How to hide WhatsApp photos from the gallery

We all get the occasional picture in WhatsApp that we don't want showing up in our general photo gallery. Especially if you have the kind of friends who borrow your phone to look at one picture and then start swiping around as though it's the most acceptable thing in the world. Here we'll show you how to quickly and easily hide WhatsApp pictures from your gallery app.

This is how to hide WhatsApp photos from your gallery.

Prerequisites 

You don't need root access, but you will need a simple file explorer. Check out our list of best Android file managers if you don't already have one. This process can be undone at any time.
1. Open your preferred file manager app. For this tutorial, I am using ES File Explorer.
2. Navigate to your WhatsApp folder. It's more than likely on /sd card, as you can see in the images below. Click WhatsApp and then Media.

Locate your WhatsApp folder, tap it and then tap Media. 

3. Next go into WhatsApp images and click the hamburger (three dots) icon at the top right. This will bring up the New box. Click File.

Tap WhatsApp Images and create a new file.

4. Create a file called .nomedia and hit OK. You'll get a toast saying that .nomedia has been created.

Create the .nomedia file and hit OK.

5. Go back to gallery app and you'll see that your WhatsApp folder has vanished. (If it hasn't, try clearing the cache for your gallery app in Settings > Apps/app manager > Gallery/album, depending on your phone's manufacturer.) If this freaks you out, all you need to do is delete the .nomedia file.
The savvy among you may notice that there is no .nomedia file in your WhatsApp images folder. All you need to do to see it is enable hidden files in your file manager. In ES, you tap the little blue icon in the top left (the phone and globe), then scroll down until you see the on/off switch for Show hidden files. Turn this option on.

Tick Show hidden files and the .nomedia file will be visible in your WhatsApp Images folder. 

6. Now, if you go back into your WhatsApp images folder, you'll see your hidden files. Just long press the .nomedia file and delete it. Your WhatsApp images will now reappear in your gallery app (again, if they don't, try clearing the cache and rebooting your phone if necessary). Don't forget to turn off hidden files if you don't want them all showing up in every folder in your file manager.


Have you ever had someone spot an embarrassing photo on your phone? How do you protect the photos that are for your eyes only? Share your experiences below.