Joe Maring / Android Authority

I have a whole host of images in Google Photos that I don’t want anyone to see. These include those not-so-appealing images of that weird rash I had to send to my doctor, a few unflattering selfies that I still want to keep, and several fitness progress photos I’m not yet ready to share.

All these images are safely tucked away in the Locked Folder within my Google Photos account, which means they don’t show up in my feed and won’t pop up in a feature like Memories. It also gives me peace of mind if I ever hand my phone to a friend to show them vacation photos, as one swipe too many can be the start of an embarrassing conversation.

Locked Folder is one of my most-used Google Photos features, but it is very basic. Too basic. So basic, that I’m just thinking of ditching it altogether.

Do you use the Locked Folder feature?

151 votes

I want more, Google

Joe Maring / Android Authority

Here’s what the Locked Folder feature allows me to do: I can move images in from my main Photos feed, and I can move them back out. I can also delete them. That’s it.

I can’t search for images. I can’t create albums. I can’t sort or organize my hundreds of images in any way, shape, or form. I can’t find any image I’m looking for without manually scrolling through hundreds of thumbnails. It’s exhausting.

The feature is too bare-bones, and I’m not a fan. While I can live without the ability to edit images, create videos, and all those extra features Photos has, basic image management and search should be present. Without it, Locked Folder is just a dumping ground for images. This isn’t a problem until you have hundreds or thousands of pictures tucked away, at which point the feature loses much of its benefit for me.

Google claims this is for security reasons — to prevent accidental exposure of sensitive photos and videos. I’m all about security, but I’m sure a company like Google can figure out how to prevent leaks while still offering the basic functionality we’re all used to. If it can’t do that, I wonder how safe my pictures, albums, and other files in my Photos account really are.

I’m thinking of ditching it

Megan Ellis / Android Authority

I’m so embedded in Google’s ecosystem that I don’t see myself ditching Google Photos anytime soon; however, Locked Folder is becoming more of a problem than a solution for me, so changes are needed.

I’m considering moving my sensitive images over to another service, most likely Proton. It will give me peace of mind, making sure no one sees them but me. Thanks to Proton’s encryption, not even the company itself will have access to them.

The problem is that Proton only offers 5GB of free storage. That is enough for now, but I’ll likely need more eventually. That means another subscription on top of everything I’m paying for at the moment, which is not ideal.

The other solution is just to store the photos locally on my PC. This means I’m only limited by the space on my device and don’t need a subscription, but I’ll lose sync, so I can’t access my photos from multiple devices.

I’m curious to hear what you would do in my situation? Let me know in the comments, and let’s start a conversation.

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