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How to set up a secure folder on a Samsung phone
In This Article
Here’s how you can quickly protect your apps and sensitive data using Secure Folder on a Samsung smartphone.
The Secure Folder is directly protected bySamsung’s Knox Security suite, providing a high level of protection against hackers and other malicious actors. It’s a very helpful feature not only for businesses but consumers — you can never be too careful about these things, after all.
What you’ll need:
The Short Version
Step1
Open the Settings app
Open the Settings app on your Samsung smartphone – it’s the app with an icon that looks like a mechanical cog.
Step2
Tap Biometrics and security
Scroll down the Settings menu until you find Biometrics and security. Tap it.
Step3
Tap Secure Folder
Within the Biometrics and security menu, tap Secure Folder to initiate setup.
Step4
Sign in with your Samsung account
Agree to the Secure Folder terms and conditions and log in to your Samsung account.
Step5
Set your lock
Once you’ve signed in to your Samsung account, you’ll be able to select the type of lock you can use. Tap either pattern, pin or password, and tap next to input your desired pattern/code/password. You’ll also be able to use your phone’s fingerprint reader to unlock your secure folder, but you need one of the three others as a backup.
Step6
Add apps and files to the Secure Folder
Once you’ve got everything set up, head back to the main app screen. If all has gone according to plan, you should see a new Secure Folder. Tap it, input your password and either tap Add Apps or Add Files at the bottom of the screen to secure your data.
Troubleshooting
Yes. Once you’ve set up the Secure Folder, head back to the Secure Folder menu in the Settings app and tap Auto lock Secure Folder. From here, you’ll be able to select how long the phone will wait before locking an app once you’ve finished using it. For the utmost security, we recommend selecting ‘Each time I leave an app’.
You can hide your entire photo library simply by adding the Gallery (or Google Photos) app to your Secure Folder. To view the protected photos and videos, you’ll have to log in to the secure folder and open the Gallery app.
If you no longer need the Secure Folder, head back to the Secure Folder menu mentioned in Step 3, tap More settings and tap Uninstall at the bottom of the page. All apps and data will then be moved from the Secure Folder back onto your regular storage.
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Lewis is the Mobile Editor of Trusted Reviews with plenty of phone experience, from the Nokia 3210 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. He has been in the tech industry writing about phones, headphones, tablets,…
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
