Hide files and apps on your Android phone

Maybe you’ve got some pictures that you’d really prefer your mother not stumble across if she needs to borrow your phone. Maybe you have some private documents that contain sensitive personal information. Or perhaps you have apps installed that you'd rather keep for just your own eyes. No one needs to know about that Farming Sim app you play. Some people choose to use applock applications to lock private files and apps, but hiding them seems more safe and effective. So we've put together a list here you can keep your personal files and apps secure.

If you really want to have the most granular control possible over what appears on your phone, you may well need to root it but if you'd rather not do that, we've included some non-root options too. Plus, Android has a few built-in features you can make use of to keep your secret things secret.

Frist of all, there’s a crazy easy way to hide whole folders without using third party apps. This simple fix will prevent photos from showing up in galleries, audio files from showing up in players, and documents from showing up in editing apps. However, the files aren’t particularly hidden, because all you’re doing is renaming the folder in such a way that Android ignores it.

Using any Android file manager, simply add a “.” to the front of the folder’s name. If you want to get super sneaky, try renaming the folder something boring like “.simdata” or “.systeminfo” or whatever.

How to Hide Files

Most Android devices don’t actually have a stock ability to hide stuff, so no matter what you’re looking to do, you’re probably going to have to resort to third-party apps. Let’s start with the basics and learn to hide some files in general.

A solid app for this task is File Hide Expert. It’s a free app, and it lets you hide and unhide any file on your phone with ease. To get this up and running, first download the app from the Google Play Store. When you open the app, you’ll receive a message indicating that the hidden file list is empty. Tap the folder icon in the top-right of the screen to begin hiding files.

The app works like a basic file management app. As long as you know where the file is located, you can hide it regardless of type. Check off any files you want to hide, and then head back to your main screen.

From here, hitting “Hide All” will spirit away all of your files, making them inaccessible to snooping phone borrowers. They’ll no longer appear in other file managers or galleries. To bring them back, simply open File Hide Expert again and tap “Restore All.”

Of course, this hardly keeps your content safe. After all, anyone can just open up File Hide Expert and see all the files you don’t want them to see in one easy-to-access list. A smart idea will be to use File Hide Expert’s password capabilities.

Tap the Menu button and then Settings. The very first option will be to enable a password. Check that box, and you’ll be prompted to enter a password to use. Be careful not to forget this, because you’ll need to use it every time you boot up File Hide Expert. You don’t want to get into a situation where you can’t restore the files you’ve hidden!

How to Hide Apps

Ever get tired of seeing that damn NFL Mobile app that came with your phone and which you can’t uninstall without rooting? Is your app drawer getting crammed with apps that you rarely use, making it a headache to get to the ones you want? Is your app lock passcode seen by ur girlfriend or parents? Hiding apps is a good way to clean up your app tray and keep guest users from stumbling across any apps you’d rather keep your own business.

Some stock launchers offer this functionality right out of the box. Most Samsung users, for instance, have the ability to hide apps without leaning on third-party apps. If your launcher doesn’t support app hiding, give Nova Launcher a spin. It’s an excellent launcher all around, and it gives you the ability to hide apps with a simple and intuitive option.

Install Nova Launcher and open the app drawer. Navigate to Nova Settings > App & widget drawers > Hide Apps. Select the apps you want to hide, and they won’t show up in your app tray anymore.

To reveal an app again, simply return to the same menu and uncheck the desired app.

Remember that these apps were created to keep files out of the hands of casual guest users. If someone with the right know-how is really serious about getting at your private data, they’re going to be able to circumvent the methods these apps use to keep your files and pictures out of sight. The best security is to make sure that such people don’t get ahold of your device, and to make sure you’re using a secure lock screen. Consider hiding very sensitive content on a non-mobile device.