Google Photos Locked Folder: how it works and when it loses your photos
A handy feature with one setting you really need to know about.
In Google Photos, tap Collections, then Locked. It opens with your phone's screen lock. Items stay only on the phone unless you turn on Back up Locked Folder in Photos settings, so uninstalling Photos, clearing its data, resetting the phone or moving to a new one can delete everything in it.
Setting it up
- Open Google Photos.
- At the bottom, tap Collections, then Locked.
- Tap Set up Locked Folder and unlock your phone when asked.
Locked Folder uses your phone's screen lock. You can't give it a separate PIN, and you need a screen lock set before it will work.
Moving photos in and out
Select a photo or video, tap Add to, then Move to Locked Folder, then Move. To take something out, open Locked Folder, select it and tap Move.
Two things catch people out. Edited versions and copies don't move with the original, so check for leftovers. And photos in the Bin have to be restored before they can be moved. On a Pixel 4 or later you can also save straight into Locked Folder from the camera.
The backup setting
By default, Locked Folder lives only on your phone. To back it up, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup, then Back up Locked Folder, and switch it on.
With backup on, you can open Locked Folder on other devices signed in to the same Google account, and the items count against your Google storage. With it off, they exist in one place only.
When people lose their Locked Folder
Google's own help forum has a long run of posts from people who found an empty Locked Folder after an upgrade. With backup off, the items are deleted if you:
- uninstall Google Photos or clear its data
- reset the phone
- lose or break the phone
Phone to phone transfers don't include them either, whether by cable or through the cloud. If you're about to switch phones, either turn on backup or move the items out and carry them across yourself. Our guide on hidden photos and a new phone goes through it.
What else to know
- It opens with your screen lock. Anyone who knows your phone PIN can open it.
- Items can't be shared, edited or added to albums while they're inside.
- Photos and videos only. For documents, Files by Google has a Safe folder.
- They don't show anywhere else in Google Photos: not in the grid, search, memories or albums, and other apps can't see them.
Locked Folder or a vault?
Locked Folder is a good free option if nobody else knows your PIN and you're happy for Google to hold a backup. If you want a lock of its own, files of any type, or a vault with no cloud at all, Dobr opens with its own pattern and has no internet permission. Like Locked Folder with backup off, Dobr keeps everything on the phone, so save copies before you switch phones. Our Dobr vs Locked Folder page compares the two.
Last checked 2026-11-04. Phone menus change between Android versions and brands, so labels on your phone may differ slightly.