Millions of Android owners receive free phone upgrade that’s essential for hidden photos

FANS of Google Photos will soon be able to back-up the hidden photos inside their Locked Folder thanks to a new free upgrade.

Google had previously only allowed the Locked Folder to exist offline, meaning it couldn't transferred to a Wi-Fi connected cloud to be backed up.

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It made sense as a way to soothe privacy concerns.

Google Photos first introduced the Locked Folder feature in 2022, in an effort to give users a special place for private photos.

But ultimately, it meant that those sensitive images and memories would be lost forever if the device went missing or was reset, or even if Google Photo's app data was cleared.

The decision to bring the Locked Folder onto the web was tabled months ago.

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But the upgrade is only just starting to roll out to Android and iPhone users.

Users are starting to see a prompt pop up inside the Google Photos app which gives people the option to back-up the folder, according to Android Police.

Selecting "Turn on backup" will upload your Locked Folder photos to the cloud.

This will make them accessible from any device where you can access your Google Photos - and prevent them from being accidentally deleted.

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The feature is opt-in only.

So, users who aren't keen on having sensitive photos uploaded on the cloud don't need to engage with the pop-up.

Tapping "Not now" will keep the contents of the Locked Folder offline.

But even if the images are uploaded to the cloud, they remain behind your device's password or your Google login while on a desktop.

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