Smartphones offer you an important tool for hiding photos on your phone. Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you should consider using this function!
For Android users: Google gives you the ability to securely stash photos in the Locked Folder, in the Google Photos app. Here’s a simple Google article on how you would use it.
For iOS users: Apple offers the same sort of tool, but they call it the Hidden Folder. Apple offers this article to explain on its use.
Once you’ve placed anything in this special folder, you should know:
- These items are well-protected, and you’ll have to enter your passcode or thumbprint every time you enter the folder.
- When you move a file into the Locked/Hidden Folder, that file is removed from its location in your photo library. That also means it disappears from the normal cloud backup and any other devices that it synced to.
- The contents of this protected folder won’t turn up in any searches performed on your phone.
- If you still want an important photo to be backed up or synced, make a copy of it and move the copy into this folder.
Possible Uses
With a little imagination, you’ll find a variety of uses for this tool. Perhaps you have some delicate photos that shouldn’t be seen by anyone who borrows your phone. Maybe you need a safe place for some critical evidence you’ve photographed. My favorite, though, is keeping a record of everything that’s in my wallet.
It’s true, I could lose my wallet and my phone at the same time. So I’ve also recorded my wallet contents elsewhere at home. But let’s say I’m travelling and my wallet decides to travel somewhere without me. I’ve socked away a photo of each card in my wallet. I can immediately go to my Locked Folder, refresh my memory of all the cards I carry, and start calling the associated banks and companies. It would make a tough situation a little easier to resolve.
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