Google is launching a more secure place for your photos
Keep your sensitive photos and videos stored in a Locked Folder in Google Photos
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Keeping the photos and videos stored on yourAndroid smartphoneaway from prying eyes is about to get a whole lot easier as the new Locked Folder feature inGoogle Photosis now rolling out to even more devices.
Google’s ownPixel phoneswere the first devices to get access to this feature and now almost six months later, it’s finally becoming available to smartphones from other device manufacturers including Samsung, OPPO and OnePlus.
WhileGoogle Photosacts as acloud storageservice for your photos, it’s worth noting that pictures moved to a Locked Folder will no longer be backed up to the cloud and will only be available on your smartphone. At the same time, if you uninstall Google Photos or clear its app data, all of the items inside your Locked Folder will also be deleted.
For this reason, you should back up these photos online using one of thebest photo cloud storageservices for safekeeping before getting started with Google Photos' Locked Folder feature.
Hiding sensitive photos and videos
According to asupport document from Google, to configure theLocked Folderfeature in Google Photos, you’ll first need to open the app and go toLibrary>Utilities>Locked Folder.
From here, just follow the on-screen instructions to unlock your device though if you don’t have a screen lock set up for your smartphone, you’ll need to do that first before using Locked Folder. Once the Locked Folder feature is ready, you can select the photos and videos you want to secure, tap on the three dot menu and selectMove to Locked Folderto hide these items from the main Google Photos library.
If you own one of Google’s Pixel phones, you can save photos directly fromPixel camerato Locked Folder to have them hidden automatically.
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Up until now, Android users had to rely on third-party apps to hide photos and videos stored on their devices but with Locked Folder now rolling out to non-Pixel phones, you’ll be able to secure all of your photos and videos directly in Google Photos.
We’ve also rounded up thebest cloud storage,best photo cloud storageandbest cloud backupservices
ViaAndroid Central
After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.
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