Comments on: Tips: Protect files on your Android phone

By: andy

andy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:22:39 +0000

I use an app called "Image Lock". It encrypts the images with a pin, and puts a picture on it. Easy, it can lock /unlock all of my pics in one button press.

By: operat0r

operat0r — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:54:22 +0000

if you really want to hide stuff gallery/video you can rename the folder to .files " put a . in the front " and also you may need to run the chmod command

busybox chmod 000 .hiddenfolder

the normal chmod command I could not get to work right …

By: Paul Hawkins

Paul Hawkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:19:45 +0000

Yes, it was the fault of ES File Explorer. It managed to access the image viewer in such a way that all of the .hidden images got new thumbnails created for them. So, I had to delete the .thumbnails folder and restart the Droid again. If I don’t do it that way, the Gallery really makes a mess of the suddenly missing .thumbnails files.
Anyway, I used Astro file manager, as suggested above, and the thumbnails were not recreated. Plus, Astro image viewer is really cool. Very visually aesthetic!
So, I guess you can call it a solution. However, I believe that any time I add images, etc, to the .nomedia folder, I will just have to delete .thumbnails, and restart the Droid to actually hide the files from view.

By: Paul Hawkins

Paul Hawkins — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:38:39 +0000

I thought I had a solution worked out, however, it un-did itself. When I transferred the files to my .nomedia folder, containing the
.nomedia file, I then had to immediately go to my /sdcard/DCIM/ folder and delete the .thumbnails folder. Then, I restarted the Droid. Finally, the files were not visible in the media apps. Until I opened my file manager, ES File Explorer. Then all of previously hidden files got thumbnailed again and were all visible once again.
Maybe the fault of my file manager, I’m going to test that…

By: Paul Hawkins

Paul Hawkins — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:56:10 +0000

I purchased a Droid SmartPhone about a month ago and have been tinkering with the filesystem myself. I’m no stranger to Unix/Linux/Apple OS, so my first thought was to hide my files using a dotted folder. I even added a dotted file named nomedia, as suggested on a Motorola blog. The properties of the folder and files both report Hidden, yet they still appear all over the Droid media apps quite visibly.
Anyone out there with any ideas? I’d appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

By: Richard Turk

Richard Turk — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:44:39 +0000

All those methods are fine, but if you want true protection – you have to actually encrypt the files.
Otherwise someone can just pop out the SD card, pop it into their SD card reader on their computer and remove the '.' from all your 'hidden' files.

Currently, only one app does that – MyStash.

By: -sun

-sun — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:03:06 +0000

for Number 2 to go along with the silly lock pattern security you can download an app that shows your contact information on the lock screen. i had it a few months ago on a previous android phone. It is called Contact Owner. It was a little buggy but perhaps it has improved. Check it out.

-sun

By: RedSpace

RedSpace — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:01:59 +0000

I dont knwo i think i have seen this earlier also or been to your blog earlier what ever i liked it a lot. infact i loved it