Gallery lock on Android: every way to lock your photos

Android doesn’t have one switch that locks the whole gallery. It has several half-solutions, and which ones you get depends on your phone. Here is each one, how to turn it on, and what it actually protects.

First: hidden, locked or encrypted?

People say “gallery lock” for three different things, and the difference decides which option is right for you.

Hidden means the photos don’t show in the gallery grid. Anyone who knows where the “hidden” or “un-hide” option is can see them again in seconds, with no password.
Locked means the photos sit behind a password, pattern or fingerprint. This stops someone scrolling through your phone after you hand it over.
Encrypted means the files themselves are scrambled, so they stay unreadable even if someone copies them off the phone, plugs it into a computer, or opens the storage with a file manager.

If you only want to tidy up your gallery, hiding is enough. If someone you live with picks up your phone, you need it locked. If the photos would cause real harm in the wrong hands, you want them encrypted as well.

How to lock the gallery on your phone

Most big Android brands now ship a private album of some kind. The menu names change between software versions, so if a step doesn’t match your phone exactly, search your phone’s Settings for the feature name.

Samsung Galaxy

Phones with One UI 8.5 have a Private album inside the Gallery app. Samsung says it’s available on selected Galaxy models.

Open a photo or video in Gallery.
Tap More (⋮), then Move to private album.
Open the private album from the Gallery menu. It unlocks with your fingerprint or your screen lock, and screenshots are blocked inside it.

On older Galaxy phones, use Secure Folder: move photos into it, and they leave the main gallery and sit behind a separate lock. The Gallery’s Hide albums option is not a lock. It only removes the album tile from the list, and anyone can switch it back on.

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

In Settings, open Face data & screen lock (or similar) and set a Privacy protection password.
In Gallery, select photos, tap the menu and move them to the private album.
To open it, go to Albums, pull the list down and draw your pattern.

Be careful with one thing: clearing the Gallery app’s data from Settings can remove hidden items for good. Don’t do it unless you have a backup.

OPPO, realme and OnePlus

Go to Settings → Security and privacy → Private Safe and set your privacy password.
In Photos, long-press a picture, tap the three-dot menu and choose Set as private.
Open Private Safe again to see the photos. Fingerprint or face unlock can stand in for the password.

vivo, Motorola, Pixel and others

vivo phones have a privacy and encryption area in Settings that can protect files and apps. Search Settings for “privacy” or “encrypt” to find it on your model. Pixel and Motorola phones rely on Google’s options below.

Google Photos Locked Folder (any Android phone)

If you use Google Photos as your gallery, Locked Folder is the simplest lock that works everywhere.

Open Google Photos and go to Collections (or Library), then Utilities (on some versions Collections shows it directly).
Tap Locked Folder, then Set up, and confirm with your screen lock.
Choose whether to back the folder up to your Google account.
Select photos, tap More and choose Move to Locked Folder.

Photos in the folder don’t appear in the grid, in albums or in other apps, and screenshots are blocked inside it. The catch: it opens with your phone’s screen lock, so anyone who knows your PIN can open it too. And if you turn backup off, the photos exist only on that phone.

Android 15 Private space

On Android 15 and newer, Settings → Security & privacy → Private space creates a separate locked area for apps. You can install a gallery app or a vault inside it, give the space its own lock, and hide the space completely when it’s locked.

It’s strong, but it’s heavier than most people need for a few photos, and it only exists on newer phones and Android versions.

Every option side by side

Method	Works on	Lock	Files encrypted	The catch
Hide album	Most galleries	None	No	Anyone can un-hide it
Samsung Private album / Secure Folder	Galaxy only	Screen lock or own lock	Secure Folder: yes	Samsung phones only
Xiaomi private album	Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO	Privacy password	Varies	Clearing Gallery data can lose files
Private Safe	OPPO, realme, OnePlus	Privacy password	Varies	Brand-specific
Google Photos Locked Folder	Any Android	Your screen lock	Not stated by Google	Same lock as your phone
Private space	Android 15+	Own lock	Yes	Newer phones only
Vault app	Any Android	Its own pattern or password	Depends on the app	Pick one that really encrypts

Why the phone’s own lock often isn’t enough

Most built-in options open with the same PIN or pattern that unlocks your phone. That’s convenient, but the people most likely to look are often the ones who already know it: a partner, a parent, a sibling, a friend you lent the phone to.

A separate lock that only you know fixes that. It also matters what happens behind the lock. Some gallery lock apps simply hide files in a different folder and put a password screen in front. Anyone with a file manager or a computer can find them. A real vault encrypts each file, so a copy taken out of the phone is useless without your key.

Keep them locked, offline

Sealcloak encrypts your photos, videos and files on your phone. No account, no cloud, no internet permission.

Get it free on Google Play

How to choose a gallery lock app

The Play Store is full of “gallery lock” and “photo locker” apps, and they differ far more than their icons suggest. Look for these:

Real encryption, stated plainly. “AES-256” on its own isn’t enough. The app should say the files themselves are encrypted on the phone, not just hidden.
A lock separate from your phone’s. Otherwise you’re back to the shared-PIN problem.
No account and no forced cloud. An app that uploads your private photos to its own servers has moved the risk, not removed it. See our guide to photo vault apps without an account.
A way back in. A recovery phrase or code you write down, plus encrypted backups, so a forgotten lock or a lost phone doesn’t cost you everything.
Few or no ads. Ads mean network access and often trackers inside an app that holds your most private files.

Sealcloak was built around that list. It unlocks with its own 5×5 pattern, separate from your phone’s, and every photo, video and document is encrypted with AES-256 before it’s saved. It has no account and no internet permission at all. A 9-word recovery phrase gets you back in if you forget the pattern. With Pro, it can even disguise itself as a working calculator. You can read exactly how the encryption works on the security page.

Locking your gallery with Sealcloak

Install Sealcloak and draw a pattern of at least 6 dots on the 5×5 grid.
Write down the 9-word recovery phrase it shows you, on paper.
Tap +, choose Images or Videos, and pick the photos to lock.
Check they open inside the vault, then delete the originals from your gallery yourself.
Optionally, turn on fingerprint unlock and intruder photos in Settings.

Photos you take from inside the app are saved straight into the vault, not your gallery. Some phones’ camera apps keep a copy of their own, so check yours the first time. More on the full process in how to hide photos on Android.

Forgot your gallery lock password?

This is one of the most common searches, so plan for it before it happens.

Phone’s own private album or Secure Folder: usually resets through your screen lock or the maker’s account (Samsung or Xiaomi account). Try the “forgot password” link on the lock screen of that album.
Google Photos Locked Folder: it uses your screen lock, so there’s no separate password to forget.
Apps that only hide files: may offer an email reset. That convenience is also a sign the files aren’t properly encrypted.
Apps that encrypt: can’t be reset by anyone, including the developer. Keep the recovery phrase or code safe the day you set it up.

Mistakes to avoid

Trusting “hide album”. It hides the tile, not the photos.
Forgetting the originals. After moving photos into any vault, check the gallery, Google Photos and WhatsApp folders for copies.
Clearing app data or factory resetting without a backup. Many locked albums live only on the phone.
Using the same PIN as your phone. It defeats the point if others know it.

Bottom line

For a quick lock against casual scrolling, your phone’s private album or Google Photos Locked Folder is fine. If the photos really matter, use a lock only you know and files that are encrypted, not just hidden. That’s what a proper vault app gives you on any Android phone. Not sure what’s in it? See the full feature list.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put a password on my gallery app?

Not directly on most phones. Some makers add an app lock in Settings that can protect the Gallery app, and many have a private album that opens with your screen lock. Otherwise, move the photos into Google Photos Locked Folder or a vault app.

Is hiding an album the same as locking it?

No. Hiding an album only removes it from the album list; anyone can un-hide it from the same menu without a password. Locking means a password, pattern or fingerprint is needed to see the photos.

What happens to locked photos if I uninstall the app?

It depends on the app. Built-in private albums and Google Photos Locked Folder can lose their contents if you reset the phone or clear the app's data without a backup. Make a backup in whatever tool you use before changing phones.

I forgot my gallery lock password. Can I get my photos back?

If the lock is your phone's own (Private album, Secure Folder, Private Safe), recovery usually goes through your screen lock or the maker's account. Apps that truly encrypt your files can't be reset by anyone without your recovery details, so save them when you set the lock up.

Which gallery lock works on every Android phone?

Google Photos Locked Folder and vault apps work on any Android phone. Private albums, Secure Folder and Private Safe only exist on certain brands and software versions.