How to Open NOMEDIA File on Android, Windows & Mac (.nomedia)

What is a NOMEDIA file?

A NOMEDIA file is an empty marker file named exactly .nomedia that tells Android's media index to skip the folder it's in, plus every subfolder below it. Gallery, Google Photos, music and video apps find your pictures and songs through that shared index (Android's MediaStore, maintained by a system component called MediaProvider, the successor of the old MediaScanner). When the scanner walks your storage and meets a folder containing a file called .nomedia, it leaves that folder's photos, videos and audio out of the index.

Nothing else happens when you place one, or when you open a NOMEDIA file to look at it. The files aren't moved, renamed, encrypted or deleted, and they still show up in any file manager. They're only invisible to apps that browse media through the index rather than the raw folders. Android's own source code treats a folder as hidden in two cases: its name starts with a dot, or it contains a .nomedia file. That's why the name starts with a dot too: on Android, Linux and macOS a leading dot also hides the file itself in most file browsers.

Apps add these markers so their cache images, stickers, ad banners, ringtones or game graphics don't flood your photo grid, and people add them by hand to tidy folders such as work screenshots or scanned documents. Android itself puts one in its thumbnail folders, next to the hidden .database_uuid file.

What's inside a .nomedia file?

Usually nothing: a .nomedia file is 0 bytes, because Android only checks whether a file with that name exists. There are two normal exceptions you may see when you open NOMEDIA files in a text editor:

• A single folder path, such as /storage/emulated/0/Movies/Clips. On Android 12 and later, MediaProvider writes the folder's own path into an existing marker to remember that the folder has already been scanned, and clears it again when the folder needs a rescan. It's bookkeeping, not malware, and the marker keeps working.
• A short note someone typed, or the content of another file that was renamed to .nomedia by mistake. Android ignores the content for hiding purposes; the folder is hidden either way.

Because the file is so small, any program that opens text can open NOMEDIA files: Notepad or WordPad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac, or a text editor app on Android. "Opener" programs that some file-extension sites list for NOMEDIA, such as video players or PDF readers, show nothing useful.

Can I delete a .nomedia file? (make photos reappear)

Yes. Deleting a .nomedia marker never deletes or damages any photo, video or song — it only lets that folder back into the media index, so its contents reappear in your gallery and music apps. File names that start with a dot are hidden by default, so first tell your file manager to show them — the same step you need to open a .nomedia file on a phone:

1. Files by Google: open the app, tap the menu (☰ or your profile icon, depending on version) > Settings, and turn on Show hidden files.
   Samsung My Files: tap ⋮ > Settings and turn on Show hidden system files.
2. Browse to the folder whose photos are missing — and check its parent folders too, since one marker hides everything beneath it.
3. Long-press .nomedia (it shows as 0 bytes or a few bytes) and tap Delete.
4. Restart the phone (or wait a while) so the media index picks the folder up again, then open your gallery.

What happens after you delete it: the folder becomes a normal album again. If it was an app's cache or sticker folder, expect a flood of thumbnails and junk images, and the app may simply recreate the file the next time it runs. If that happens, put it back with the generator on this page. Deleting markers inside your phone's thumbnail folders is pointless: Android recreates them.

How to create a .nomedia file on Android to hide photos and videos

Put an empty file named exactly .nomedia into a folder you created yourself, and Android drops that folder from the gallery. Use your own subfolder, such as Pictures/Private, not a top-level folder like Pictures or DCIM (see where it's ignored).

1. Create a new folder (for example inside Pictures or Documents) and move the photos or videos into it.
2. In a file manager that can create files (many built-in ones only create folders; third-party apps such as Solid Explorer or Total Commander can), create a new empty file and name it exactly .nomedia.
3. No "new file" option? Download a file with the generator above, rename it to .nomedia if the dot was stripped, and move it into the folder.
4. Or skip the file entirely: rename the folder so it starts with a dot (for example .Private). Android treats dot-folders as hidden too.
5. Force-stop or restart your gallery app if the photos don't disappear straight away.

How to create a .nomedia file from a PC or Mac (via USB)

1. Connect the phone with a USB cable, unlock it and choose File transfer in the USB notification so the computer can see its storage.
2. Use the generator on this page to download an empty file, or make one: on Windows, save an empty Notepad document as ".nomedia" (with the quotes) and Save as type: All files; if File Explorer refuses a name that starts with a dot, typing .nomedia. with a trailing dot works, because Windows removes the trailing dot.
3. On Mac or Linux, run touch .nomedia in a terminal inside the target folder, or rename any empty file to .nomedia.
4. Copy the file into the folder on the phone you want hidden, then restart the gallery app. The same USB connection lets you open .nomedia files already on the phone and delete them.

Why .nomedia doesn't work in Pictures, DCIM or Download

On Android 12 and later, the media provider ignores — and actually deletes — the marker in certain protected locations, so those folders always stay visible. This is in Android's open-source MediaProvider code (FileUtils.isDirectoryHidden), and it explains most "my .nomedia stopped working" reports:

The Screenshots rule exists because stray .nomedia files in screenshot folders caused trouble for some people after upgrading to Android 11. The fix for your own hiding is simple: put the photos in a subfolder and place the .nomedia there. MediaProvider is an updatable system module, so a phone can get newer behavior through system updates than its Android version suggests.

Common .nomedia problems and how to fix them

The photos are still showing up in my gallery

Open the NOMEDIA file in the checker on this page to confirm the exact filename — it must be .nomedia, not nomedia, .nomedia.txt or . nomedia with a space. Make sure the folder isn't one of the protected locations. Then force-stop your gallery app (Settings > Apps) or restart the phone, since some galleries cache their own list.

My .nomedia keeps disappearing

On Android 12 and later, the system deletes .nomedia files in top-level standard folders, DCIM/Camera and the main Screenshots folders. Move the photos into a subfolder and put the file there instead.

I can't create a file starting with a dot

Many stock file managers hide dotfiles and won't let you type a leading dot. Use a file manager with a "new file" option, generate one on this page and transfer it, or rename the folder itself to start with a dot.

Deleting the marker didn't bring the media back

Look in parent folders for another .nomedia, and check that the folder name doesn't start with a dot. Then restart the phone so the media index is refreshed. Some apps (gallery or music players) also have their own "excluded folders" setting that works independently of .nomedia.

The marker keeps coming back after I delete it

An app is recreating it in its own folder, which is normal for caches (Telegram does this in its cache folder). Leave it, or change the app's own gallery setting instead.

Why WhatsApp, Telegram and other apps create .nomedia files

Apps create .nomedia files so their internal images, sounds and caches stay out of your gallery and music library. Messaging apps are where most people run into it, because they combine an in-app setting with .nomedia files.

WhatsApp photos not showing in the gallery

1. In WhatsApp, tap ⋮ > Settings > Chats and turn on Media visibility. It applies to newly downloaded media.
2. Check individual chats: open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then Media visibility. A per-chat "No" overrides the global setting.
3. On newer phones and WhatsApp versions, media lives in Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/ (older phones: WhatsApp/Media/). If images are there but still missing from the gallery, look for a .nomedia file in WhatsApp Images or a parent folder, delete it and restart the phone — the fix Huawei's support site gives for missing WhatsApp albums.

Telegram

Telegram for Android creates a .nomedia marker in its cache folder, so photos and videos you view in chats don't appear in the gallery. To save them to the gallery automatically, turn on Save to Gallery under Settings > Data and Storage, with separate switches for private chats, groups and channels. To save a single item, open it, tap ⋮ and choose Save to Gallery.

Other apps and Android itself

Music and podcast apps, games, browsers and ad libraries use the same trick for album art, sound effects and cached banners. Android adds one to its own thumbnail folders, next to the .database_uuid file. Deleting any of these markers is harmless, but the folder's junk images will show up in your gallery until the app puts the marker back.

Does a .nomedia file stop Google Photos from backing up a folder?

Don't rely on it. Google's help pages don't mention .nomedia at all, so how Google Photos treats a hidden folder isn't documented. If you want to be sure a folder isn't uploaded, use the app's own control:

1. In Google Photos, tap your profile picture > Photos settings > Backup > Back up device folders.
2. Turn off the folder you don't want uploaded (and turn off Back up all device folders if it's on, so new folders aren't added automatically).
3. Anything already backed up stays in your Google account. Delete it from Google Photos too if you want it gone from the cloud.

For photos you want hidden and backed up, Google Photos' Locked Folder is the right tool: it can now be backed up to your account, and its items don't appear in the Photos grid or in other apps.

Android 11+ scoped storage and the Android/data folder

Since Android 11, "scoped storage" stops file manager apps from reaching other apps' private folders, which is why you sometimes can't open NOMEDIA files there, or delete them, from the phone itself:

• Even apps with All files access (MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE), the permission file managers use, can't open other apps' Android/data folders, and apps can no longer ask you to pick files from Android/data or Android/obb.
• Android/media, where WhatsApp and other apps now keep shareable media, is still reachable in most file managers — that's where to look for a marker hiding chat photos.
• To reach a restricted folder and open a NOMEDIA file inside it, connect the phone to a computer with a USB cable, choose File transfer on the phone, and browse it from the computer.
• The .nomedia rules themselves didn't change in Android 11; the protected-folder exceptions arrived with Android 12's media provider (see the table).

Open NOMEDIA files on Windows, Mac, iPhone or an SD card

Outside Android, the marker does nothing at all — it's an empty file that came along when you copied folders from a phone or moved its memory card.

• Windows: File Explorer lists it as a 0 KB "NOMEDIA File". Windows Photos ignores it, so the folder's pictures show normally on the PC. To open NOMEDIA files on Windows, right-click > Open with > Notepad. Delete it here to unhide the folder on the phone, or copy it into another folder to hide that one.
• Mac: Finder hides names that start with a dot. Press Command+Shift+. in a Finder window to show or hide them; to open a NOMEDIA file on a Mac, use TextEdit.
• iPhone / iPad: iOS has no equivalent and ignores the file. If a .nomedia ends up in the Files app after copying a folder, it's harmless and can be deleted.
• SD cards and cameras: a card moved from an Android phone may carry these markers; cameras and other devices ignore them. Put the card back in an Android phone and those folders are hidden again.
• Plex, Jellyfin and Emby: media servers don't document .nomedia support. They use their own markers: .plexignore in Plex, an empty .ignore file in Jellyfin, and .ignore (Emby 4.8) or .embyignore (Emby 4.9 and later).

Is a .nomedia file a virus?

No. A .nomedia marker contains no code and can't run; it's an empty marker that Android's own media provider looks for. Finding dozens of them on a phone or a copied SD card is normal, because apps and Android itself create them. The worst it can do is hide a folder's photos from your gallery, which you undo by deleting it. If a file named .nomedia is large or contains something other than a folder path or a short note, open the NOMEDIA file in the checker on this page: it's most likely a different file that was renamed.

.nomedia vs hidden (dot) folders

Both keep a folder's media out of Android's index, including subfolders, but they behave differently.

Single files work the same way: a photo whose name starts with a dot, such as .receipt.jpg, is also left out of the media index.

Is .nomedia a good way to hide private photos?

Not really. The marker only keeps a folder out of gallery-style apps on that one phone. Anyone with a file manager, a computer and a USB cable, or access to a backup that includes the folder can still see every file. For genuinely private photos, use a feature built for it:

• Google Photos Locked Folder — protected by your screen lock; items don't appear in the Photos grid, search or albums or in other apps, and you can choose to back it up (Android 6 and later).
• Samsung Secure Folder on Galaxy phones — a separately locked area for files and apps.
• Android 15's private space — a separate profile with its own lock whose apps and files are kept apart from the main space and hidden while it's locked.

Use .nomedia for what it's good at: keeping clutter such as app caches, ringtones, document scans or work screenshots out of your photo grid.

Related file extensions

Sources and technical references

.nomedia is an Android convention, not a file format, so the authoritative sources are Android's own documentation and source code, plus the app makers' help pages.

• MediaStore — Android Developers reference — the media index that respects .nomedia (constant MEDIA_IGNORE_FILENAME).
• MediaProvider FileUtils.java — Android Open Source Project — isDirectoryHidden (dot folders, .nomedia, protected folders), setDirectoryDirty (folder path written into .nomedia).
• MediaProvider module — Android Open Source Project — MediaProvider is an updatable module.
• Access media files from shared storage — Android Developers — which standard folders MediaStore indexes.
• Storage updates in Android 11 — Android Developers — Android/data and Android/obb restrictions.
• Manage all files on a storage device — Android Developers — what All files access can and can't reach.
• WhatsApp Help Center — media visibility on Android — global and per-chat Media visibility settings.
• Huawei Support — WhatsApp cannot automatically generate Gallery albums — deleting .nomedia from WhatsApp Images.
• Telegram for Android source code — ImageLoader creates .nomedia in the cache folder; Data and Storage holds the Save to Gallery switches.
• Google Photos Help — Back up photos & videos and Locked Folder — device-folder backup and Locked Folder backup.
• Android 15 features — Android Developers — private space.
• Plex .plexignore, Jellyfin .ignore and Emby .ignore / .embyignore — how media servers exclude folders.

Frequently asked questions