No matter which smartphone one uses, there are only a few tricks that one can use to hide sensitive files and photos on your Android phone.
Whatever may be the reason for you to want to have secret apps, files, and images, the methods mentioned below would work on any Android smartphone.
How to Hide a folder
This method allows users to hide a folder such as you want to hide your WhatsApp media folder from showing in the gallery or any other folder that you would like to protect from other apps and services.
Also, to do this, you might need a file manager app that allows you to create a new file without any extension such as ES file explorer, etc.
To hide an existing folder, follow the steps
Open the file manager app on your smartphone
Navigate to the folder you want to hide
Open the folder and tap on the ‘Create new file’ option
Now, type ‘.nomedia’ as the file name
Once done, exit the file manager and restart your phone
Your folder will be hidden now
Another important part is how to access the hidden file or folder.
– For this, you will have to delete the ‘.nomedia’ file from the folder.
Rename a Folder on your device
Another easy way to hide apps is to drag a bunch of apps into a folder and then name the folder in a very unsuspecting way. Though it’s not a foolproof way to hide files, this simple trick can discourage others from prying an uninteresting folder.
How to hide Photos on Android
Everybody loves to take tons and tons of pictures that fill up their gallery. Sometimes, this also includes pictures that are very private to the user. In these cases, they do not want their pictures left open for everybody to check on their gallery. This is why we are going to teach you how one can hide Photos on Android.
The Creator of GalleryVault has done a fantastic job with its invention. It’s a great app to lock all your files in a vault that includes images as well. With three layers of scrutiny added, one needs to use the phone passcode, then their fingerprint, and then again the GalleryVault code. Making it nearly impossible for anyone to have a look at what you hide.
Hide Android Gallery via Google Photos
Archive photos and videos in Google Photos on Android phone. This will hide them from your Android Gallery. You can access photos and videos in the Archive folder under the Library option in Google Photos.
Steps to hide photos, videos in Google Photos:
Note: The exact steps may vary depending on your Android model.
Open the Google Photos app and select the images and videos you want to hide.
Click on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner.
Click Move to Archive.
Encrypt files
Several smartphone manufacturers provide additional apps that can encrypt files in Android. However, you should treat these with caution as they carry some risks. For example:
You could forget the password
The app may not be available in the future, so your files can no longer be decrypted