How to hide photos on a Samsung: Private album, Secure Folder and hidden albums

There are three options in Samsung’s Gallery app that let you hide photos and videos. One of them is just there to clean up your Gallery’s Albums view, one secures media with your screen lock, and the last option stores your media in an encrypted container that even has its own Gallery app. And if you use Google Photos, there’s yet another hiding option. Here’s what you need to know about all of them.

Samsung’s three ways to hide photos offer different levels of privacy.

Cloud backups may defeat your attempts at hiding media.

Which hiding method protects what

Think about the level of protection you need. If it’s to stop a snooping friend from scrolling through your Gallery, then that’s one thing, but if you’re worried about someone who knows your PIN, then you might need something a little stronger.

It’s also worth noting that none of the above methods hide copies of your photos already backed up somewhere in the cloud.

Lock photos in the Private album

Samsung India claims that the Private album in Gallery is secured with the device’s screen lock and that taking screenshots within the Private album is not possible.

On the Galaxy S25 Ultra with One UI 9, the Tips app says that photos in the Private album are hidden from Gallery and other apps (verified in November 2026).

The following steps apply to the Galaxy S26 (source: Samsung Australia’s website, last updated 4 November 2026).

1. 1

   Select the photos

   Go to Gallery and long-press a photo/video, then tap any other photos/videos you want to hide.

2. 2

   Move them

   Tap More > Move to Private album, tap Move and enter your screen lock (if you don’t have a screen lock on your phone, Gallery will prompt you to set one up).

3. 3

   Open the album later

   Open Private album (next to Trash) in Gallery via the Menu button and enter your screen lock when prompted.

Samsung says that you can manage your photos, videos and other media inside your Private album, including sharing, moving and deleting content. Moving is handy if you want to bring them back to the main Gallery app. Note that this feature debuted on Samsung Galaxy phones with One UI 8.5 and is only available on select models. If you don’t see Private album in the Gallery app’s Menu, make sure that your phone is running the latest software. Or consider using Secure Folder as an alternative. Our One UI 8.5 photo features guide covers the update that introduced it.

Move photos into Secure Folder

Going further, Samsung has Secure Folder, an encrypted space built on Samsung Knox that stores its own apps, documents and other files (according to Samsung UK). To set up Secure Folder, head to Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder, and follow the instructions (you’ll need to be signed in to a Samsung account and pick a type of lock).

1. 1

   Move photos in from Gallery

   Navigate to the Gallery app and choose the photos you would like to move to Secure Folder. Tap on More > Move to Secure Folder, as Samsung Australia’s guide shows.

2. 2

   View them

   Open the Secure Folder app and you will find that your photos have been moved to the Gallery app within Secure Folder.

3. 3

   Hide the folder itself

   Head over to the Secure Folder app’s settings page and disable the Add Secure Folder to Apps screen option. Samsung UK says you will still be able to access Secure Folder from the Settings app.

You can also reset a forgotten Secure Folder PIN with your Samsung account password (according to Samsung UK).

It’s worth noting that backing up the contents of Secure Folder is no longer supported, restoring older backups doesn’t work on One UI 8 and later, and Samsung US recommends Smart Switch instead if you want to move its contents to a new phone. Samsung Australia also advises making your own backup copy of any important files stored in Secure Folder, and warns that Secure Folder won’t work if your phone is rooted.

Secure Folder has its own Gallery app, and you can select Move out of Secure Folder there to move images out of Secure Folder (this is the only authorised way to take data out of Secure Folder, according to Samsung Australia, and you can’t copy files out of Secure Folder via USB or Wi-Fi Direct).

Just be careful not to clear the Secure Folder app’s data as this will delete everything in Secure Folder (according to Samsung UK).

Hide albums for a tidier Gallery

Keep in mind that anyone with access to your unlocked phone can unhide your hidden albums. To hide an album on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra running One UI 9 (as of November 2026), follow the steps below.

Looking for a different way to hide albums on your Samsung phone? Check out Samsung Australia’s instructions that start from the View all option on the Albums tab. If you want to remove albums from Gallery altogether, the same page points you to Secure Folder.

Hide albums to keep clutter like screenshots and image downloads out of sight.

1. 1

   Open the Albums menu

   In Gallery, on the Albums tab, select More options > Hide albums.

2. 2

   Choose what to hide

   Change the toggle button for albums you want hidden, and change it back for those you want visible again.

Select essential albums, also located in the same menu, allows you to keep only certain albums visible. Rather than deleting albums you don’t like, you can use this feature to designate which albums you want displayed on the Albums tab. According to Gallery settings, Essential albums show only albums you specify on the Albums tab, instead of all albums.

Keep hidden photos out of cloud sync

Another sneaky way photos can get backed up is through cloud sync. By default, only images in the Camera album are synced to Google, according to Samsung’s Singapore support page. Still, if you use Gallery’s sync feature, make sure that any albums you want to keep private are deselected under Gallery > Menu > Settings > Sync photos and videos > Albums to sync.

On One UI 9, Gallery can sync photos and videos to a Google account.

Also note, according to Samsung’s support page, that moving photos to Secure Folder only moves them on your phone, and copies previously synced to Google will remain there and continue to appear in Gallery. So try to add photos to Secure Folder before they’re synced, when possible. Samsung doesn’t specify what happens to images in the Private album if you use sync, so if you move sensitive photos there, check your Google account to make sure they didn’t upload.

Google has a Locked Folder feature that keeps photos and videos from showing up in other apps and even hides them from the main Photos views. You can add photos and videos to the Locked Folder by selecting an image or video, tapping Add to, and then choosing Move to Locked Folder.

You can back up the contents of the Locked Folder if you like, but if you don’t and then uninstall the Photos app, clear its data, or reset your phone, Google warns that those photos and videos will be deleted.

If you use the Google Photos app to back up your camera roll, you can also back up specific folders on your phone by heading to Photos settings > Backup > Back up device folders.

What hiding doesn't protect

The Private album and Locked Folder (according to Google) will unlock using your phone’s screen lock method, so anyone with access to your PIN/pattern/password will also have access to your Locked Folder/Private album. Photos will remain with whomever you’ve shared them with. Any photos stored in other cloud services will not be removed. Without a backup solution, your ‘hidden’ photos will be lost with your phone (Samsung no longer offers a backup solution for Secure Folder).

Our Camera failed guide walks you through turning on Maintenance mode, which conceals your information under a different user profile while a technician fixes your device. If you’ve ever had hidden photos go missing, our guide to recovering deleted photos will show you all the places to check. See our Samsung Gallery guide for information about search and albums. See our guide to Samsung cloud photo backup for details on Sync with Google.