Google's new Locked folder feature let's you hide your sensitive photos or videos securely

Jun 23,2024
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Google announced several new features for its Photos app at the Google I/O event 2021. However, there is one feature that stands out, the new Locked folder feature. This feature allows users to hide their sensitive or secret photos and videos in a separate folder secured by a password or fingerprint.

Photos or videos that are stored in the folder won't appear in the Photo grid, search, albums, memories, and would even be inaccessible to third-party apps. This new feature is a part of the Pixel Feature Drop update which started rolling out last week. Though Google hasn't provided a specific timeline for the rollout, this feature is available to some Google Pixel users,

To set up the feature on Pixel devices, install the update and you can find it under Library > Ulitlites > Locked Folder. After setting up, you can add your files for storage. Pixel users can even choose to store new photos or videos taken through the Google Camera app directly into the Locked folder.

To enable this, open the Google Camera app, tap on the gallery icon in the upper right-hand corner and select “Locked Folder” from the list.

However, there is a downside to using this new feature. Photos or videos stored in the locked folder are not backed up in the cloud and existing files would be deleted if they are added into the folder.

Currently, Google is rolling out the feature update to the Pixel 3 series, Pixel 4 series, and Pixel 5 models. However, Google promises that the feature will be coming to other Android devices later this year.