How to hide photos and videos on Android

Short answer

Before you start

• Decide where copies should live. Some tools can back up hidden items to the cloud; others keep them only on the phone. If a phone-only vault is lost or deleted, the files go with it.
• Back up anything irreplaceable before you move it. Moving files into a vault removes them from your normal gallery.
• For Applore: Applore Pro, an App Lock PIN or pattern set up with your Google account, and All files access, which Applore needs to move files into the vault.

Built-in options

Google Photos Locked Folder

In Google Photos, tap Collections, then Locked, and follow the steps to set it up. Items in Locked Folder do not appear in your photo grid, memories, search or albums, and other apps that can see your photos cannot see them. It uses your phone’s screen lock. Backup for Locked Folder is optional.1

Files by Google Safe folder

In Files by Google, touch and hold the files you want to hide, then choose Move to Safe folder. You protect it with a PIN or pattern. Google notes that if you forget that PIN or pattern, the files cannot be recovered.2

Samsung Secure Folder

On Samsung Galaxy phones, Secure Folder is a separate private area for apps and files with its own lock.3

Steps with Applore (Pro)

From your gallery app: select photos or videos, tap Share and choose Move to vault. They go straight into Vault Gallery.

With Private Camera (Pro): open Privacy › Private Camera and take photos or videos. They go straight into the vault and never appear in your gallery.

Restore photos and videos

1. In Vault Gallery, open the folder.
2. Select the items you want back.
3. Restore them and confirm. Applore puts them back in their original place, and your gallery shows them again.

Optional backup to your own Google Drive

In Vault Gallery, turn on Save to Drive and choose your Google account. Applore copies vault items to a folder in your own Google Drive.

Common problems

My photos are missing from the gallery

If you moved them to Vault Gallery, they are in the vault, not deleted. Open Vault Gallery with your PIN to find them, and restore them if you want them back in the gallery.

I changed the Google account I sign in with

Vault Gallery is tied to the Google account you signed in with when you set up your PIN. Sign back in with that same account to open your vault.

I want to uninstall Applore

Vault files live in a hidden folder on your phone’s storage. Deleting hidden folders with a file manager, or resetting the phone, deletes the vault too.

What stays private

Vault Gallery keeps your files in a hidden folder on your phone. They open only inside Applore after your PIN, and they do not appear in gallery apps. If you turn on Save to Drive, copies go to your own Google Drive through the permission you give, and Applore’s servers never receive them. Read how vaults and backups work in the privacy policy, and see Vault Gallery and Private Camera for the full feature.