Some photos and videos feel different from the rest of a camera roll, and most people would rather not have them show up in Memories, shared albums, or search results.
The short answer is Google Photos has a built-in feature called Locked Folder that hides selected items behind your device screen lock, separate from the regular Photos grid.
This article walks through how to turn it on, move items in and out, the differences between Android and iPhone, and what to check if backup or visibility does not behave the way you expect.
Contents
- What To Check Before You Start
- Setting Up Locked Folder Step By Step
- Moving Photos And Videos Into Locked Folder
- iPhone vs. Android Differences
- Turning On Locked Folder Backup
- If Locked Folder Is Missing Or Not Working
- Things To Watch Out For
🔍 What To Check Before You Start
Locked Folder is a feature inside the Google Photos app, not a separate app or a paid add-on. It keeps chosen photos and videos out of the main Photos grid, out of Memories, out of search, and hidden from other apps that would normally be able to see your media.
Instead of a separate password just for Locked Folder, it relies on your device’s own screen lock. That means whatever unlocks your phone — a PIN, pattern, fingerprint, or face scan — is also what opens Locked Folder.
Before setting anything up, confirm two things: your device has a screen lock enabled, and your operating system meets the minimum version. Google lists Android 6 or later and iOS 15 or later as the requirements for this feature.
It is also worth thinking about backup ahead of time, since that choice affects what happens to items you move later. Locked Folder content is not automatically backed up unless you turn that setting on separately, which the next sections cover in detail.
💡 Key point: Locked Folder is protected by your device screen lock, not a separate password, so anyone who can unlock your phone can open it too.
⚙️ Setting Up Locked Folder Step By Step
The setup flow is nearly identical on Android and iPhone, with small wording differences depending on your operating system. Both start from the same spot inside the Google Photos app.
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap Collections at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Locked.
- Tap Set up Locked Folder.
- Follow the prompts to unlock your device using your existing screen lock, Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
Once setup finishes, Locked Folder appears as an empty space ready for items. Nothing moves into it automatically, so the folder stays empty until you manually choose photos or videos to add.
On older versions of the Google Photos app, this menu may appear under Library → Utilities instead of Collections → Locked. If your app looks different from these instructions, searching the app’s settings menu or checking for an app update usually resolves the mismatch.
💡 Field tip: A common mistake is trying to set up Locked Folder before a screen lock is configured on the device. If the setup button does nothing or loops back to the same screen, go into your device’s main settings, add a PIN, pattern, or biometric lock first, then return to Google Photos and try again.
📱 Moving Photos And Videos Into Locked Folder
Once Locked Folder is set up, moving items into it takes just a few taps from the main Photos grid. The process works the same way whether you are moving one photo or several at once.
- Open Google Photos and find the photo or video you want to hide.
- Select the item, or press and hold to select multiple items at once.
- Tap Add to (sometimes labeled More, depending on your app version).
- Tap Move to Locked Folder.
- Tap Move to confirm.
Once moved, that item disappears from the main Photos grid, from Memories, from search results, and from any shared albums it was part of. It only reappears when you open Locked Folder directly and authenticate with your screen lock.
To view items later, go back to Collections → Locked, then unlock your device when prompted. From inside Locked Folder, you can view, play, or move items back out whenever needed.
One detail that catches people off guard: moving a photo does not move every copy of it. If the same photo was edited, saved by someone else, or exists as a duplicate elsewhere on the device, those separate copies stay visible unless you find and move them individually.
📱 iPhone vs. Android Differences
The overall concept works the same on both platforms, but a few details differ enough to cause confusion if you switch between an iPhone and an Android phone, or help a family member on the other platform.
| Feature | Android | iPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Unlock method | Device screen lock (PIN, pattern, fingerprint) | Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode |
| Minimum OS version | Android 6 or later | iOS 15 or later |
| Menu path | Collections → Locked (older versions: Library → Utilities) | Collections → Locked |
| Camera shortcut | Pixel 4 and later can save directly from Pixel Camera | Not available |
The Pixel-specific shortcut is worth noting if you own a Pixel 4 or newer. Google documents an option to save photos straight from the Pixel Camera app into Locked Folder, skipping the usual move-after-the-fact process. The exact camera controls for this can vary by Pixel model and software version.
On iPhone, there is no equivalent camera shortcut, so every item has to be moved manually from the Photos grid using the Add to → Move to Locked Folder steps described earlier.
Menu wording also shifts slightly between app updates on both platforms. If a label mentioned here does not match what you see, check for a pending Google Photos app update, since Google periodically renames or relocates menu items.
☁️ Turning On Locked Folder Backup
By default, Locked Folder does not back up its contents to the cloud automatically. Turning on backup for Locked Folder is a separate step from your regular Google Photos backup setting.
- Tap your profile picture or initial in the top corner of Google Photos.
- Tap Photos settings.
- Tap Backup.
- Tap Back up Locked Folder.
- Open Locked Folder, authenticate with your screen lock, and turn the backup toggle on.
This setting only works if your regular Google Photos backup is already turned on for your other photos and videos. Without that main backup enabled, Locked Folder backup has nothing to attach to and will not run automatically.
When backup is on, items in Locked Folder become available on other devices where you are signed into the same Google account, as long as those devices also have Locked Folder set up. When backup is off, those items exist only on the single device where they were moved.
Since this setting touches both privacy and where your data is stored, it is a good idea to check Google’s official Google Photos help page or contact their support directly if you need exact current details for your account type or region.
💡 Key point: Locked Folder backup depends on your main Google Photos backup being turned on first; without it, Locked Folder items stay stuck on one device only.
⚠️ If Locked Folder Is Missing Or Not Working
A few common issues come up repeatedly with Locked Folder, and most have a straightforward fix. Working through them in order usually solves the problem quickly.
- ✅ Confirm the Google Photos app is updated to the latest version available for your device.
- ✅ Check that your device meets the minimum OS requirement — Android 6 or iOS 15 at minimum.
- ✅ Make sure a screen lock, passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID is actually configured on the device.
- ✅ Look under both Collections → Locked and the older Library → Utilities path.
- ✅ Restart the Google Photos app after confirming the above settings.
If setup still fails after checking these, the issue is often tied to a device-specific screen lock requirement that Google Photos cannot detect. Going into the device’s own security settings to remove and re-add a lock sometimes resolves this.
💡 Field tip: To confirm Locked Folder is actually working in under a minute, move one test photo into it, then check the main Photos grid, search, and any shared album that photo was part of. If it has disappeared from all three places, the feature is functioning correctly.
A common misconception is that Locked Folder also blocks access from other apps with photo library permissions on the device. In reality, Locked Folder is only effective at hiding content within Google Photos itself — separate device-level permissions for other apps are a different setting entirely and are not covered by this feature.
🛡️ Things To Watch Out For
A handful of cautions are worth keeping in mind before relying on Locked Folder as a long-term storage spot for sensitive photos.
The most important one involves backup timing. If Locked Folder backup is off when an item is moved, Google says the cloud backup copy of that item gets deleted, leaving it stored only on that one device.
That means uninstalling Google Photos, clearing its app data, or losing the device entirely could permanently remove unbacked-up Locked Folder items. Google also notes that items without backup may not transfer automatically during a device-to-device transfer.
⚠️ Watch out: Moving a photo into Locked Folder before checking backup status can quietly delete its only cloud copy, leaving it stored on just one device.
Sharing also works differently once something is inside Locked Folder. To share an item with someone, it has to be moved back out of Locked Folder first — there is no direct share option from within the locked view itself.
Finally, remember that anyone who can unlock the device can open Locked Folder, since there is no separate password layer. This makes it useful for keeping items out of casual browsing and shared-album visibility, but it is not equivalent to a fully separate encrypted vault requiring its own credentials.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Does Locked Folder use its own separate password?
No. It relies entirely on the device screen lock already set up — a PIN, pattern, fingerprint, Face ID, or passcode. There is no additional password specific to Locked Folder itself.
Q. Can someone see Locked Folder items if they borrow my unlocked phone?
Yes, if the phone is already unlocked and they navigate to Collections → Locked, the folder may open without requiring another authentication step, depending on how recently the device was unlocked.
Q. Will moving a photo to Locked Folder delete it from Google Photos on other devices?
If Locked Folder backup is off, the cloud copy is removed and the item exists only on the device it was moved on. With Locked Folder backup turned on, it remains available across devices signed into the same account.
Q. Can I add photos to Locked Folder directly from my camera app?
On Pixel 4 and later devices, Google documents a direct save-to-Locked-Folder option from the Pixel Camera app. This option is not available on iPhone or on other Android camera apps.
Q. What happens to edited versions or duplicates of a photo I move?
They are not automatically moved. Edited copies, duplicates, or versions saved by someone else remain visible in the regular Photos grid unless moved separately.
Q. Can I access Locked Folder from a computer?
Yes, at photos.google.com, selecting Locked Folder and following the setup prompts. Items moved on the web become visible on other devices, but items stored only on a phone with backup off are not available on the web.
Q. What if I do not see a Locked option at all in Collections?
Check that Google Photos is updated to its current version and that the device meets the OS requirement. Older app versions may show this under Library → Utilities instead.
📌 Quick Summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| What it hides | Selected photos/videos from grid, Memories, search, and albums |
| Protection method | Device screen lock, not a separate password |
| Minimum OS | Android 6 or later, iOS 15 or later |
| Backup default | Off — must be turned on separately under Backup settings |
| Sharing items | Must move item out of Locked Folder first |
| Pixel shortcut | Pixel 4+ can save directly from camera app |
| Computer access | Available at photos.google.com under Locked Folder |
A reasonable first step is opening Google Photos, checking whether a screen lock is already set up on the device, then trying the Collections → Locked path to see what setup prompt appears.
Menus and steps may change with app or device updates.