Google will soon let you back up your private pictures from 'Locked Folder' to cloud

Google has a feature called 'Locked Folder' that allows users to move the pictures they do not wish to see in their normal photos gallery to a securely locked folder.

The pictures saved in this folder show up into the Photos' Utilities menu on the phone. The feature was launched by Google almost two years ago.

In order to view the content inside the 'Locked Folder', users need to unlock the smartphone again as it requires authentication. This way, no one else has the access to your private files that are saved in the locked folder.


While the feature is really helpful in keeping private data secure and safe, there is also a minor flaw. The 'Locked Folder' feature in Google Photos doesn't back up the files saved in this specific gallery to the cloud account. So if you break your smartphone or somehow lose the data on the device, you will also permanently lose the data saved in the 'Locked Folder' as well.

However, as per recent reports, the tech giant is planning to add cloud back up support to the ‘Locked Folder’ of its photo sharing and storage service 'Google Photos'. The new feature has been discovered in a hidden settings page in the application's latest version.

With the new capability, users will get a way to back up images and videos saved in 'Locked Folder'. Currently, the photos and videos locked behind the folder are not able to recover once the users' phone is reset or the Photos application is uninstalled, the report said.

In September last year, a report mentioned that several Google Photos users had complained that their old photographs had been "corrupted".

People began noticing that their years-old photos (over five years, approximately) had lines and deep cracks running through them.

Meanwhile, Google, last year, had also added new filters in Google Photos to help users show their skin in its true shade.