How to lock photos on Android with a password

“Hide” and “lock” are not the same. A hidden photo leaves your gallery. A locked photo needs a code to open. On Android, the most important question is which code. If your screen lock opens it, anyone who knows your screen lock can open it too. This guide covers the built-in ways to lock photos with a separate code. Then it covers the ones that use your screen lock, and the backup of each. We checked every step against the Google and Samsung help pages listed below.

Which Android tools lock photos with their own code?

Tool	Phones	Code	Cloud backup of locked files	If you forget the code
Files by Google Safe folder	Android 8.0 and later	Its own PIN or pattern	No	A reset deletes the files
Samsung Secure Folder	Supported Galaxy phones	Its own PIN, password or pattern	No new backups	Reset with Samsung account, if you turned it on
Private space	Android 15 and later	Your screen lock, or a separate lock	Not part of device backup	A reset deletes the space
Google Photos Locked Folder	Android 6 and later	Your screen lock	Optional	Your screen lock opens it
Samsung Gallery private album	Select Galaxy phones with One UI 8.5	Fingerprint or screen lock	Not stated by Samsung	Your screen lock opens it

The pattern is clear. The tools with their own code keep no cloud copy. The tools with a cloud copy use your screen lock.

Lock photos with Files by Google Safe folder

Safe folder works on most Android phones, not only Pixel. It uses a PIN or pattern that you set only for it.

1. Open the Files by Google app, scroll to Collections, and tap Safe folder.
2. Tap PIN or Pattern. Enter it, tap Next, enter it again, and tap Next.
3. On the Remember your PIN or Remember your pattern screen, tap Got it.
4. Find the photos you want to lock. In grid view, touch and hold them.
5. At the top, tap More, then Move to Safe folder, and enter your PIN or pattern.

Google lists what Safe folder does not do. Files in it do not show in search or categories, and no other app can open them. Android blocks screenshots of Safe folder. There is no Share option and no Back up to Google Drive option.

Read two warnings before you rely on it. First, if you forget the PIN or pattern, the only way back is Reset your Safe folder. That deletes the files for good. Second, Google says files can become corrupt or deleted on rare occasions. It also says not to copy encrypted Safe folder files from an old phone to a new one. So keep another copy of every photo you lock here.

Lock photos with Samsung Secure Folder

On a Galaxy phone, Secure Folder is a separate space with its own code. Set it up in Settings, Security and privacy, More security settings, Secure Folder. Then open Gallery, touch and hold the photos, tap More, and tap Move to Secure Folder.

Samsung says Secure Folder no longer supports new backups. After a forgotten code, you cannot get back in unless Reset with Samsung account is on. Our Secure Folder guide has every step.

Lock photos in private space (Android 15 and later)

Google made private space for apps, but it can also hold files. When you set it up, you can choose a new lock that differs from your screen lock.

1. Open Settings, tap Security & privacy, and under Privacy, tap Private space.
2. Use your screen lock, then tap Set up and follow the steps.
3. When it asks for a lock, tap Choose new lock to use a separate PIN, pattern or password.
4. Open private space, tap + Add, then Add files, and select the photos.
5. Choose Move to take them out of your main space, or Copy to keep both.

Moved files go to the Downloads folder inside private space. Google warns that private space is not part of the device backup. If you delete or reset private space, the apps and data in it are gone. See how to hide apps on Android for the app side.

Lock photos with your screen lock

If your screen lock is private to you, two tools are simpler and back up better.

• Google Photos Locked Folder. Open Google Photos, tap Collections, tap Locked, and select Set up Locked Folder. Its backup is a separate switch. See our Locked Folder guide.
• Samsung Gallery private album. On select Galaxy phones with One UI 8.5, open Gallery, tap Menu at the bottom right, and select Private album.

Google says people who know the device screen lock can open Locked Folder. You cannot set a different password for it.

What locking does not cover

• The copy in Google Photos. If Google Photos backed up a photo before you locked it, a copy may still be in your Google account. Check photos.google.com.
• Other copies. Locking the file in one app does not touch copies in chat apps or edits saved elsewhere.
• A lost phone. With Safe folder, Secure Folder and private space, the locked files live only on the phone.

The full list of hiding methods is in how to hide photos on Android.

When a photo lock app makes sense

A vault app is the way to get both a separate code and a backup. That is the gap the built-in tools leave. It also brings its own risk. In our study of 836 App Store reviews of 7 vault apps, 136 reviews (16%) said photos or videos disappeared. Our guide to the best photo vault apps for Android compares the apps on Google Play.

York Vault is on Google Play and the App Store. On Android it opens with its own PIN, passcode or pattern. A fingerprint or your face can open it too, if you turn that on. See lock options. 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. If you forget the code, your 12-word recovery key opens your library. Android blocks screenshots on every York Vault screen. Viewing, export and restore stay free on every plan. See pricing and download York Vault.