How To Enable Photo Gallery Lock on Samsung Phones

In today’s world, privacy is kinda crucial, especially when it comes to those embarrassing or private photos. Samsung’s got this feature called Locked Album that lets you hide and lock certain pics from prying eyes. Turns out, it’s tucked away in the Gallery app through this hidden thing called Gallery Labs—that’s kind of weird, but hey, it works. Here’s how to get it going on your Samsung running One UI 5 or newer.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, make sure you’ve got:

Your Samsung device running One UI 5 or later.
The Gallery app installed and — preferably — updated to the latest version from the Galaxy Store or Google Play.

Step 1: Access Gallery Labs

This part is what trips people up sometimes. You gotta unlock the hidden menu to turn on Gallery Labs:

Open the Gallery app, obviously.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) on the top right or in the corner.
Select Settings.
Scroll down to the bottom and tap on About Gallery.
Now, tap the version number repeatedly (probably about 5-10 times). On some devices, it might just give a toast message saying “Gallery Labs is enabled.” Sometimes you need to be persistent—because of course, Samsung has to make it harder than necessary. Worked on one device, on another… not so much.
Go back to the main Settings menu. You should see a new option called Gallery Labs.

Step 2: Enable Locked Album

With Gallery Labs enabled, it’s time to turn on the fancy Locked Album feature:

Inside Gallery Labs, look for something like Album entry locks or Locked Album (names may vary a little).
Flip the switch to turn it on. Basically, enable it.
Back in the main Gallery screen, choose the photos or entire albums you want to lock.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) on the album or photo group.
Select Move to Locked Album. If that doesn’t show up right away, try selecting a photo, tapping More or Options, then moving it.
Next: set a PIN, password, or enable biometrics. It’s kinda reassuring to lock it with your fingerprint or face, because PINs are easy to forget if you don’t use them often.

Step 3: Viewing Your Locked Photos

Want to see your secret stash? Here’s where:

Navigate to the Albums tab in Gallery.
Scroll down or look for the Locked Album (it might be at the bottom).
Brace yourself for the prompt, then enter your PIN/password or flick your finger at your face to authenticate.
Access granted, so you can see those naughty or private photos. Not sure why it works, but sometimes it’s smoother with biometrics—other times, that PIN must be entered twice for no obvious reason.

Extra Tips & Common Issues

Here’s some stuff to keep in mind and troubleshoot:

Make sure your device’s software is totally up-to-date. Outdated Samsung software can cause compatibility hiccups, especially with hidden features.
Remember that the Locked Album isn’t as secure as the Secure Folder — third-party apps might still poke around if they’re clever enough. It’s more about hiding from accidental glimpses than hardcore security.
If you forget your PIN or password, resetting device settings might be the only option, which kinda sucks if you have important photos in there. Better set a PIN you remember or use biometrics reliably.

Summary

Enable Gallery Labs by tapping the version number repeatedly in About Gallery.
Turn on the Locked Album feature inside Gallery Labs.
Lock and unlock your albums with PIN, password, or biometrics.
Keep in mind that it’s a privacy layer, not impenetrable security.

Hopefully this shaves off a few hours messing around with settings. Just something that worked on multiple machines, so worth a shot. Fingers crossed this helps!