How to hide the album in the gallery Xiaomi: hide photos and videos from prying eyes

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones offer several ways to hide albums in the gallery, but not everyone is aware of these features. If you need to hide personal photos or videos from prying eyes without panic: the system has built-in tools for this. However, their work depends on the firmware version and device model: on the Redmi Note 12, the algorithm may differ from the Poco X5 Pro, and in MIUI 14 new privacy features have been introduced.

In this article, we'll look at all the current techniques, from standard concealment through gallery settings to secure storage and third-party applications, how to hide an album so it doesn't show up in the main feed, but it stays accessible to you by password or fingerprint, and what to do if hidden files suddenly disappear after a system update or reset.

Method 1: Built-in Hidden Albums feature in MIUI

The easiest and most reliable method is to use the built-in album hiding feature found in the standard Xiaomi gallery, which works on all devices with MIUI 12 and later, including Redmi, Poco and Black Shark, the main advantage of this method is that you do not need to install additional applications, and hidden files are protected by a system password or biometrics.

To hide the album:

1. Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Find the album you want to hide and click on three dots (⋮) top-right.
3. From the menu, select Hide album (or Hide album in English).
4. Confirm the action by entering the screen unlock password (if requested).

After that, the album will disappear from the main list, so that we can see it again.

• 🔍 Go to the gallery and pull the screen down – a search bar will appear.
• 🔒 Enter the hidden (or hidden) request and click on the folder that appears.
• 👆 Albums will only be displayed after authorization (print/password).

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If Hide Album is not on the menu, update the Gallery app via Google Play or GetApps. On some models (e.g. Redmi 9A), this option only appears after upgrading to MIUI 13+.

Method 2: Transfer to a Protected Storage (Private Safe)

Starting with MIUI 14, the firmware has a Private Safe that works as a separate encrypted partition, where you can move not only photos and videos, but also documents, notes, and entire folders, a method that is more reliable than conventional album hiding, because files are encrypted and not displayed even when you connect your phone to your computer.

Instructions for transferring albums to Private Safe:

1. Open Settings → Privacy → Secure Storage.
2. When you first start, set a password (it may differ from the main one). PIN-phone-code).
3. Click Add Files and select the photo/video you want or the entire album.
4. Confirm the transfer – the files will be copied to the secure storage and deleted from the main gallery.

Important: files in Private Safe do not take up space in the main memory, but they can not be viewed without entering a password. If you forget the password, it will be impossible to restore access - Xiaomi does not provide a reset function for secure storage.

Method 3: Hiding through a file manager (for power users)

If the built-in methods don’t work (e.g., on older versions of MIUI or custom firmware), you can hide the album manually through the file manager, and you need to rename the folder by adding a dot to the beginning of the title so that it becomes hidden for most applications, including the gallery.

Step-by-step:

1. Install a file manager with hidden file support (such as Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to the Internal Memory → DCIM → Camera (or another folder with a photo).
3. Find the folder with the album to hide and rename it by adding a dot at the beginning (for example,.MyPrivatePhotos).
4. Reboot the phone and the album will disappear from the gallery.

To see the files again:

• 📁 Enable the display of hidden files in the file manager settings.
• 🔄 Remove the dot from the folder name or move the files back.
• ⚠️ Some apps (like Google Photos) may ignore this method and show hidden files.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Applications

If standard methods don't work, you can use third-party applications to hide files. They offer additional features, such as false file sharing. PIN-code, encryption or calculator masking:

How to hide the album through GalleryVault:

1. Download and install the app from Google Play.
2. When you first start, set a password and turn on biometrics (optional).
3. Click Import and select files or entire albums.
4. Confirm the transfer – the originals will be removed from the gallery and stored in the secure storage of the application.

⚠️ Note: Check their reputation on Google Play before using third-party apps. Some file hiding software may collect your data or display intrusive ads.

Method 5: Archiving albums in ZIP with password

If you want to not only hide the album, but also protect it from viewing on other devices, you can archive files in ZIP or RAR with a password, which is suitable for backing up or transferring files over the network.

Instructions:

1. Install an archiver (such as RAR or ZArchiver).
2. Open the file manager, find the folder with the album and highlight all the files.
3. In the archiver menu, select Compress → specify the ZIP or RAR format.
4. In the archiving settings, set a password (at least 8 characters, with numbers and letters).
5. Once you have created the archive, delete the original files from the gallery.

To open the archive:

• 📂 Use the same archiver that created the file.
• 🔐 Enter the password when you request it.
• 📱 Extracted files will be visible in the gallery again, so after viewing it is recommended to delete them or re-archivate them.

Install a reliable archiver (RAR, ZArchiver)| Back up files on PC | Create a complex password (don't use date of birth) | Check that the archive opens on another device | Delete the originals after archiving-->

What to do if the hidden albums are missing?

Sometimes, after a MIUI update or reset, hidden albums disappear from a secure storage or gallery. Don't panic, the files are probably not deleted, but simply moved or became inaccessible due to a failure.

• 🔄 Reboot your phone – sometimes it helps you regain access to hidden files.
• 🔍 Check the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes the system creates copies of hidden files.
• 📱 Update the Gallery app – new versions often fix bugs with hidden albums.
• 🔧 Reset the Gallery app settings in Settings → Annexes → gallery → Warehouse → Drop it.

If the files were in Private Safe and disappeared after the phone was reset:

⚠️ Attention: when you completely reset your settings (via Settings) → The phone. → Reset settings) Private Safe content is deleted without recovery. If you have not made a backup, file return will not be possible. Always export important data before resetting!

If none of the methods worked, try connecting the phone to your computer and checking hidden folders through Total Commander or WinRAR. Sometimes files remain on the device but don't appear in the MIUI interface.

FAQ: Frequent questions about album hiding in Xiaomi

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The most reliable way to hide an album on Xiaomi is to use the Private Safe in MIUI 14+, which encrypts files and protects them with a system password, and does not display content when you connect to a PC.