Google Photos, how to hide private content
Google Photos, how to hide private content
The folder dedicated to private content of the Google Photos app, which can provide an additional layer of security to the contents of the gallery, has been the prerogative of Google Pixel smartphones for months. In recent months, the Mountain View company has finally extended the ability to access the Locked Folder to all Android devices, while the iOS version should soon reach all iPhone and iPad users.
What is this important feature, what is it for and how is it activated? In the following paragraphs, we will guide you in discovering the Google Photos Locked Folder, so that you can guarantee a high level of protection for your most personal memories.
What is a Locked Folder?
The Locked Folder, better known on smartphones set in Italian with the literal translation of ” Folder blocked “, is the section of Google Photos dedicated to private and hidden content from the cloud on which the backup takes place. With this feature, Google has repaired a major flaw in its application dedicated to photos and videos.
The automatic backup of content on Google Photos, when active, saves every shot, screenshot, and image received in the cloud while keeping a preview of this content active when viewing the gallery in chronological order.
Understandably, however, there are many reasons why it would be better to keep some types of content separate from the main gallery and cloud synchronization, so as to avoid prying eyes and embarrassment opportunities.
Features such as the Google Photos Locked Folder are useful not only for hiding the most personal photographs but also in professional contexts: just think of scans of documents containing sensitive data, embargoed materials, and any other type of content you would not want to see of the people you lend your smartphone to. In addition to that, other applications that you have granted permission to view your gallery will not have access to the contents of this folder either.
How to turn on a private folder in google photos
When Google equipped all smartphones running Android 6 or higher with this new feature, a notification warning users of the arrival of the Locked Folder appeared the first time Google Photos was started. If you didn’t activate it at that time, don’t worry, you can still manually activate your private folder from the app settings :
Gallery > Utilities > Organization > Configure Locked Folder
Once the folder has been configured, you will be asked for the PIN or fingerprint used to unlock your smartphone: this will be the only method by which you will be able to access the Locked Folder. Accept the basic terms of service and you will be ready to use this feature.
How to insert content in the Locked Folder
When you have set up your private Google Photos folder, you will be ready to insert all the content you deem appropriate to transfer inside it. At this point it is necessary to make some clarifications regarding how the videos and images that will be part of the Locked Folder will be managed, so as to avoid inconveniences:
To be transferred to the private folder of Google Photos, the contents must first be synchronized in the cloud associated with your Google account, not only viewed locally;
Any photographs contained in the trash must be restored before being transferred to the Locked Folder;
If you decide to delete content from the Locked Folder, it will be permanently deleted from the device;
If you uninstall the Google Photos app or delete its data, you will lose all the items in the Locked Folder.
Once you understand these notions, it’s time to select the private content you want to place in your Locked Folder. If you are using this feature for the first time, you can use the ” Move elements ” button in the center of the screen, otherwise press the photograph-shaped icon at the top right.
Wait for the transfer from the cloud to the folder to complete: it may take longer than expected in the case of a large amount of content, since the latter will be downloaded locally to your device. Fortunately, the process will continue in the background if you don’t interact with the screen of your smartphone or tablet.
If, on the other hand, you want to take the opposite path and transfer an item from the Locked Folder to the Google Photo gallery, just open the photo or video in question and select the ” Move ” button at the bottom left. Then press “Move” again from the dialogue box that will appear, accepting the transfer conditions, and wait for the process to finish.
At this point, the content will become part of your Google Photos library and will be visible in the grid in chronological order, as well as in all applications that have access to the photo archive.
How does content protection work on Google Photos?
From a technical point of view, the Google Photos Locked Folder is a folder created locally within a single device, protected by a password or fingerprint, and invisible to applications that have received authorization to view the gallery. As already specified in the paragraph above, in fact, the elements that are part of the private folder are in all respects deleted from the Google Photos cloud, with all the relevant consequences listed above.
In addition to this, if you access your Google Photos gallery with another device it will not be possible to recover the contents of the Locked Folder: by repeating the procedure described above you will open a second folder in the local storage of your second device.
It is also necessary to pay attention to the encryption method used for the Locked Folder: the unlocking takes place with the same credentials (biometric data or unlocking code) used to unlock the device, therefore anyone in possession of them will also have automatic access to your folder private. On the other hand, Google forbids at least the possibility of taking screenshots of the contents of the Locked Folder and their previews in the gallery.
