How to Hide Media on Android

In our day to day mobile phone usage we take a lot of photographs, record videos, download songs etc. But many of these media files that we download or record on our phone should be kept confidential, out of the reach of others. In such a scenario, hiding those media files becomes essential!

If you are an Android user, you’ll find that any media file existing in the phone (SD card or internal memory) is directly visible in the gallery. This happens because Android scans the all the media files in the device and makes them available in the gallery by default.

But Android is an extremely smart OS. It gives you the liberty to hide media files and that too without installing any apps from the Android Market (Play Store).

Here we have provided the steps that you need to follow to hide your media files:-

STEP 1) In case you already have a file manager installed, just open it up. In case you don’t have it you can download it from the Android Market (Play Store). Some of the popular file managers are- Astro file manager, OI file manager,File manager.

STEP 2) Open the file manager and create a new folder by the name “.nomedia”.

NOTE: You can even use the “Terminal emulator” to create a folder if you have it installed on your Android.
For that you need to open the terminal emulator, it looks like this:-

You don’t need to read whatever is written in the pic above. When you’ll open the terminal emulator, you’ll get a “$” sign with a marker blinking, you just need to enter the commands given below and press the enter button after each command:-

$ cd sdcard
$ mkdir .nomedia
$ exit

After you’ve entered the commands given above, open your file manager, you’ll find a new folder by the name “.nomedia”.

STEP 3) Place any media file in the folder and you’re done!

After you have completed the above procedure, you will notice that the files you have kept in the “.nomedia” folder are no longer there in the gallery.

Although numerous apps are available in the Android Market (Play Store), this method would cut down your effort in attaining confidentiality of your important media files in just a few seconds!

Simple yet effective solutions to some mind boggling problems is what makes Android a unique OS. So explore the Android world and don’t forget to mention any other effective methods that you have, in the comment section!

Author: Divyansh Raj

He's 21,lives in Delhi.Is passionate about writing,runs his own blog as well. Loves to run and swim. You can meet him @ facebook.com/divyanshraj2005 or Google+ Check out his blog @ divyanshraj.blogspot.com