How to hide photos on a Samsung phone

Three built-in options, from a quick tidy-up to a locked space.

Short answer

For a quick tidy-up, hide an album in the Gallery app. On One UI 8.5 and later, move photos to the Private album, which opens with your screen lock. For a separate lock, use Secure Folder. If someone knows your PIN, use a vault with its own pattern, like Dobr.

1. Hide an album in Gallery

This takes an album out of view in the Gallery app. It isn't locked, so anyone who knows where the setting is can bring it back.

  1. Open Gallery and go to Albums.
  2. Tap the menu (three dots) and look for Hide or unhide albums, or long-press an album and choose Hide.
  3. Pick the albums to hide.

Good for decluttering. Not good for anything private.

2. The Private album (One UI 8.5 and later)

Samsung added a Private album to the Gallery app in One UI 8.5. It opens with your fingerprint or screen lock, and screenshots are blocked inside it.

  1. Open a photo or video, tap More (three dots), then Move to private album. You can select several at once.
  2. To open it, tap the menu on the Gallery home screen.

It's quick and built in. The catch is that it uses your normal screen lock, so anyone who knows your PIN can open it.

3. Secure Folder

Secure Folder is a separate encrypted space on Galaxy phones, protected by Samsung Knox. It can have its own PIN, pattern or fingerprint, and you can hide its icon.

  1. Set it up in Settings, under Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder. It needs a Samsung account.
  2. In Gallery, select photos, tap More and choose Move to Secure Folder.

It's the strongest built-in option. A forgotten Secure Folder lock can be reset with your Samsung account password, which is handy but also means your Samsung account is a way in.

4. A vault with its own lock

If the person you're worried about knows your phone PIN, or you want a decoy, use a vault app with a separate lock. Dobr works on any Galaxy phone, opens with a pattern that unlocks nothing else and has no internet permission, so nothing in it can be uploaded. Our Dobr vs Secure Folder page compares the two in detail.

Don't forget Samsung Cloud and OneDrive

If Gallery syncs with OneDrive, a copy of a photo may already be online. Check there too after you hide something. Our guide on keeping photos out of cloud backup covers it.

Last checked 2026-11-01. Phone menus change between Android versions and brands, so labels on your phone may differ slightly.

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