There is a way for you to prevent the Gallery app from scanning specific folders on your device. It does not require you to use a third-party app to get the job done.

In order to make it easy to hide files from the Gallery app, you will need to add all your files into a single folder. Once that is done, follow these steps to prevent that folder from being scanned by Android Gallery.

  1. Launch File Manager on your Android device.

  2. Press the Menu button and select “Settings.” You will need to first enable your device to show hidden files so that you can see your newly created hidden folder.

  3. Enable the option that says “Show hidden files.” You should then be able to see the hidden files and folders in file manager.

  4. If you have not already created a folder to put all your media files in, create one now. You can do that by pressing the Menu button and selecting the option that says “Create folder.”

  5. Ok, so here’s the trick. While entering a name for your folder, just add “.” (period) before the folder name. So, if I was going to create a folder named “HideMe,” I would name it “.HideMe.” Note the dot that I added before the folder name and not the period at the end of the sentence. Then tap the “OK” button and let it create the folder.

  6. Any files that you add to this folder will not be included in the Gallery app on your device. These files are now hidden from the Android Gallery on your device.

If you do not want to create or rename the folder and still want it to be hidden from your gallery, here’s how you can do that.

Using .nomedia to Prevent Folder Scanning

  1. Download and install ES File Explorer on your device. Once installed, launch it from your app drawer.

  2. Open the folder that you do not want to be scanned by the Gallery app.

  3. Tap the button that says “New” in the bottom panel. You are going to create a new file in the current directory to make all the files in the directory hidden from your gallery.

  4. You will be asked which new item you would like to create. Tap on “File” as you are going to create a new file and not a new folder.

  5. Enter “.nomedia” as the file name and tap on “OK.” The Android Gallery app does not scan for media files in the folders that have a file named “.nomedia.” The file just tells the app that there are no media files here in this folder to be included in the gallery.

  6. You should be able to see the file along with your media files.

Deleting or renaming the file should make all the media in the folder available to the Gallery app. Let it just sit there to keep your files from the Android Gallery.

Conclusion

Not every media file on your Android device needs to be put in the gallery. The method above helps you keep your chosen files from the Gallery app on your device.