Samsung Secure Folder: set up, hide, back up and avoid losing files

The short answer

Secure Folder is a separate, locked space on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. Turn it on in Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder, sign in to your Samsung account and choose a PIN, password or pattern. Then, in Gallery, touch and hold the photos, tap More and choose Move to Secure Folder. Unlike the Hidden album on iPhone or Locked Folder in Google Photos, Secure Folder can use a lock that is different from your phone’s.

One change matters before you move your only copy of a photo: Samsung states that backing up Secure Folder is no longer supported. Earlier backups can still be restored, and Smart Switch can transfer the folder to a new Galaxy device, but there is no new cloud backup of its contents. Keep an independent copy of anything irreplaceable.

What you need and where to find it

• A Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet that supports Secure Folder. Samsung notes that some older models no longer support it; if the entry is missing from More security settings, your device does not offer it.
• A Samsung account. Samsung asks you to sign in or create one during setup, and it is the account that can reset a forgotten Secure Folder lock.
• The menu path for your One UI version. On recent versions, including One UI 8 on Android 16: Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder. On older versions, the same entry sits under Settings, then Biometrics and security. Labels can vary slightly by carrier and country.

Secure Folder lives only on the device: Samsung states that it cannot be opened from the web or from a computer.

Set up Secure Folder step by step

1. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder.
2. Tap Continue, allow the requested permissions and sign in to your Samsung account if asked.
3. Choose a lock type: PIN, password or pattern. You can also allow your registered fingerprint. Pick a secret that is not your phone’s screen lock, otherwise anyone who knows your PIN opens both.
4. When asked about Reset with Samsung account, tap Turn on. Samsung warns that without this option, a forgotten Secure Folder lock cannot be recovered.
5. Secure Folder then appears on the Apps screen with its own copies of apps such as Gallery, Camera and My Files.

Apps and accounts inside Secure Folder are separate from the ones outside. You can add apps with the Add apps button (the plus sign) and sign in to a different account inside them.

Move photos and files into Secure Folder

From Gallery or My Files:

1. Touch and hold the photo or file, then tap the others you want to move.
2. Tap More, then Move to Secure Folder.
3. Unlock Secure Folder to confirm.

From inside Secure Folder, tap More options (three vertical dots), then Add files, and choose a file type or My Files. Depending on the version, you may be offered Copy or Move: Copy leaves the original in your main gallery, so only Move actually takes it out of view.

Samsung notes that only files stored in internal storage or on an SD card can be moved. A photo that exists only in a cloud account cannot be moved into Secure Folder. The reverse is also true: moving a photo into Secure Folder does not remove a copy that a cloud service such as Google Photos had already backed up. Check that service separately, for example at photos.google.com.

Move files out of Secure Folder

1. Open Secure Folder, then My Files (or Gallery inside Secure Folder).
2. Touch and hold the files.
3. Tap More, then Move out of Secure Folder.

The files return to your main storage and reappear in the ordinary Gallery. Samsung notes that files that originally came from an SD card are saved to internal storage, in a new folder in Gallery. Moving files out is also the safest way to keep them before uninstalling Secure Folder or changing to a phone that is not a Galaxy.

Lock, hide and disguise Secure Folder

Lock settings are in Secure Folder, then More options, then Settings (or in Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder).

• Lock type: change the PIN, password, pattern or fingerprint.
• Auto lock Secure Folder: on One UI 8, Samsung removed the option to lock each time you leave an app; the default is now to lock when the screen turns off. To lock immediately, open More options and tap Lock and exit.
• Hide it: swipe down with two fingers to open Quick Settings and tap Secure Folder, or turn off Add Secure Folder to Apps screen. The folder and its files stay intact; only the icon disappears. To open it again, use the same Quick Settings tile or the Settings path.
• Disguise it: open Secure Folder, tap More options, then Customize, and change the name, colour and icon.
• Encrypt: in More options, Encrypt keeps the folder encrypted and stops its apps and notifications until you open it and tap Decrypt.

A hidden or renamed icon adds discretion, but the entry still shows in Settings for anyone who looks.

Backups on One UI 8: what changed

Older guides still describe backing up Secure Folder to Samsung Cloud. Samsung’s current help page says that backing up Secure Folder data is no longer supported, and that restore from an earlier backup is the only remaining part.

• Restore an earlier backup: open Secure Folder, then More options, then Settings, then Restore from backup. Add the account if needed, then tap Restore. The same screen offers Delete Secure Folder backup data once you no longer need it.
• Transfer to a new Galaxy device with Smart Switch: connect the phones with a cable or place them close together. On the new phone, open Smart Switch and tap Receive on this phone; on the old one, tap Send from this phone. Choose Galaxy/Android, then Wireless or Cable, and allow the connection on the old phone. On the new phone, select Secure Folder (or the arrow next to it to choose content), tap Done, then Transfer. Open Secure Folder on the new phone when it finishes and check your files.

In practice, the old phone is your only copy until the transfer is checked. Keep it, and do not reset it, until the photos open on the new device. For a phone that is not a Galaxy, move the files out of Secure Folder first; this guide to changing phones without losing a vault covers the checks.

What deletes Secure Folder content

• Uninstalling Secure Folder: in Settings, then Security and privacy, then More security settings, then Secure Folder, then More settings, then Uninstall. This removes its contents. Before confirming, Samsung offers Move media files out of Secure Folder: select it to keep your photos and videos in the main gallery.
• A forgotten lock without Reset with Samsung account: the only way out is to remove Secure Folder and create a new one, without the old files.
• Clearing the app data of Secure Folder: Samsung’s troubleshooting steps warn that this deletes the data it contains.
• Resetting the phone, or losing it, with no other copy: since new backups are not possible, nothing in Secure Folder survives unless you moved, transferred or copied it elsewhere first.

Read the checks to do before deleting originals before treating Secure Folder as your only copy.

What Secure Folder protects, and what it does not

Samsung states that Secure Folder is protected by the Samsung Knox platform, which encrypts the data stored there. In daily use, its real advantage over Google Photos Locked Folder is the separate lock: someone who knows your phone PIN does not automatically open Secure Folder, as long as you chose a different secret.

It does not protect:

• copies outside the folder: photos sent in messages, saved by a chat app, kept in a shared album or already backed up to a cloud service;
• the folder while it is open: anyone holding the phone at that moment sees its contents, which is why the auto lock setting matters;
• against someone who controls your Samsung account and can reset the lock, if Reset with Samsung account is on. Protect that account with a strong password and two-step verification.

It is also a Galaxy feature. If you use Google Photos on any Android phone, the Locked Folder guide explains the equivalent there.

Common problems and fixes

• No Secure Folder in More security settings: your model may not support it, or the menu has another name on older One UI versions (Biometrics and security). Update the phone in Settings, then Software update.
• The icon disappeared: it was probably hidden. Open Quick Settings and tap Secure Folder, or turn Add Secure Folder to Apps screen back on.
• Forgot the PIN or pattern: enter a wrong one, tap Forgot, then Reset, and sign in to your Samsung account. This only works if Reset with Samsung account was turned on.
• No Lock and exit option on One UI 8: Samsung recommends updating to the latest One UI 8 build and restarting.
• Photos missing after changing phone: check whether Secure Folder was selected in Smart Switch, then look in Restore from backup for an earlier backup. Keep the old phone until this is solved.

Secure Folder, Locked Folder or an encrypted vault?

Use Secure Folder if you have a Galaxy phone, want a lock that differs from your screen lock and will keep the photos on Galaxy devices. Use Google Photos Locked Folder if you want the photos backed up to your Google Account, accepting that it opens with your screen lock on Android. Use a separate vault if you need the same approach on iPhone and Android, or a secret that does not depend on a Samsung or Google account reset.

Kofrix encrypts each imported photo with AES-256-GCM and its own key, opens with a pattern that is separate from your phone’s lock, and gives you a nine-word recovery phrase instead of an account reset; how the encryption works covers the details. It has limits of its own on Android: there is no Kofrix backup on Android, and no transfer between iPhone and Android, so keep an independent copy of irreplaceable photos there too. Comparing other options? How to choose an app to hide photos lists the criteria to check.