# HideFile

> HideFile locks private files inside an everyday photo, PDF or video. The cover file still opens like normal; the locked files appear only with the password. It runs entirely in the browser, and files are never uploaded.

- Encryption: XChaCha20-Poly1305, with the key derived from the password by Argon2id. The engine is Rust compiled to WebAssembly and runs on the user's device.
- Cover formats: PNG, JPEG, PDF and MP4.
- Price: free.
- Limits: a lost password cannot be recovered. The locked data is encrypted but a forensic tool that knows the format can tell it is there, so HideFile protects against casual inspection, not a forensic examiner.
- Every page below is Markdown at its page URL plus `.md`. All of them in one file: https://hidefile.app/llms-full.txt

## Product

- [HideFile - Lock Files in Plain Sight](https://hidefile.app/index.md): Lock private files inside an everyday photo, PDF, or video.
- [Guides](https://hidefile.app/guides.md): Guides to keeping photos and files private on iPhone, Mac, Android and the web, checked against current Apple and Google documentation.
- [How HideFile protects you](https://hidefile.app/security.md): How HideFile protects your files: client-side XChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption, Argon2id passwords, and no uploads to any server.

## Guides

- [How to hide photos on Mac and lock the Hidden album](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-photos-on-mac.md): To hide photos on Mac, open the Photos app, select the photos, and choose Image > Hide (or press Command-L).
- [How to hide files on Mac and password protect a folder](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-files-on-mac.md): macOS has four built-in ways to keep files private: the hidden flag, which takes a file out of Finder; an encrypted disk image, which is how you password…
- [How HideFile works: a walkthrough from cover file to reopen](https://hidefile.app/guides/demo.md): HideFile puts private files inside an ordinary photo, PDF or video, encrypted with a password, in the browser.
- [HideFile security: how the encryption works and where it stops](https://hidefile.app/guides/security.md): HideFile encrypts your files in the browser with a key made from your password, then stores the encrypted result inside an ordinary photo, PDF or video.
- [HideFile pricing: free today, and what that does and does not promise](https://hidefile.app/guides/pricing.md): HideFile is free.
- [Using HideFile responsibly: what it is for, and what it is not](https://hidefile.app/guides/responsible-use.md): HideFile is for keeping your own private files out of casual view: on a phone someone else picks up, a laptop the family shares, or a cloud drive other people…
- [How HideFile compares with hidden albums, vault apps and encrypted containers](https://hidefile.app/guides/compare.md): Every way of hiding files makes a trade between three things: whether it has its own password, whether it looks like nothing, and whether your files survive a…
- [How to hide apps on iPhone: lock, hide, and what still shows](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-apps-on-iphone.md): To hide an app on iPhone, touch and hold its icon on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID, then tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, and tap Hide App.
- [How to hide photos on iPhone: every built-in method and its limits](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-photos-on-iphone.md): To hide photos on iPhone, open the photo in Photos, tap the More button, then tap Hide.
- [How to hide photos without an app on iPhone](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-without-app-iphone.md): You do not need a vault app to hide photos on iPhone.
- [The iPhone Hidden album: where it is and who can still see it](https://hidefile.app/guides/iphone-hidden-album-guide.md): The iPhone Hidden album is a locked collection inside the Photos app.
- [How to hide photos on Android: every built-in method, phone by phone](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-photos-on-android.md): To hide photos on Android, open Google Photos, tap Collections, then Locked, and set up Locked Folder.
- [Hidden folders on Android: what each kind hides, and from whom](https://hidefile.app/guides/hidden-folder-android.md): A hidden folder on Android can mean four different things. A folder whose name starts with a dot is hidden from file managers by convention.
- [How to hide photos without an app on Android](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-without-app-android.md): You do not need to download anything to hide photos on Android. Google Photos, which comes with most Android phones, has Locked Folder.
- [Android Private Space: setup, hiding it, and what it cannot hide](https://hidefile.app/guides/android-private-space.md): Private Space is a locked, separate area for apps on phones running Android 15 or later.
- [Google Photos Locked Folder: how to hide photos, and how to keep them](https://hidefile.app/guides/hide-photos-google-photos.md): Google Photos has two ways to hide a photo. Archive removes it from the main Photos view and nothing more.
- [Samsung Secure Folder: setup, backup and what survives a reset](https://hidefile.app/guides/secure-folder.md): Samsung Secure Folder is a locked, separate area on a Galaxy phone with its own apps, its own Gallery and its own storage.
- [What is steganography? How hiding data inside images works](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-steganography-works.md): Steganography is the practice of hiding a message so that nobody suspects a message exists.
- [How to hide files in plain sight, and who each trick fools](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-to-hide-files-in-plain-sight.md): Hiding a file in plain sight means leaving it where anyone could look, disguised so nobody does.
- [Is a photo vault app safe? What vault apps actually do with your files](https://hidefile.app/guides/is-photo-vault-safe.md): A photo vault app is as safe as three things you usually cannot see from the App Store page: where it stores your photos, whether it really encrypts them, and…
- [How to hide photos secretly: why the lock is what gets noticed](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-secretly.md): Hiding photos secretly is two jobs, not one.
- [Can hidden photos be detected? What steganalysis actually finds](https://hidefile.app/guides/can-hidden-photos-be-detected.md): Yes, a photo with data hidden in it can often be detected, but detection usually means learning that something was added, not reading what it is.
- [How to hide files without someone knowing](https://hidefile.app/guides/how-to-hide-files-without-someone-knowing.md): Hiding files without someone knowing means two things at once: the other person cannot open the files, and nothing on the device prompts them to ask.
- [Steganography tools compared: steghide, OpenStego, OutGuess, OpenPuff and online tools](https://hidefile.app/guides/steganography-tools.md): Steganography tools hide a file or message inside an ordinary-looking image, audio clip or video.

## Optional

- [Guides for India](https://hidefile.app/in/guides.md): Privacy guides for India: how to hide photos and files on your phone.
- [How to hide photos in gallery on Android: Samsung, Xiaomi, Redmi, Vivo, Oppo and Realme](https://hidefile.app/in/guides/how-to-hide-photos-in-gallery.md): Every Android phone can hide photos from the gallery with Google Photos Locked Folder, whatever the brand.
- [Privacy Policy](https://hidefile.app/privacy.md): HideFile privacy policy: your files never leave your device, and what little analytics we collect.
- [Terms of Service](https://hidefile.app/terms.md): HideFile terms of service.
- [Refund Policy](https://hidefile.app/refund.md): HideFile refund policy.

## Translations

- [日本語](https://hidefile.app/ja/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in 日本語
- [한국어](https://hidefile.app/ko/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in 한국어
- [简体中文](https://hidefile.app/zh/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in 简体中文
- [Español](https://hidefile.app/es/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in Español
- [Português](https://hidefile.app/pt/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in Português
- [Deutsch](https://hidefile.app/de/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in Deutsch
- [Français](https://hidefile.app/fr/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in Français
- [Bahasa Indonesia](https://hidefile.app/id/llms.txt): the homepage and guides in Bahasa Indonesia