Announced last May during Google I / O 2021, the private Google Photos folder is now accessible to all users after going through Pixel phones. A tool that now reaches all users and we will see how it can be used.
The “Private File” which allows is hide in Google Photos those images or videos that we do not want to see prying eyes from family and friends. With logical security measures, we can establish a secure folder in which only we can see the content that is stored.
Safe from prying eyes
The “Private File” opens with unlocking the device screen and the items will not be shared or backed up. All the photos and videos that we move to the private folder are no longer visible and accessible to the main Google Photos gallery and the rest of the apps that want to access our gallery.
And without further ado we will see what are the steps to follow to activate the “Private File” in Google Photos and to be able to keep the images we don’t want to show in a safe place.
The first thing to do is enter Google Photos and search for the section “Utilities” in the “Library”, located at the bottom of the screen. From there, you can’t even take screenshots for security reasons.
A step-by-step process appears on the screen to configure the “Private folder”. The first thing we need to do is identify ourselves. The system offers different types of access depending on the mobile phone we have. This allows me to use a fingerprint, face unlock, or pattern.
Then we need to select the images we want to add. All content added to “Private folder” hides in the grid “Pictures”, but also in searches and applications that have access to the photos on the device.
We will then see that there is no element inside the “Private Folder” and it’s time to add them among those we have stored in Google Photos. When the process starts, the system asks if we want Google Photos to edit the photo, which we need to allow.
In addition, we can also add content to the “Private folder” from the gallery main using the option to move to the private folder from its menu or from the photo information.
With the image or images selected to add to the “Private folder”, the system will force us to identify ourselves again.
From now on, to access these photos and videos we will have to use the unlock with our fingerprint, pattern or password. Your cloud backup will also disappear, or you will not perform the backup.
If we want to remove the item from the “Private folder” We can do this by clicking on a photo or video in the private recycle bin and the “Move” option will appear to go back to the “visible” photos.
Keep in mind that you can only access photos and videos from “Private folder” from the device because the items are local files. If we delete an item from the private folder, it will be permanently deleted and not sent to the recycle bin.
