While it’s nothing new to want to keep certain apps, data, and photos private on our phones, there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to keeping everything safe.
There are several apps that offer the ability to protect photos privately, individual apps can be hidden, Google Files offers a “secure folder” and Google Photos has the ability to create locked folders that are only accessible through your phone’s default screen lock security and Not backed up to the cloud. But now Google is apparently working on a way to do the same thing within Android.
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While digging around the soon-to-be-released version of Android 14, noted Android newshound Mishal Rahman found a new settings page called “Private Space.” Several options are present on the page, including a toggle for “Unlock using screen lock” and “Show private space”. Options for “Create Private Space” and “Delete Private Space” are also shown Tapping Previous actually creates a new user profile within the Android system.
The advantage of the latter is that there is no need to use any third-party apps, the risk of putting something in the wrong folder and prying eyes on it, and the ability to protect photos, plus apps and other data. Since the private spaces seem to have a completely different profile from the main one, it seems that its security will be greatly increased.
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Since this is an Android build still in development, it’s almost certain that more features will be added over time. There’s no indication when this feature might be fully released, but the fact that it’s visible in development mode at least indicates that it’s well underway.