the newly created folder. How to do this varies from app to app, but usually a long press on the file you want to transfer will give you this option.

Any files you move will no longer show up in the Gallery app. Without going into too much detail, this is because any folder that starts with a dot will not be scanned by the phone software.

Create a “.nomedia” file

If you have hundreds of photos you want to hide, it’s impractical to move them all manually. Instead, it’s easier to create a .nomedia file in the folders you want to obfuscate.

When your phone sees a .nomedia file in a folder, it won’t load the contents of the folder when it scans your directory.

You still need a non-native file manager program to create files. Use it to navigate to the folder you want to hide and create a new file in the directory called .nomedia (make sure you include the dot). The file doesn’t need to have any content—the file name is the important part.

To reverse the process, just delete the .nomedia file.

Warning: While both of these methods hide content from the native photo library, the images will still be visible in any file manager. They are not password protected.

Non-native applications to hide images on Android

There are also several non-native image gallery apps that you can use to hide photos and keep them locked. Here are three of the best:

1. Vaulty

Hide private photos

Vaulty, the first private photo hiding app option on Android, has established itself as the leading app for hiding content. Hundreds of thousands of users have left positive reviews on the Google Play Store.

This application comes with its own photo gallery. Any photo you lock can only be viewed there. Gallery also lets you create multiple vaults, meaning you can have different collections of photos to show to different people. All of your content is password protected and it even backs up your media, so you can rest assured that this app is safe if you lose your phone.

Download link: Vaulty

2. Keepsafe

Hide private photos

Keepsafe is the second choice of private photo hiding app on Android, Vaulty’s biggest competitor and has a very similar feature set. All your photos are password-encrypted and you can back up your photos to the app’s cloud storage.

The app also has a feature that hides the icon on your screen, meaning that someone who picks up your phone won’t know you’re hiding anything. Finally, the app has a Snapchat-like self-destruct feature that lets you share photos with other app users that are automatically deleted after 20 seconds.

Download link: Keepsafe

3. LockMyPix

LockMyPix, the third option for hiding private photos on Android, uses standard-grade AES encryption to hide an unlimited number of photos or videos on your Android phone or tablet. Some of the other features of this app that help it stand out include support for photos on SD card, encrypted backup and support for GIF files.

Download link: LockMyPix

Easily hide photos on Android

We’ve guided you through a collection of tricks for anyone who wants to hide photos on Android. Most users can probably use the basic tools on their phone. But if you prefer a few more features, like hiding the app that houses your private photos, you should go for a non-native app instead.

Source: MAKEUSEOF.COM