Android phones have private ‘safe’ on phone for hiding ‘sensitive’ apps and photos – and trick makes it even more secret

GOOGLE has upgraded its Android phones with a new feature that lets you “hide” apps.

It works like a kind of “digital safe” inside your phone where you can lock away things you don’t want other people seeing.

Millions of Android phones can now hide apps behind a fingerprint unlockCredit: Google / Android

The feature is called Private Space and it’s part of the latest Android 15 update.

Google says you might want to keep social, dating, or banking apps in there.

But you could also store photo or file apps that contain snaps you’d rather keep private.

It’s available right now if you’ve got Android 15 installed.

Google explains: “Private space in Android 15 acts like a digital safe on your phone.

“You can create a separate private space to organize sensitive apps, like your social, dating or banking apps.

“When private space is locked, apps remain virtually invisible to others and are hidden from your apps list, recent apps view, notifications and settings.

“To access private space, there’s an additional layer of authentication to keep apps secure and away from prying eyes.”

And if you want to make it even more private, you can hide the Private Space itself.

That means people won’t even see that it’s there.

Beware ‘beacons’ people hide on your belongings to ‘covertly track’ location – iPhone and Androids can ‘detect stalkers’

Table of Contents

HOW TO USE PRIVATE SPACE ON ANDROID

First make sure that you’ve updated to Android 15.

You can check your phone’s version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android Version.

And if you want to update, go to Settings > System > Software Update.

Note that the names of these settings may vary slightly depending on your phone model.

You can access the Private Space at the bottom of your app drawerCredit: Google / Android

Once you’ve got Android 15, you can then go into Settings > Security & Privacy.

Next you’ll want to look for Private Space, and follow the Set Up instructions.

This will create a new area at the bottom of your app drawer where you can find your hidden apps.

However, you can also hide the Private Space completely by going into settings.

Google explains: “For additional privacy, you can choose to hide the existence of private space from view on your phone.”

IPHONE USERS HAVE THIS TOO!

Don’t worry if you’re reading this and you’re panicking because you have an iPhone.

Apple recently built a very similar feature into the iPhone as part of the new iOS 18 update.

Just going into Settings > General > Software Update to check if you have it.

You can choose to lock and hide almost any app on iOS 18 for iPhoneCredit: Apple

Then simply go to the Home Screen, touch and hold on an app icon, then choose Require Face ID.

After that, select the option to Hide and Require Face ID.

You can then find the hidden app in the Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library – that’s on the far-right Home Screen panel.

Android phones have private ‘safe’ on phone for hiding ‘sensitive’ apps and photos – and trick makes it even more secret

HOW TO USE PRIVATE SPACE ON ANDROID

IPHONE USERS HAVE THIS TOO!

Read more on the Scottish Sun

iOS 18 devices – can your iPhone get it?

KSR

HOW TO USE PRIVATE SPACE ON ANDROID

IPHONE USERS HAVE THIS TOO!

Read more on the Scottish Sun

iOS 18 devices – can your iPhone get it?

KSR

Related Articles

Animal Life Discovered Underground Near Hydrothermal Vents in the Deep Pacific Seabed

How Rainwater Helped Stabilise Early Cells, Enabling Life’s Complexity on Earth

Perseverance Rover Captures Bizarre Mars Rock That Looks Like a Human Head

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati Said to Be Raising Capital for New AI Startup