You never know, if family members or friends ask for your Android phone to see photos and they accidentally seen your "Private" photos. To save yourself from such embarrassments, it is better to hide or password protect all your private photos today.
Here are the four main ways to hide your pictures from exploring eyes.
#1. Hide Photos in a Folder :
To use a file manager to hide photos in a specific folder, open the specific folder and tap on "New" located at the bottom of the screen. When prompted, tap on "File" and name the file ".nomedia" and save it. This simple command hide all "Picture and videos" in the specified folder.
To see the data again delete the ".nomedia" file you just created.
#2. Create a Hidden Folder :
Android will automatically hide folders that are formatted a certain way, but you'll need a file manager app in order to create folders and move files. If your android device don't have a file manager app installed in phone, just download a free one from the Google Play Store such as ES File Explorer, File Manager or ASTRO File Manager.
In this tutorial, we are going to use the ES File Explorer to hide folders. To create a hidden folder, open the file explorer and you'll see all your android folders, tap on new at the bottom of the screen and then tap on "Folder". You'll be prompted to give the folder a name, just add a "." (without quotes) before the name of the folder like ".hidden data". Once the folder is created, just move all your private photos and videos to hide using the same file explorer and Android system will not be able to read this data.
This folder can only be accessed through the File Manager and you can hide it in the file manager as well. In Settings, tap on "Display Settings" and from there uncheck the "Show Hidden Files" option and they will be hidden in file manager as well. You'll have to check the option again in order to open the hidden files.
#3. Using a File Locker App :
There are lots of free file locker apps available on the Google Play Store. These apps will allow you to lock photos in the app so that they can't be access without a password. Some most popular apps include KeepSafe, Vaulty, Gallery Lock, PhotoVault or Hide it Pro.
#4. Create a Password Protected ZIP File :
Download ZArchiver or ArchiDroid from Google Play Store and install it into your Android Phone. Open the ZArchiver app, tap on the "New" button looks like a "+" sign and tap on "New Archive". This will open a new window with the archieve settings, you can make the new archive hidden by adding a period "." to the beginning of the file name and create a password that you can remember but no one would be able to guess.
Select "Data and filenames" from the Encryption drop down menu, tap "Ok" when you're done. Now add individual files or entire folders to the archive and save the new archive. In order to access the files in the archive or even see the filenames, you'll need to enter the password.
Note : Since you added a "." in front of the filename, the archive will disappear when you create it. You'll need a file manager in order to find the hidden file.
Here are the four main ways to hide your pictures from exploring eyes.
How to Hide Photos on Android Phone
#1. Hide Photos in a Folder :
To use a file manager to hide photos in a specific folder, open the specific folder and tap on "New" located at the bottom of the screen. When prompted, tap on "File" and name the file ".nomedia" and save it. This simple command hide all "Picture and videos" in the specified folder.
To see the data again delete the ".nomedia" file you just created.
#2. Create a Hidden Folder :
Android will automatically hide folders that are formatted a certain way, but you'll need a file manager app in order to create folders and move files. If your android device don't have a file manager app installed in phone, just download a free one from the Google Play Store such as ES File Explorer, File Manager or ASTRO File Manager.
In this tutorial, we are going to use the ES File Explorer to hide folders. To create a hidden folder, open the file explorer and you'll see all your android folders, tap on new at the bottom of the screen and then tap on "Folder". You'll be prompted to give the folder a name, just add a "." (without quotes) before the name of the folder like ".hidden data". Once the folder is created, just move all your private photos and videos to hide using the same file explorer and Android system will not be able to read this data.
This folder can only be accessed through the File Manager and you can hide it in the file manager as well. In Settings, tap on "Display Settings" and from there uncheck the "Show Hidden Files" option and they will be hidden in file manager as well. You'll have to check the option again in order to open the hidden files.
#3. Using a File Locker App :
There are lots of free file locker apps available on the Google Play Store. These apps will allow you to lock photos in the app so that they can't be access without a password. Some most popular apps include KeepSafe, Vaulty, Gallery Lock, PhotoVault or Hide it Pro.
#4. Create a Password Protected ZIP File :
Download ZArchiver or ArchiDroid from Google Play Store and install it into your Android Phone. Open the ZArchiver app, tap on the "New" button looks like a "+" sign and tap on "New Archive". This will open a new window with the archieve settings, you can make the new archive hidden by adding a period "." to the beginning of the file name and create a password that you can remember but no one would be able to guess.
Select "Data and filenames" from the Encryption drop down menu, tap "Ok" when you're done. Now add individual files or entire folders to the archive and save the new archive. In order to access the files in the archive or even see the filenames, you'll need to enter the password.
Note : Since you added a "." in front of the filename, the archive will disappear when you create it. You'll need a file manager in order to find the hidden file.