When you start, the folder will simply show a 'nothing is here yet' message. Tap the 'Set up Locked Folder' option and follow the instructions. To set up your Locked Folder, open the Google Photos app, then go to Library > Utilities > Locked Folder. On other Android phones, which will get the feature later this year, you'll only be able to do the latter. On Google Pixel phones there are two ways to use the Google Photos Locked Folder – you can either save snaps directly to the folder from the Pixel Camera, or you can move existing images or videos to the folder once it's set up. How do you use the Google Photos Locked Folder?

Google Photos price: what will it charge when free storage ends in June?.Google says that they also won't be shown on Google smart displays like the Google Nest Hub, although it's not yet clear what the situation is with third-party displays. Once you've moved a photo or video to the Locked Folder, they'll be automatically removed from your existing memories or photo print orders. While this makes sense from a privacy perspective, it does mean you'll have to accept not having a backed up copy of the images or videos in Google Photos (unless you make one yourself elsewhere). If you move existing photos or videos to the Locked Folder, Google says that 'cloud backups of these items will be deleted'. In its list of things you that can't do with files in the Locked Folder, Google includes 'back up items', alongside editing them, sharing them, adding them to an album or photo book, and sharing them on social media to the likes of Facebook and Instagram. The slight downside of using the Google Photos Locked Folder is that you can't back up any of the images or videos that it contains.

Google Photos vs Amazon Photos: which cloud storage giant is the best?Īre Google Photos Locked Folder files backed up?.Crucially, it also won't be available to any other apps on your phone either. Once you've saved something in the Locked Folder, it won't appear in the Google Photos grid, memories, search or albums. But Google Photos already had an Archive feature, so what's the difference? The main one is that archived snaps or videos in Google Photos will still appear when you search in Google Photos, whereas the Locked Folder keeps them hidden beneath your phone's screen lock.

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