~ MamakTalk ~: Google Photos Locked Folder Is Now Rolling Out To Pixel Owners

2021年6月15日星期二

Google Photos Locked Folder Is Now Rolling Out To Pixel Owners

Among other things, Google announced a new Locked Folder feature for Google Photos at Google I/O 2021 last month. The company recently said the feature will be rolled out as part of the June Pixel Feature Drop. It’s now starting to appear for some users who have installed the new software. The feature is seemingly rolling out via a server-side update. So even if you have updated your phone, you may not see this feature in your Pixel right away.

Locked Folder for Google Photos now rolling out for some Pixel users

As the name suggests, Locked Folder lets you securely hide your sensitive photos or videos in a passcode or fingerprint-protected folder. Once the feature is live in your Pixel, you will get a “Set up Locked Folder” notification from Google Photos. You can also find the new feature under the Ulitlites menu in the Library tab of the app. Tapping the said notification also takes you to this page.

You can tap “Get started” to initiate the setup process. It lets you use your device’s screen lock or set up a separate passcode. Once you set up the feature, you can start moving your existing photos or videos from your library to the Locked Folder. Those files will be hidden from your Google Photos library, search, and other third-party apps that access your device’s photos.

Items in the Locked Folder won’t even be backed up in the cloud. Moreover, if you move photos or videos that are already backed up, Google will delete them from the cloud. Essentially, the Locked Folder keeps your sensitive photos and videos secure locally in your device. You’ll need to enter the passcode or verify your fingerprint to access them.

As expected, you can’t take screenshots inside the Locked Folder. In fact, you can’t perform any other actions like edit or share, of course. All you can do is either delete the photos or move them out of the Locked Folder.

Save photos to the Locked Folder directly from the camera

If you have the latest, version 8.2.400 of the Google Camera app installed on your Pixel, you can also directly save new photos or videos to the Locked Folder. A new circular icon in the top-right corner of the camera viewfinder lets you select where you want to save the subsequent captures. You can either choose to select them in the “unlocked” Photos gallery or the Locked Folder.

Locked Folder is now rolling out to the Pixel 3, Pixel 4, and Pixel 5 phones. As said before, a server-side update will trigger the feature for you. In the meantime, make sure you have installed the June update and have updated the Google Photos and Google Camera apps to the latest versions.

The locked folder feature for Google Photos will also be coming to Android phones from other OEMs later this year. Perhaps with the stable Android 12 update, we shall see.