One of the many advantages with the MIUI software in Xiaomi smartphones is that you don’t have to download external apps for several functions that required an app in any other smartphone. Themes, screen saver, call blocking, and a lot other functions are already available as a feature in the UI, and another good one is the hiding of files and folders in the File Explorer.
The Xiaomi Mi 5 that runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow based MIUI v7.2 has all these options and the file hiding feature is included as well. Confused on how to use it? Follow the steps below and you will be able to hide the files and folders that you wanted no one to see when you hand your phone to them.
Hide Files and Folders in Xiaomi Mi 5
If you are using any third party file manager app, this is not for that. You will have to use the default File Explorer that comes pre-installed in the Mi 5.
Open the File Explorer, and navigate to the Internal Storage where all the folders are listed. Select the Folder directly, or open the folder and select the files that you wish to hide.
After selecting the files / folders, tap on the “More” icon on the bottom right, and select the option Hide. Confirm the same and you will see the phone encrypting the files and folders and then hiding them.
As soon as the files or folders are hidden, you will see a notification of the same and the same will disappear from the page.
How to view hidden files on the folder?
On the same page, you will see a Menu where you have to select the option “Show hidden files” and the hidden files show up. The only problem we see is that you don’t have any security authentication and anyone can view the hidden files and folders this way.
Another way of viewing all the hidden files and folders is by dragging down the explorer on the main screen of File Explorer, and all the hidden files are shown up there.
If you feel that you want a way of hiding files with security, there are some alternatives that you need to try, i.e. apps available on Play Store. Though, for basic hiding, you don’t have anything better than the File Explorer on the Mi 5.
