The new Locked Folder in Google Photos has a notable limitation

During the Google I/O keynote on Tuesday, the company unveiled a new privacy feature in Google Photos called Locked Folder. It allows users to place private or sensitive images in a password-protected space, separate from the rest of their camera roll. It’s supposed to be a safe space for your images, although a notable limitation to the feature may have been uncovered.

Android Police discovered that the images placed in the Locked Folder will be removed from the cloud and placed on your local device storage. As noted by the support page, “Cloud backups of these items will be deleted.”

It seems like a pretty notable limitation. Google Photos is a primary way for owners of the best Android phones to sync and back up their images. If something were to happen to your device, those images could be gone for good.

Android Central has reached out to Google for clarification but did not immediately receive a response.

The new Locked Folder in Google Photos makes it easier for users to scroll through their gallery without sensitive or private images showing up. Images placed here also won’t show up in Memories, search, smart devices like the Nest Hub (2nd Gen), and other apps won’t be able to access them. With Google adding new features to make Photos a better place for sensitive documents, the Locked Folder is still a fairly handy feature to have.

The new Locked Folder is only available on Pixel devices from the Google Pixel 3 to the Google Pixel 5. More Android smartphones will have access to the feature at a later date.