Samsung's Secure Folder doesn't keep things as hidden as you would expect, but at least there is a way to protect your images.

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Links
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Reddit Thread -   / secure_folder_is_not_secure_and_files_can_be  

Video Description
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If you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet then you may already be familiar with its Secure Folder feature.
This is a feature that was first introduced back in 2017 and the company boasts that its own KNOX security platform is able to protect everything you store in it.

#samsung #securefolder #galaxys25 #galaxys24 #galaxys23

But that doesn't seem to be the case as someone on Reddit discovered your images and videos can be accessed with an updated media picker that allows you to switch profiles.

This isn't the worst vulnerability we've seen happen on Android, but it is worrisome if you are trying to hid images or videos from someone who can get their hands on your phone.


How to Bypass Secure Folder
This bug works by leveraging specific versions of the media picker that is available on Android smartphones and tablets. The OP in this thread mentions they were able to get this working with Bluesky and Mastodon, but there are a number of other applications out there that also include this specific version of media picker.

You must also have a work profile setup through an application like Island. . .or perhaps you set this up on your own through the traditional setup process.

You can then check to see if this works on your Samsung Galaxy device by first launching the Secure Folder and then storing a secret image or video in here. That way, you know that this specific image should only be accessible through here.

Now, tap the 3-dot menu icon up here, and select the Lock and Exit option.
So you should not be able to find those images until you unlock Secure Folder like you normally would.

But, if you now install an application like Mastodon or Bluesky, and then use its media picker to choose an image or a video. Like you would do when you create a new post.

But if you look at the bottom you will see a way to change which profile is being used right here. It will be set to the Personal profile by default, but when you have Secure Folder setup on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet, you'll also see two Work profiles here

And selecting that second Work profile when then give you access to those images or videos that you saved in your Secure Folder.
These should not be accessible, because you're using the personal profile here. . .and if you remember, you tapped on that Lock and Exit button, so you should not be able to find it here.

How Does This Issue Work?
This happens due to the way Samsung went about developing the Secure Folder feature. See, back in 2017 Google hadn't developed its Private Space feature. So engineers over at Samsung did it the quick and dirty way by using the same user type for Secure Folder as Android uses for the regular work profile.

And since apps like the Android photo picker treat the Secure Folder profile like any other work profile, then it still has the ability to switch to that secondary work profile that you saw in the list.


How to Make Secure Folder More Secure
Thankfully, though, there is a quick and easy way of fixing this issue. Firstly, if you remember, you must already have a work profile set up on your device. So if your phone or tablet is setup this way, and you don't actually need that extra work profile, then remove it so that it isn't as obvious.

However, there is a way for you to encrypt your Secure Folder.
To do this, tap the 3-dot menu icon within the Secure Folder application.
And then select the Encrypt option from here


conclusion
Samsung could also decide to update its Secure Folder feature to utilize this new user type in a future update. . .but they have yet to do this with the upcoming release of OneUI 7. So I don't think it's going to appear anytime soon.


Step by Step Tutorial
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1. Intro [00:00]
2. How to Bypass Samsung Secure Folder Protection [00:51]
3. How Does the Bug Work? [03:48]
4. How to Protect Samsung Secure Folder Properly? [05:07]
5. Conclusion [07:01]

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