Piktures, a free Android gallery app, hides photos and videos behind a 4-digit PIN in its Secret Space: they leave the gallery, other apps can't open them, and nothing is sent anywhere. The protection is deliberately light, files renamed and scrambled rather than encrypted, and the Secret Space lives only on your phone, so you export it to keep a backup.
How do I hide photos behind a PIN on Android?
With Piktures, you move them to the Secret Space. Select photos in a phone album and tap ⋮, or open a photo and tap ⋮, then Move to Secret: the photos go into the Secret box album of the Secret Space, out of the gallery and out of All. From then on, opening the Secret Space asks for your PIN, or for your phone's biometric unlock when Piktures offers it.
Hiding an album is a different thing. Manage albums visibility and bookmarks removes an album from the Albums tab, but the files stay in their folder, and a file manager or another gallery still shows them. Hiding only affects what Piktures shows; the Secret Space is for the photos you want behind a PIN. See Hide and unhide albums.
How do I set up the Secret Space?
- In the Storage tab, tap Secret Space, then ACTIVATE YOUR SECRET SPACE.
- Create a 4-digit PIN code, then type it again to confirm it.
- Choose a security question, type your answer, and tap Save. If you forget your PIN, this question lets you choose a new one.
- Tap CHECK SECRET SPACE SETTINGS to see the options.
No e-mail address is needed. The details are in The Secret Space.
How do I put photos in, and take them out?
- Move to Secret moves photos from a phone album, or the photo on screen in the viewer, into the Secret box album.
- In the Secret Space, + at the top of the Albums tab creates a secret album and moves the photos you pick into it.
- In a secret album, ⋮ → Add photos or videos copies photos: the originals stay in the gallery. Take a photo and Record a video put a new photo or video straight into the secret album.
- To take photos out, select them in the Secret Space, tap the move icon or ⋮ → Move, and choose an album. A photo deleted in the Secret Space is deleted for good: it has no trash.
After each Move to Secret, Piktures reminds you to back up your Secret Space.
How does the Secret Space protect my photos?
Files are renamed and scrambled so they can't be opened by browsing the phone or with other apps, and the Secret Space is behind your PIN. This is deliberately light protection, not strong encryption: it can be reversed with technical means, for example by the authorities. Diune made this choice so the Secret Space can't become a safe place for illegal content.
The Secret Space is kept in Piktures' own storage on the phone. It isn't backed up online, no Piktures server holds a copy, and Android erases it when you uninstall Piktures, clear its data, or reset the phone. Export secret files saves everything into a PikBackup folder, which you then copy off the phone; Import secret files brings it back, on the same phone or a new one. The PikBackup folder also holds the key that unscrambles the files, so anyone who gets the folder can import it: keep it somewhere safe. See Back up your Secret Space.
The Secret Space: the facts
| App | Piktures, by Diune, for Android 11 or later |
| Price | Free, with a few Google ads. The one-time No ads purchase removes them |
| Unlock | A 4-digit PIN, or the phone's biometric unlock when it's set up |
| Protection | Files renamed and scrambled, behind the PIN. Not encryption: reversible with technical means |
| Where it lives | In Piktures' own storage on the phone. No server, no online backup |
| Erased when | Piktures is uninstalled, its data cleared, or the phone reset |
| Backup | Export secret files to a PikBackup folder; Import secret files to restore |
| Forgotten PIN | After 3 wrong PINs and a 3-minute wait, Forgot PIN code asks your security question |
| Account | None. No e-mail address |
| Wrong PINs | 3 wrong PINs, then a 3-minute wait |
| Locks again | When you open another storage in the Storage tab, or when Piktures is closed and opened again. No lock after a delay |
| Trash | None: a deletion in the Secret Space is final |
| With Premium or Prime | PIN code only (no biometric unlock) and Hide from menu (the Secret Space disappears from the app) |
Questions
Is the Secret Space encrypted?
No. The files are renamed and scrambled, and the Secret Space is behind your PIN, but this is light protection by design, not strong encryption. If you need encryption, the Secret Space isn't it.
What if I forget my PIN?
Type a wrong PIN 3 times, and during the 3-minute wait tap Forgot PIN code: Piktures asks the security question you chose, then lets you create a new PIN. If your phone's biometric unlock still opens the Secret Space, you can also change the PIN from its menu. If you've lost both the PIN and the answer, there is no other way: the Secret Space relies on no server, so nobody can reset it remotely. See Forgot your PIN code.
Can I hide the Secret Space itself?
Yes, with Premium or Prime. Hide from menu removes the Secret Space tile from the Storage tab, Move to Secret from the selection menu, and the Secret Space from the move and copy destinations. To open it, tap the Storage title three times quickly. See Secret Space options.
Does the Secret Space lock by itself?
Not after a delay. It stays open while you use Piktures, and asks for the PIN again when you open another storage in the Storage tab or when Piktures is closed and opened again. To lock it right away, tap This phone in the Storage tab.
Is Piktures free?
Yes. The Secret Space, its PIN, its export and its import are in the free Basic plan, which shows a few ads. Your first 3 days are without ads. The one-time No ads purchase removes the ads; Premium, a one-time purchase, and Prime, a monthly subscription, also unlock PIN code only and Hide from menu. See In-app purchases.