How to hide photos on Xiaomi phone: from standard features to secret tricks

The privacy of personal photos on a smartphone is a concern for every second Xiaomi user. According to a 2023 Kaspersky study, 68 percent of Android smartphone owners store photos on their devices that they would not want to show to others. But how to securely hide these files when the phone can fall into the hands of colleagues, relatives or even intruders?

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO offer several built-in mechanisms for hiding photos, from basic gallery features to advanced tools like secure folders and encrypted archives. However, not everyone knows that standard concealment through the MIUI gallery does not protect files from access through a file manager or PC connection. In this article, we will discuss 7 working ways to hide photos on Xiaomi with different levels of protection, from simple to professional.

1. Hiding photos through the standard MIUI gallery

The fastest, but least reliable way is to use the built-in concealment feature in the Gallery app, which is available on all Xiaomi smartphones with the MIUI 12 shell and later, including the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and Xiaomi 13 models.

How it works:

• 📌 Select a photo. → Press More (three dots) → Hide.
• 🔒 Files will be moved to the.hidden folder (hidden directory in internal memory).
• 👁️ To see hidden photos, open the gallery → Albums. → Hidden.

⚠️ Note: This method does not encrypt files. You can find them through any file manager (e.g. Files by Google) by going to the file manager. /storage/emulated/0/.hidden/. Photos will also be visible when you connect your phone to your computer.

💡

To increase protection, after hiding through the gallery, rename the folder.hidden to.nomedia – this will prevent the display of photos in other galleries.

2. secure folder in MIUI (requires password)

Starting with MIUI 13, Xiaomi added a Private Folder feature that encrypts files and requires authentication (PIN, pattern lock or fingerprint), a method that is more reliable than standard hiding, as:

• 🔐 Files are stored in encrypted form.
• 🚫 No access via file manager or PC.
• 📱 It works even after resetting (unless you format internal memory).

How to set up:

1. Open Settings → Privacy → Secure folder.
2. Create a password (different from screen locking!).
3. Add photos via the + button or drag them from the gallery.

3. Encryption of photo in the archive (ZIP/RAR password-wise)

If you need to hide photos from everyone, including yourself, in case you lose your phone, the best option is to pack them into a password archive, which works on any Xiaomi smartphone, including older models on MIUI 10-11.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with support for archives (such as RAR or ZArchiver).
2. Select the photo → Squeeze → Select the ZIP or RAR format.
3. Set a password (at least 12 characters with numbers and letters!).
4. Delete the original photos (check the archive first!).

⚠️ Note: If you forget your password, you can't restore your photo. Store your password in a manager like Bitwarden or KeePass.

Copy your photo to the cloud before archiving|Use a unique password (not from your phone)|Check the archive for opening|Remove the originals through the basket-->

4. Hiding a photo in "Safe Place" (Second Space)

The MIUI Second Space feature allows you to create a separate user profile with your own apps, files and settings.

• 🔄 Separate personal and work data.
• 📱 Hide not only photos, but also messages, applications.
• 🔒 Use different passwords for each space.

How to turn on:

Settings → Special features → Second Space → Create a space

Once set up, move the photo to the second space gallery, and they'll be completely isolated from the main profile.

5. Hiding through a file manager (.nomedia folder)

If you don't want to use archives or secure folders, you can hide the photo from the gallery by creating a.nomedia file, which works on all Android devices, including Xiaomi.

Step-by-step:

1. Create a new folder (like SecretPhotos) and move the photo there.
2. Open any text editor (e.g. QuickEdit).
3. Create an empty file called.nomedia (no extension!).
4. Move this file to the photo folder.

Now, the photos will not be displayed in the gallery, but will remain available through the file manager. For security, rename the folder to something neutral, such as, Backup_2023.

💡

The.nomedia file hides the contents of the folder only from the Android media scanner, and photos will still be available through Explorer or when connected to a PC.

6. Use of third-party applications (KeepSafe, Vaulty)

If the built-in MIUI features aren't enough, you can install specialized applications to hide photos.

• 🔐 KeepSafe – encrypts photos and videos, supports fingerprint.
• 📁 Vaulty – disguised as a calculator, has the function of “false password".
• 🌐 GalleryVault – hides files and blocks screenshots.

How to choose an application:

⚠️ Note: Some applications (such as Vaulty) can save thumbnails of photos in cache, which allows you to restore them through special utilities.

7. Hiding photos in cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud)

If you're afraid of losing access to a photo when you reset your phone, consider hiding in the cloud. For example, Google Photos allows you to:

• 🗃️ Create private albums (not visible to other users).
• 🔗 Make restricted link (for example, 1 view).
• 🔒 Enable two-factor authentication for your account.

How to hide photos in Google Photos:

1. Upload the photo to the cloud (enable Backup).
2. Create an album → add photos → click Share → Restrict access.
3. Remove the originals from your phone (they will stay in the cloud).

Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud is an alternative, but the service has a limitation: files are stored on servers in China, which can be critical for sensitive data.

💡

Before uploading to the cloud, remove EXIF-Meta-information with a photo. Use applications like this. EXIF Eraser or Settings → Additionally. → Delete metadata in some galleries.

FAQ: Frequent questions about hiding photos on Xiaomi