# Can I lock a folder on Android? — Adinand Auto File Sorter Last reviewed: October 20, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandsorter.com/answers/lock-a-folder-on-android **Not in place. Every tool Google and Samsung document works the other way round: you move files into a separate locked space, and they stay there until you move them out.** On most phones that space is Safe folder in Files by Google; on a Galaxy it can also be Secure Folder; on Android 15 and newer there is private space. They differ in what they hold, what they need, and what happens if you forget the code. Hiding a file without a lock is a weaker job, covered on [our page about hiding files](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/hide-files-on-android). ## Safe folder in Files by Google

Google lists it as "available for Android 8.0 and up". You open **Collections › Safe folder**, choose a PIN or a pattern, then select files and tap **More › Move to Safe folder**. Taking them out again is documented in the same detail: "The file will be moved back to its original location", and "If the original location isn't available, the folder will be recreated". One instruction is easy to miss: "Stay in Safe folder until the transfer is complete", because leaving early cancels it ([*Protect your files with Safe folder*, Files by Google Help](https://support.google.com/files/answer/9935264?hl=en), read 20 October 2026). Every step on that page selects files; it does not describe moving a whole folder in one go. A forgotten PIN or pattern has no recovery route on the page.

## Secure Folder on Samsung Galaxy

Samsung puts it under **Settings › Security and privacy › More security settings › Secure Folder**, and warns that "If your device does not support Secure Folder, the feature will not appear in the Security and privacy menu." It holds apps as well as files. For files there is a condition: "Files need to be saved in your internal storage or to your SD card to be moved to Secure Folder. Files saved on your Cloud account can’t be moved to Secure Folder." Once you choose **More › Move to Secure Folder**, "The file will be moved and you can view it in Secure Folder" ([*Use the Secure Folder on your Galaxy phone or tablet*, Samsung US](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10001401/), read 20 October 2026). Set-up offers Reset with Samsung account; turn it on, because the same page says that without it a forgotten passcode locks you out. Getting files back is on [our Secure Folder page](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/transfer-files-from-samsung-secure-folder).

## Private space on Android 15 and newer

Google describes private space as "a separate space on your Android device to hide and organize apps". It needs a phone that "Is running on Android 15 and up", is not a managed device, and has no more than four users or profiles; it cannot be used "within a secondary user". The path is **Settings › Security & privacy**, then under "Privacy", **Private space**. Files come in through **+ Add › Add files**, and you choose between two outcomes: with Copy, "A copy is added to the Downloads folder in your private space storage"; with Move, "The original file is deleted from its location on your main profile." While the space is locked its apps are "Completely stopped", so nothing inside sends notifications. Google is also candid that some people can still tell the space exists, including "Others who can connect your device to a computer" ([*Hide sensitive apps with private space*, Android Help](https://support.google.com/android/answer/15341885?hl=en), read 20 October 2026).

## Which one to use

Our suggestion: a handful of photos or documents on any phone, Safe folder; a Galaxy where you also want apps hidden, Secure Folder with the reset option on; a whole private setup with its own apps on Android 15, private space. None of the three pages we read (Safe folder, Secure Folder and private space, all above) describes putting a lock on an existing folder and leaving it where it is, so if a tool promises that, read its own help before you trust it with the only copy of something.

## Before you move anything

Once a file has been moved in, rather than copied, that locked space is the only place it lives. Make a copy somewhere you control first if the file matters, and write the PIN or passcode down somewhere that is not the phone. Pictures that WhatsApp marks as private are a separate case with its own behaviour, explained on [our WhatsApp Private folder page](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/whatsapp-private-folder).

Related: [Hiding files on Android](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/hide-files-on-android) · [Getting files out of Samsung Secure Folder](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/transfer-files-from-samsung-secure-folder) · [The WhatsApp Private folder](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/whatsapp-private-folder) · [Showing hidden files in a file manager](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/show-hidden-files-in-file-manager)