Android photo privacy guides
Straight answers about hiding, locking and protecting photos on Android — what actually works, what doesn't, and how to verify an app isn't uploading your files.
Best photo cleaner app for Android
We make one of the apps on this list, so here is the disclosure up front and the criteria we judged everyone by — including the cases where the built-in tools are the better answer.
Android guideHow to hide photos in Google Photos
Google Photos has two hiding features that sound similar and protect very different things. Here is what each one does to your files, when the content is deleted, and when you need something else entirely.
Android guideHow to hide photos on Android
Android has five ways to hide photos, and only one of them encrypts anything. Here is what each method protects against, what it doesn't, and how to check an app instead of trusting it.
Android guideHow to delete screenshots on Android
Screenshots pile up faster than any other photo type and almost never get cleaned. Here is where they live, how to bulk-delete them in one pass, how to stop the pile from rebuilding, and what to do with the ones you actually need.
Android guideHow to free up storage on Android
Most "free up storage" advice saves a few hundred megabytes. These seven steps, done in order, typically recover 5-20 GB — starting with the two-minute ones and ending with the only one that repeats monthly.
Android guideRecovering photos from a photo vault app
If you forgot the PIN on a vault app, the answer depends on one question — was the app encrypting your photos, or only hiding them? Here is how to tell, and what to try in each case.
Android guideHow to choose a secret photo album app
The "secret photo album" category is full of apps that look private and behave the opposite way — calculator disguises, ad-funded vaults, cloud accounts nobody asked for. Here is how to test one in five minutes.
Android guideWhat does it mean when your phone storage is full?
Storage full" is a diagnosis, not a symptom — it always has a cause, and the cause is usually one of six things. Here is how to read Android's storage screen and find the actual offender in five minutes.
Android guideWhere did my hidden photos go?
Hidden photos don't vanish — they move somewhere you don't normally look. Here are the six real locations on Android, how to get them back, and why a "vault" app can make them look deleted.