Tutorials

How to set up your Google Photos private folder: how you can hide sensitive photos and videos on your Pixel

Announced last May during Google I / O 2021, the Google Photos private folder It is now available for Pixel 3 and later models after receiving a new update a few days ago. Users of these devices can now hide sensitive photos and videos in a folder protected by screen lock.

The ‘Private Folder’ of Google Photos debuts first on the Pixel more recent, but the company has confirmed that this feature will arrive to more mobiles throughout this year. We’ll see now all the details of the new private Google Photos folder.

How to activate the private folder

Private Folder

In order to hide and protect those sensitive photos and videos that we do not want anyone to have access, we have to first configure the new one Google Photos private folder. To do this, we just have to follow these steps:

  1. To open Google Photos.
  2. Hate Library> Utilities> Private folder.
  3. Tap on Configure Private Folder to activate it.

In the configuration window, Google Photos informs us that:

  • Items are hidden in the Photos grid, searches, and apps that access photos on your device.
  • It opens with the device’s screen lock.
  • Items will not be shared or backed up.

This means that the photos and videos that we move to the private folder are no longer visible and accessible to the gallery main Google Photos and other applications that want to access our gallery. These photos and videos will only be shown after unlocking the secure folder with our fingerprint, pattern or password. Also your backup will disappear in the cloud, or it will not proceed to make your backup.

Private Folder

Move photos and videos to private folder

In the private folder we will find an icon to protect the photos and videos, but also from the main gallery we can select the elements and select the option move to private folder from your menu or from the photo information.

Private Folder

By deactivating the backup, we will only be able to access the photos and videos in the private folder from the device, since the items are local files. If we delete an item from the private folder, it will be permanently deleted, are not sent to the trash. By clicking on a photo or video in the private bin, it will appear the “Move” option to remove the item from the private folder.

Take protected photos and videos

Private Folder

This is not all, the important novelty of the private folder comes from the hand of the Google camera. There will appear in the upper left a new option to tell the camera application where we want to save the photos and videos that we are going to take, if in the photo gallery or in the private folder. If the private folder is activated, all photos and videos will automatically be moved to said protected folder.

Differences between Private Folder and Archive

There are two differences that we find between the ‘Archive’ option and the new ‘Private folder’. In ‘Archive’ the folder is not protected by the lock screen Y backs up to the cloud. The ‘Archive’ option is only to remove from the main screen of the gallery those images and videos that we do not want to see but we do want to have in the cloud. The ‘Private folder’ option is for sensitive photos and videos that we want to protect with a fingerprint and that we do not want to have a backup in the cloud.

So with the private folder we can leave our mobile to family and friends without fear of them seeing those delicate photos and videos, since until now we only had the option to archive, but if the contact entered ‘Archive’ they could see them without problems. Now with the private folder they will ask you to unlock the screen.

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