Google’s Locked Photos Folder Rolls Out to More Android Phones

Over the summer time, Google launched the power for Pixel customers to successfully “lock away” images in a vault to maintain them hidden from prying eyes. The featured is known as—what else?—Locked Folder, and something saved there’s protected by the system’s lock display screen passcode. Locked images received’t present up within the Photos grid, reminiscences, or different apps with entry to the digital camera roll.

Google simply began pushing out the function to extra non-Pixel gadgets, together with Samsung and OnePlus smartphones. You may even see a immediate pop up within the notification shade. I bumped into an alert earlier this week on my OnePlus 9, which appears to point it’s actively rolling out proper now.

You can examine to see you probably have the Locked Folder by heading into Google Photos, tapping on Library, and choosing Utilities. You might need to scroll via a couple of prompts, however you need to see a card for establishing the Locked Folder in your system.

Note that Locked Folder gadgets will not be backed as much as the cloud, so something you place in there’ll reside and die with the bodily system. If you delete Google Photos within the interim, it can wipe away these recordsdata.

On a Pixel smartphone, you’ve gotten the choice to save lots of a captured photograph on to the Locked Folder as an alternative of the digital camera roll. But you may not have entry to this potential on non-Google gadgets. The choice to snap a photograph straight into the Locked Folder is notably lacking from the OnePlus 9, as a result of it makes use of the OnePlus-developed digital camera app.

If you’ve gotten entry to it now, take a minute to arrange your Locked Folder. It’s nice for storing images of your driver’s license, social safety card, vaccination card, and anything that’s too delicate to have floating round with the remainder of your photograph albums. The Locked Folder must also be obtainable on iOS gadgets someday quickly.