How to Add or Remove Apps From Secure Folder on Samsung Phones 2024

Secure Folder is a great place to hide apps or use two instances of the same app on your Samsung Galaxy phone But how does one add apps to a Secure Folder? Also, once added, how to remove them? You will find the answer here. Let's learn how to add or remove apps from Secure Folder on Samsung phones.

Add or remove apps from Secure Folder

We've covered what happens when you add or remove apps from Secure Folder on a Samsung device. You will also learn how to add apps from Secure Folder to the home screen. Let's begin.

How to add apps to Protected Folders

Step 1: Open the Secure Folder on your phone.

Step 2: Enter Secure Folder Passcode or PIN to login.

Step 3: Tap on the (+) Add icon at the top.

Step 4: Now, add existing apps to Secure Folder or install new apps from Google Play Store or Galaxy Store.

Step 5: If you want to keep the existing apps in the protected folder, tap on the app icons from the list and press the Add button. The app will appear in the Secure Folder.

Samsung Secure Folder Add Apps 

Alternatively, if you want to download new apps, tap on 'Download from Play Store' or 'Download from Galaxy Store'. You'll need to sign in to your Google or Samsung account again. Then, search for the app and press the Install button.

Once installed, the app will only appear in the Secure Folder and not outside of it, as it is installed from the Secure Folder itself.

What happens when you move an app to a protected folder?

When you add an app to Protected Folders, the following things happen:

When you add an app already installed on your phone to Secure Folder, a second copy of the app will be created inside the Secure Folder. This app is completely different and independent from the old app. The original app will still be on the home screen; Copy it to protected folder.

You can keep or uninstall two copies from the home screen after moving them to the protected folder. The app will then be hidden in the Secure Folder without any trace of the original folder.

Application information

The original app data will not be moved to the protected folder. You must log in and set up the app again from scratch in Secure Folder. Basically, each app will have different login details. Thus, Secure Folder offers an alternative way to use two accounts of the same app on one phone

Application notification

By default, you won't receive notifications from apps added to Secure Folder when you're outside of Secure Folder. However, you will find them when you are inside the protected folder But if you want to get notified every time, you can change the behavior.

Step 1: Open the Protected Folder and tap on the three-dot icon followed by Settings.

Step 2: Go to Notifications and Data. Toggle on to show content.

App Settings

After moving an app to Secure Folder, you can only access its settings, such as permissions, notifications, etc., from the Secure Folder.

Step 1: Open Protected Folder and tap on the three-dot icon at the top. Select Settings.

Step 2: Tap on apps to see the list of apps in the protected folder.

Step 3: Then, tap on the settings of the app you want to view or change.

How to remove apps from protected folder and move them to home screen

Suppose you move an app to Secure Folder and delete the original app from the home screen. Now, if you want to move the app from the Secure Folder to the Home screen, you can't.

You need to reinstall the app on the home screen using Play Store. Once you do this, you can put or uninstall the app in Secure Folder.

How to uninstall apps from a protected folder

If you want to completely remove an app from the Secure Folder on a Samsung Galaxy phone, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Secure Folder on your Samsung Galaxy phone.

Step 2: Long press on the app icon that you want to remove from the protected folder. Select Uninstall.

Step 3: A confirmation pop-up will appear. Tap OK to remove the app.

Note: Pre-installed Samsung apps like Gallery, Camera etc cannot be removed from Protected Folder.

What happens when you remove apps from Protected Folders?

When you uninstall an app from Secure Folder, all its data will be deleted, just like a regular app. The app will be removed from the Secure Folder. You must add it back to the protected folder to use it.

However, please note that nothing will happen to the original app or its data. That means it won't uninstall from the home screen.

How to open secure folder?

The answer is probably no - but it has to be done on that phone since part of the security key is embedded in the hardware Every phone has a security key. Use a logical denial system on your SD card if you're worried

How to access Samsung Secure Folder while hidden?

You can separate sensitive or personal data in a secure folder so others can't see it You will need a Samsung device running Android 7 or later and a Samsung account to use this feature

Can you move a protected folder to the SD card?

Protected folders are not encrypted; They are embedded with biometric security so that they cannot be easily cracked or rooted. For this to work you need to directly create the data to be protected in hardware and SD cards are not considered hardware.

Is the transfer of folders protected with Smart Switch?

An intelligent switch does not take over your secure folder, and the contents of your secure folder are not taken over by an intelligent controller. After the main backup, Smart Switch reminded me to back up my Secure Folder to the cloud.