What is private space on Android, and how do you use it?

Private space arrived with Android 15. It is a second profile on your phone, with its own apps, its own files and, if you want, its own lock and Google Account. Our guide on how to hide apps on Android covers the app side. This guide covers the rest: the choices at setup, how photos and files behave inside, and the limits that Google lists. Every step comes from the Android Help and Pixel Phone Help pages for private space, which show the same steps.

What you need

Google lists these conditions:

• Android 15 or later.
• You are the main user of the phone, not a guest or a second user.
• The phone is not managed by a work or school, and no supervised account is signed in.
• The phone has 4 or fewer users or profiles.

Private space is not on every phone. Google says a phone maker or a work admin can turn it off. If you cannot find it under Security & privacy, your phone does not offer it.

Two choices at setup that matter

Two setup screens decide how private the space really is.

A separate Google Account

Private space does not read the accounts in your main space. You sign in again inside it. Google recommends a Google Account that you use only there. With the same account as your main space, Google says these can show outside private space:

• Synced photos, files, emails, contacts and calendar events.
• App download history and recommendations.
• Browsing history, bookmarks and saved passwords.

So if you sign in to Google Photos inside private space with your main account, its backups show in the Google Photos app in your main space too. A new account keeps them apart.

A separate lock

You can use your device screen lock, or choose a new PIN, pattern or password. A separate lock helps if someone else knows your screen lock. It also brings the biggest risk in this guide: Google says private space has no unlock factor recovery. Forget that lock, and the only way out is to delete the space with everything in it. Write the lock down somewhere safe.

How to set up private space

1. Open the Settings app and tap Security & privacy.
2. Under Privacy, tap Private space, and use your device screen lock.
3. Tap Set up, then Got it.
4. Sign in to a Google Account that you use only in private space, or skip this step.
5. Tap Choose new lock to set a separate lock, or Use device screen lock.
6. Tap Done.

Photos and files in private space

Private space is built for apps, but it holds files too.

Move photos into private space

1. Open private space and tap + Add.
2. Tap Add files, then select the photos or files. Touch and hold to select more than one.
3. Choose Move or Copy.

Google says Move deletes the original from your main space. Copy keeps the original. In both cases the file goes to the Downloads folder inside private space. The transfer fails if the file is in use, if storage is full, or if private space locks during the move.

To look at the photos later, install a gallery app inside private space. Open private space and tap + Install, then pick an app from the Play Store.

What the rest of the phone sees

While private space is locked, Google says its content is hidden from the photo picker and the file picker (Google calls it docs UI). Apps in your main space cannot pick those photos. While it is unlocked, those pickers show a Private tab.

Moving a photo into private space does not touch other copies. If Google Photos already backed up the photo from your main space, the cloud copy stays in your account. Check photos.google.com after a move.

Lock it every time

By default, the space can stay open. Set it to lock with the phone:

1. In All Apps, scroll down to Private space and open it.
2. Tap Settings next to Private space.
3. Tap Lock private space automatically.
4. Choose Every time device locks.

The other choices are 5 minutes after screen timeout and Only after the device restarts. On the same settings screen, under Hide, turn on Hide private space when it’s locked. The container then leaves All Apps the next time it locks. To open it again, search for private space and tap Private space: Tap to set up or open.

What private space cannot do

Google lists these limits on its help page:

Limit	What it means for you
No device backup	A lost or reset phone loses every file in private space
No lock recovery	A forgotten lock means you delete the space
Apps stop while locked	No notifications, no background work, no health tracking
VPN bypass	Apps in private space skip the VPN on the phone
No Quick Share or Bluetooth in	You cannot receive files straight into private space
No Find Hub, widgets or voice commands	Those work only in the main space

Google also says private space can be found through computer access, including adb commands, through device logs, and by some apps.

How to delete or reset private space

If you know the private space lock, open Settings, tap Security & privacy, then Private space. Under System, tap Delete private space, then Delete.

If you forgot it, open Settings, tap System, then Reset Options, then Delete private space, and enter your device PIN. Google shows this option on every phone, even phones with no private space. Either way, the apps and files inside are gone, with no backup.

Private space or a locked folder?

	Private space	Locked Folder	Safe folder	Secure Folder
Phones	Android 15 and later	Android 6 and later	Android 8.0 and later	Supported Galaxy phones
Holds apps	Yes	No	No	Yes, as copies
Own lock	Optional	No, screen lock	Yes, PIN or pattern	Yes
Cloud backup	No	Optional	No	No new backups

The full list of photo options is in how to lock photos on Android.

Where York Vault fits

The gap in private space is the backup. York Vault fills that gap on Android, and it also runs on iPhone. It opens with its own PIN, passcode or pattern, and it encrypts each item on your phone. Then it backs up every item, encrypted, to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive, at no cost. See encrypted backup and how backup works on Android. If you forget your code, your 12-word recovery key opens your library.

You can also install York Vault inside private space. It then backs up to the Google Drive of the account you sign in to there. Android blocks screenshots on every York Vault screen. Viewing, export and restore stay free on every plan. See pricing and download York Vault.