TuckVault vs Google Photos Locked Folder
Google Photos Locked Folder hides photos behind your screen lock. TuckVault locks them behind a separate PIN or pattern with AES encryption. The differences that matter.
Google Photos’ Locked Folder is the Android equivalent of Apple’s Hidden Album, and in some ways the better design: items in it are kept out of your Google Photos library, out of backup (unless you turn that on), out of Memories, and out of other apps that read your gallery. For a built-in, free feature, that is a lot.
The question is the same one as with the Hidden Album: who can open it?
Side by side
| Google Photos Locked Folder | TuckVault | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built into Google Photos | Free download, optional in-app purchases |
| Platforms | Android, and the Google Photos app on iOS | Android and iPhone |
| Lock | Your phone’s screen lock (PIN, pattern, fingerprint, face) | A separate PIN or pattern just for the vault |
| Opens with your phone’s lock | Yes | No |
| Kept out of the photo library | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud backup | Off by default; can be turned on to your Google Account | None — stays on the phone |
| Encryption | Device encryption; no separate app-level encryption documented | AES encryption applied by the app |
| Documents / PDFs | No | Yes |
| Also cleans storage | No (Google Photos has its own Free up space) | Yes — duplicates, large videos, contacts |
| Requires Google Photos | Yes | No |
What Locked Folder does well
It genuinely separates items from the library. A photo in Locked Folder does not appear in the grid, in search, in shared albums, in Memories or in the gallery views other apps request. If you share a photo of a document to Locked Folder straight from the camera, there is no copy in the main library to clean up. That is better than Apple’s approach, where hidden photos are still part of the library.
Where it stops
It uses your screen lock. Locked Folder authenticates with the same credential as the phone. That is convenient and it is the problem: the people most likely to go looking are the people who already know your pattern or have a registered fingerprint. There is no second lock.
It lives inside Google Photos. If you switch away from Google Photos, change phones without Google backup, or sign out of your Google Account, the folder goes with it. If you turn on Locked Folder backup, your private photos are in Google’s cloud, under Google’s account security.
Photos and videos only. Scans, PDFs and screenshots-of-documents have to go somewhere else.
What TuckVault does differently
A separate PIN or pattern. That is the headline. Someone who can unlock your phone cannot open the vault without a credential that has nothing to do with the phone. On top of that, vault files are encrypted by the app with AES, the vault holds documents as well as photos and videos, and nothing is uploaded to any cloud.
TuckVault also runs on both Android and iPhone with the same vault behaviour, which matters if you switch platforms or hold private files on a work phone of a different type.
What Locked Folder has that TuckVault doesn’t
Optional cloud backup and cross-device access through your Google Account, and zero extra installs. If you lose your phone, Locked Folder with backup on gives you the photos back; TuckVault’s vault does not currently back up, so you would need your own copy elsewhere. Read Are photo vault apps safe? for how to weigh that.
Recommendation
Keep Locked Folder for items you want out of the library but are not worried about anyone with your screen lock seeing. For photos and documents that matter against that person — the partner, the parent, the repair shop that asks for the PIN — move them into TuckVault with a lock only you know. The step-by-step is in how to hide photos on Android.
Lock what's private. Clear what isn't.
TuckVault keeps your private photos, videos and documents behind a PIN or pattern with AES encryption on your device — and cleans up duplicates, large videos and messy contacts on the same phone. Free to download for iPhone and Android.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Photos Locked Folder encrypted?
Locked Folder items are kept on the device under the phone's normal device encryption and are excluded from your Google Photos library, backup and sharing unless you turn on Locked Folder backup. Google documents it as a separate, screen-lock-protected space rather than as separately encrypted files. TuckVault adds its own AES encryption on top of the device's.
Does Locked Folder back up to the cloud?
Not by default. Google added an option to back up Locked Folder to your Google Account; if you turn it on, the items are stored in Google's cloud and available on your other signed-in devices. TuckVault has no cloud backup of the vault at all — the files stay on the phone.
Can I use Locked Folder on iPhone?
Yes, in the Google Photos app for iOS, protected by Face ID or your iPhone passcode. The same passcode caveat applies.
Which is better for documents?
Locked Folder is for photos and videos. TuckVault's vault also holds PDFs, scans and other files, with the same lock.