How to hide pictures on Android (4 methods)
Everyone has their secrets, private moments, and little pictures here and there that they don’t want getting out. Most of the time, you can just move the picture somewhere else, and be done with it. However, if you want to keep those pictures on your Android device, and keep them out of sight; you need to hide them.
There are thankfully multiple ways you can do this, and all of them won’t take longer than a minute of your time. You’ll either need your file explorer of choice, an app with a lock and key, or a PC and a little know-how.
Method 1: File Commander
First things first, let’s talk about file explorers. I’m going over File Commander first because I feel it’s the easiest to use, and has a more attractive interface. If you’d rather use ES File Explorer, you can skip to Method 2 to see how to accomplish the same task with different tools.
Step 1:
Before you can do anything with File Commander, you need to download it first. You can do that by clicking the image below:
Step 2:
After it’s done installing, open File Commander and get comfortable with the interface. You’re going to be dealing with it for a little while if you’ve never used it before.
Step 3:
Now that you’re a little more familiar, tap the three horizontal bars on File Commander’s main page.
This will quickly open up your settings, and a toggle switch in the center will immediately catch your eye.
Step 4:
Once you flip the switch to shift into secure mode, you’ll need to create a password. You will not be able to recover this password, so make sure it’s one you’ll always remember. Once you’ve finalized your passcode, you’ll have a notification bar across the top of the interface.
You can exit secure mode at any time by clicking the X in the top left corner of the banner.
Step 5:
Now that you’re in secure mode, any pictures, or files able to be locked, will have a padlock symbol next to them.
If the padlock is open and gray, the folder or image is open for anyone to see. If you tap the padlock, you can lock it, barring it from view in your gallery. You can do this for individual pictures, or even entire folders full of them.
Those pictures and folders will then only be available in File Commander while in Secure Mode.
Method 2: ES File Explorer
Next on the list is ES File Explorer. Using this file manager to hide pictures will take a little longer than File Commander, but has more options available.
Step 1:
To start things off, you can download ES File Explorer by clicking the icon below:
Neither the download nor the installation will take very long.
Step 2:
Open ES File Explorer once the installation has finished, and take a moment or two to familiarize yourself with the interface.
It might be a little confusing at first if you’ve never used it before, but you’ll get the hang of it with time.
Step 3:
With some more knowledge under your belt, tap the three horizontal bars in the top-left on any menu.
This pulls up a new menu off to the side that helps you navigate ES File Explorer, and lets you view hidden pictures.
Step 4:
There are more than a few dropdown menus here, but the first one you need to tap is Tools.
This opens another dropdown menu, and has a toggle switch for viewing hidden files. For now, enable this so you can see the pictures you encrypt. When you’re done encrypting, you can turn this back off.
Step 5:
Now tap the settings wheel at the bottom of the same sidebar menu to open up your full Settings.
Step 6:
In this new menu, navigate to your Password settings.
Here you can set different parameters where you’ll need a password to access. These are optional, but will increase security.
Step 7:
Next find any pictures, or folders of pictures that you want to hide. These can be anywhere on your phone, or any form of secondary storage.
Step 8:
Once you’ve found either individual pictures, or a folder you want to hide, longpress it to give it a check mark. After you’ve done that, you can just tap any other pictures or folders on the same screen to include them.
Step 9:
Once you have everything you want included selected, tap the three vertical dots to open a dropdown menu.
On this new menu, select Encrypt, you may need to provide a password. This is the password you’ll use while encrypting, decrypting, and viewing hidden files. Any files that are encrypted will be grayed out with a padlock.
Method 3: Hiding Pictures with a File or Folder
This next method can be done on any file explorer, or even on a PC that gives you access to your phone’s folders. For this example, I’ll be using ES File Explorer, but it can be done with other explorers just as easily.
Step 1:
Open your file explorer, or connect your Android device to your PC via an appropriate data cable.
Step 2:
In a folder where you don’t want any pictures visible on a file explorer:
- Tap the three vertical dots to open up a new menu
- On this menu, tap New
- Select file if: you want to hide all pictures in the current folder
- Select folder if: you want a folder to hide pictures in
Name the file or folder: .nomedia
You can name the file or folder anything you want, as long as it comes after a period, but .nomedia is most commonly used.
On a PC, you can do this with a right-click, and just creating a new file the same way:
- Open your phone’s storage on PC
- Navigate to a folder where you want pictures hidden, or make a new folder entirely
- Name the folder .nomedia / or insert a new file named .nomedia in a folder to hide its contents
Method 4: Hiding Pictures with Apps
File managers and using a PC aren’t the only two ways to hide pictures on your Android device. There are plenty of apps on the Google Play store that can do the same thing, and may even suit your needs better. These apps don’t just work on pictures either, they can additionally keep videos out of sight.
There’s no need to scour the play store for the best of the best; we’ve already covered the five that are worth your time. All five apps have a free version ready to download, so don’t be afraid to give any of them a chance.
Conclusion
No matter who’s trying to sneak a peek at your peek at your private photos, you can lock them out easily, and safely. Using an app that hides photos might look suspicious in your drawer, but with the right tools you can hide that too.
If you had any problems with the steps above, you can leave a comment down below to get help right away!
I have no pictures/data that cannot be made public on my phone, computer, the cloud, or even on paper on my desk. I dont live that kind of life. If you are afraid someone will see something, then you are trying to damage someone else with that information. Think about it, “Why are you afraid of something going public?” What is your motive. It isnt pure is it????
With articles like these, there are always people jumping to the “I have nothing to hide” bandwagon. I think you are looking at it from the wrong perspective Jim.
– Do you lock your doors at night?
– Do you carry large amounts of cash on you?
– Do you own a gun for protection?
All of these are preventative measures people take to keep themselves safe and make total sense. However, if you say you do carry large amounts of money, do you go around telling people about it? Probably not. It will tempt people. But then one could say you are not a trusting person for not having faith in people.
In the same sense of keeping things safe, there are a lot of reasons people would want to hide images. Business phones are a great example. If lose the phone, is it better to have all of the files and images easily accessible to the finder? Parents letting their children using their phone may not want the kids to access files or images. I worked at a cell phone store years ago and would show people things on my phone all day long. Funny images might not be as funny to someone I was trying to educate or make a sale to.
What are your thoughts?
I have a LG 4 phone, absolutely love the way you do step by step since I am not computer savvy and don’t have one I went from a flip phone to this phone and have learned a lot from you sending out tips, I would greatly appreciate to know how to keep my battery from running down too quickly I have Force stopped apps but they keep on reopening what can I do if you could give me the best app or advice step by step thank you
Hi Christine,
Glad to hear this. Thank you for telling us.
1. You can try some tips listed here https://joyofandroid.com/how-to-save-battery-life-on-android/
2. Watch out for these apps https://joyofandroid.com/the-apps-sucking-the-life-out-of-your-android-phones-battery-right-now/
3. (Optional) Use these apps to know more about battery drain https://joyofandroid.com/android-apps-detect-battery-drain/
4. Also, follow the methods listed in here https://joyofandroid.com/how-to-get-extended-battery-for-samsung-galaxy-s6/
Battery back up capability highly depends upon the usage and manufacturer. I believe these tips should solve your problem.
Cheers
Dani
amazing! I know another wonderful app named LEO Privacy. It can lock apps and hide images/videos. My husband always wants to check my phone which annoys me, and suddenly I find this app, and use it to lock all my apps, then every time he wants to check my app will be took a photo, this function is very amazing and also make him sad. And I’m very happy about that!
Hi There,
Thank you for the kind words and also thanks for the suggestion. I can see that it is a very popular app. How long have you been using it =-)
LEO Privacy is the best app lock I’ve ever used. It can not only hide photos and videos, but also in the app when someone trying to open any locked app with a wrong password, LEO Privacy will capture his/her photo. I think its safe to leave my cell phone anywhere even when snoppers are around, even my boyfriend.
Hi Clara,
It is one very popular app and I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Thanks for commenting.