Google Photos users with iPad and iPhone will soon be able lock their most sensitive images within a passcode-protected folder. This new feature is coming to the iOS app (via Verge).
The privacy-oriented Locked Folder feature is only available for Pixel phones. It allows users to save videos and photos in the app in a separate area that requires a passcode, fingerprint or other access.
The media in the folder is kept hidden so sensitive photos aren't visible when users scroll through Google Photos or other apps. Google claims that the feature will be available on iOS "early next years."
Importantly, as of now, it works only on Pixel Phones. Any cloud backups of items in the Locked folder are automatically deleted by Google.
Google's photo and video backup service is described as "a safe place for life's memories" because of the "world-class security and encryption it uses to protect photos you back up and share."
Google had to contact around 100,000 users last year to inform them that some private videos stored on Google's servers were accidentally sent to others due to a technical issue.
Apple's native Photos app for iOS doesn't have an equivalent feature. The Photos app does offer the option to hide some photos from the main library. However, it can be hidden from third-party apps so that the album is not invisible to prying eyes.
