How do you hide photos on a Xiaomi phone?

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones run Xiaomi’s own Gallery app on top of Android, so the hiding tools differ from a Pixel or a Samsung. This guide follows Xiaomi’s support pages and Google’s help pages, which we checked on 2026-10-09. Xiaomi writes its steps per model, here the Xiaomi 14T and 14T Pro, and menus can differ on other models and HyperOS versions.

Which method fits?

Method	What it does	Needs a password to view
Hidden album in Gallery	Takes an album out of the main Gallery view	Not in Xiaomi’s steps
Private album in Gallery	Moves photos to a private album tied to Xiaomi Cloud	Needs a Xiaomi Account
App lock on Gallery	Asks for a password each time Gallery opens	Yes, an App lock password
Google Photos Locked Folder	Moves photos out of Google Photos and other apps	Your screen lock
Photo vault app	Keeps photos in the app’s own storage	The app’s own code

Hide an album in Gallery

1. Open the Gallery app.
2. Press and hold the album.
3. Tap Hide.
4. Tap OK.

Xiaomi says this keeps an album “out of the main Gallery view, while still allowing access through settings”. To see hidden albums again, open Gallery, tap the three-dot icon at the top right, select Settings, then tap View hidden albums. Tap Unhide, then OK, to bring one back.

Xiaomi’s steps for that screen ask for no password. So a hidden album stops a person who scrolls through Gallery, not a person who opens its settings.

Lock Gallery with App lock

App lock makes Gallery, or any app, ask for a password. Xiaomi’s steps for the Xiaomi 14T Pro:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Apps.
3. Tap App lock.
4. Tap Turn on and set the password.
5. Add your Xiaomi Account now or later.
6. Select the apps to lock.

Read step 5 twice. Xiaomi says: “Xiaomi Account is the only way to restore your APP lock in case you forget it. Otherwise, you can only reset your password after a factory data reset.” A factory reset erases the phone, so link the account.

Lock every app that can show your photos, not only Gallery: the file manager, Google Photos and chat apps.

The private album

An older Xiaomi article describes a private album. Open an album, select one or more photos, tap Add album, then choose Private album. Xiaomi says the first time needs an existing or new Mi account, now called a Xiaomi Account, “for the Xiaomi Cloud tool to start working”. Xiaomi’s article does not give the HyperOS steps, so the option may sit elsewhere on a new phone.

Use Google Photos Locked Folder

Google Photos runs on Xiaomi phones too. Its Locked Folder takes photos out of the photo grid, albums and search, and out of other apps that read your photos.

1. Open Google Photos and tap Collections, then Locked.
2. Tap Set up Locked Folder and unlock your phone.
3. Select photos, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder.

Google says Locked Folder opens with your screen lock, and that its backup is a separate switch. Our Locked Folder guide covers backup and limits. If Files by Google is on your phone, its Safe folder uses its own PIN or pattern, but Google says a forgotten PIN means lost files.

What these methods do not protect

• People who know your screen lock can open Locked Folder.
• Hidden albums open from Gallery settings.
• Cloud copies. A photo that Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud already backed up has a copy there.
• Chat apps keep their own copies of photos you sent or received.

For the general Android picture, read how to hide photos on Android.

When a vault app makes sense

If the person you want privacy from knows your screen lock, or can open Gallery settings, you need a separate code. York Vault is on Google Play. It opens with its own PIN, passcode or pattern and encrypts each photo on the phone. It backs every item up, encrypted, to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive. It blocks screenshots on every York Vault screen, and it removes originals from your gallery only after it checks its own copy. See York Vault on Android and the best photo vault apps for Android. Download York Vault on Google Play.