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| Google Photos brings locked folders to Android phones |
Google has confirmed plans to introduce a dedicated folder lock feature for the Google Photos app on all devices running Android 6 and above.
Once the new feature is launched, users will receive a notification about the locked folder settings for the Photos app.
The company announced the news via a tweet from an official Twitter account and released a small teaser to give us a glimpse of how the feature works.
This feature allows users to hide sensitive photos and videos from the main library and protect them with passwords or biometric-protected folders.
Announced at I/O 2021, this folder hides selected photos and videos from the main app network, and finds and accesses apps from your device's photos.
Locked Folder was first introduced exclusively to Pixel smartphones in June. It is worth noting that the company has not confirmed the exact date of launching the feature on other Android devices. The company announced that the feature will be introduced soon.
To set up a locked folder, you need to go to Library > Utilities > Lock Folder in the Google Photos app. Then the user can manually move the existing photos to the folder.
Although the Pixel Camera app allows users to save new photos and videos to a folder right after taking them, it's not clear if this feature applies to other camera apps as well.
Locked folder in Google Photos is about to land on your Android phone
Photos saved in a locked folder will not be saved to the cloud and will not be shared. Device screen lock required for access (fingerprint, face, PIN, etc.).
For security reasons, users cannot take screenshots when they are locked to a folder. The only two operations available when viewing media are move or delete.
While Google announced the expansion of the Folder Lock feature, it has also released several other new features. This will soon also be available for Android.
Some of the other new features include the ability to use your Android phone as a remote control. Plus new Android Auto and accessibility features.