How to hide photos in the gallery Xiaomi Redmi: from built-in features to secret folders

Xiaomi Redmi smartphones store thousands of personal photos, from family photos to screenshots with sensitive information. But what if you want to hide some of the images from prying eyes? MIUI has several built-in mechanisms to protect media files, as well as third-party solutions with advanced capabilities. In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods, including hidden folders, password protection and even methods without installing additional applications.

It’s important to understand that simply removing photos from the gallery does not guarantee their safety – files remain in the device’s memory and can be restored by special utilities. We will focus on methods that physically isolate images from public access, but still retain the ability to quickly return them. All instructions are tested on Redmi Note 10/11/12 and Redmi 9/10/13 with MIUI 12-14 firmware.

1. Built-in Hidden Albums feature in MIUI

The easiest way is to use Xiaomi’s native tool, which is available without installing additional software. The Hidden Albums feature appeared in MIUI 11 and works on all modern Redmis. Its main advantage is the integration with the system gallery, which eliminates conflicts with updates.

To activate the hidden album:

1. Open the standard Gallery app.
2. Choose the photos or videos you want to hide (you can tag multiple files).
3. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Hide.
4. Confirm the action by entering a password or fingerprint (if requested).

After that, the files will disappear from the main view of the gallery.

• 🔍 Go to the gallery. → Albums. → Hidden.
• 🔐 Enter. PIN-code or use biometrics (if configured).
• 📁 Files will appear in a separate folder, but will not be accessible through search or other applications.

⚠️ Warning: Hidden albums don't encrypt files -- they're just excluded from the gallery's indexing. MTP A folder with hidden photos (.hidden) can be seen in the file manager!

2. password protection of the folder through the "Secure folder" (MIUI 13+)

Starting with MIUI 13, Xiaomi added the Safe Folder feature, similar to Samsung’s Secure Folder, which is more reliable than hidden albums, since files are encrypted at the system level and are not available even when connected to a computer.

How to set up:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Secure folder.
2. Create a password (at least 6 characters) or use biometrics.
3. Return to the Gallery, select files → Move to the Safe Folder.

Features of the method:

• 🔒 Files are encrypted using AES-256 (military-grade).
• 📱 Access is possible only after unlocking the phone and entering the password of the secure folder.
• 🚫 When resetting the phone to factory settings, files in the secure folder are deleted irrevocably!

3 Third-party apps: GalleryVault, KeepSafe, LockMyPix

If the built-in MIUI features are not enough, you can use specialized utilities.

• 🔐 GalleryVault – supports fake PIN (Shows an empty gallery when you enter the wrong password).
• 🛡️ KeepSafe – Cloud backup of hidden photos (optional).
• 📲 LockMyPix – masking as a calculator or other harmless software.

How to set up GalleryVault:

1. Install the app from Google Play or APKMirror (if blocked by region).
2. When you first start, set the main password and fake PIN (optional).
3. Import photos from a gallery or file manager.
4. Activate Steganography (hiding files inside other images) in the settings.

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. GalleryVault) may conflict with MIUI Optimization is a deep optimization function. If the application crashes after installation, turn off optimization in Settings. → Special facilities → MIUI Optimization.

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Before installing third-party galleries, check the app’s permissions in Google Play. If the utility requests access to SMS, Calls, or Geolocation without an obvious reason, this is a sign of potentially malware.

4. Hiding photos through archiving (ZIP/RAR password-wise)

If you don't trust cloud services and third-party apps, you can archive photos with a password, which works on any Redmi, including older models on MIUI 9-10.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with archiving support (e.g. Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Select a photo in the DCIM/Camera folder or another directory.
3. Select Compress → ZIP with password.
4. Set a strong password (12+ characters with numbers and special characters are recommended).
5. Delete the original files (optional).

Advantages of the method:

• 🔐 Password protects archive from unpacking on any device.
• 📦 The archive can be moved to SD-map or cloud (e.g. Google Drive with encryption).
• 🛡️ No dependence on system functions MIUI.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Remember password – if you lose access files can not be restored.
• ❌ It requires unpacking to view, which takes time.

5. Transfer of the photo to the SD-card with encryption (for models with support)

If your Redmi supports microSD (like the Redmi Note 10 Pro or Redmi 9 Power), you can transfer sensitive photos to a memory card and encrypt it, which is suitable for large amounts of data (like a photo archive).

Step-by-step:

1. Put it in. SD-card to slot (if a hybrid slot is used, you will have to sacrifice the second slot). SIM-card).
2. Go to Settings → Memory → Memory Map.
3. Select Format as internal memory (this will encrypt the card using the device key).
4. Transfer the photo to the folder SD-map through the file manager.

Important nuances:

• 🔑 After formatting as internal memory, the card is tied to the phone – on another device, the data will be unavailable without resetting.
• ⚡ When you remove the card without properly disabling (Safe Retrieval) files can get corrupted.
• 📉 Read/write speed on SD-The card is lower than in internal memory (especially on cheap Class 10 cards).

⚠️ Note: If you are selling or transferring a phone, be sure to remove it. SD-Formatting the internal memory of the phone does not affect external drives!

6. Hiding Photos via Engineering Mode (for power users only)

For advanced users, there is a method of hiding photos through the Engineering Mode, which is not documented by Xiaomi and can vary depending on the model and version of MIUI.

How it works:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##36446337###
2. In the engineering menu, go to File System (or Storage).
3. Find the Hide Media Files or Media Scanner option.
4. Add a path to the photo folder (e.g. /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Secret).
5. Reboot the phone.

Risks of the method:

• 💥 Incorrect actions in Engineering Mode can lead to data loss or camera/gallery failures.
• 🔧 After updating MIUI settings may reset.
• 🔍 The files hidden in this way will still be accessed through the root file manager.

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Engineering Mode is a powerful tool, but using it without understanding the consequences can lead to software failures, and we recommend using it only if other methods do not work and you are prepared for the potential risks.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

The choice of how to hide a photo depends on your priorities:

For most Redmi users, the best solution is a combination of:

1. A secure folder for frequently used photos.
2. ZIP-password-archive.

FAQ: Frequent questions about hiding photos on Xiaomi Redmi