Google Photos now lets you access locked photos on any device

According to Google, photos and videos saved and backed up in your Locked Folder will not appear anywhere else in the app.

Published: Aug 30, 2023, 03:15 PM IST

Google Photos is adding a new functionality for the Locked Folder

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Google Photos is now adding the ability to back up Locked Folders.
Locked Folder keeps photos and videos under a biometric lock on your phone.
But with the backup facility, these photos and videos will be available across devices.

Google has rolled out a new update across its Photos app that will make it easier to secure and access your sensitive images across all of your devices. In other words, Photos users will now see a new option to back up Locked Folders, which they can later access across multiple devices using Google’s cloud. According to Google, images and videos saved in the Locked Folder are encrypted, which makes them safe and less prone to hacks. The company is also rolling out the improved ‘Locked Folder’ feature — which allows Android users to hide specific photos and videos behind a passcode — to iOS and web users.

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“Today, we’re starting to roll out the option to back up your Locked Folder so you can access those photos and videos with your passcode on any of your devices. Plus, you’ll now be able to set up and access Locked Folder on iOS devices and the web,” Google said in a blog post on Tuesday. The support for backup on the Locked Folder has begun rolling out to users on both Android and iOS.

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According to the company, photos and videos saved and backed up in your Locked Folder will not appear anywhere else in the app — you won’t see them in your photos grid, Memories, albums, or when you search for photos in Google Photos until you enable backup for Locked Folder.

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“When you turn on backup for Locked Folder, you’ll be able to access that content across your devices when you sign in to Google Photos and open Locked Folder with your device’s passcode,” Google said. The company also highlighted that the content stored in the Locked Folder is protected by one of the world’s most advanced security infrastructures. The Google Photos settings page has also been updated to make it easier to find and adjust privacy controls and other settings. The new design replaces the previous settings page and includes sections for privacy, backup, sharing, notifications, and more. Google said the new settings page is now available in Google Photos on Android and iOS.