Can I move apps into Samsung Secure Folder?

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026 · Markdown version

Yes. Open Secure Folder, tap the plus sign, choose the app and tap Add. What people do not expect is that this does not move the app: Samsung says it makes a copy, so the original stays on your normal Apps screen until you uninstall it there. Files are the other way round: those really are moved.

Samsung's steps

Samsung's US guide: once Secure Folder is set up, "tap Add apps (the plus sign). Tap a desired app to put it in the folder, and then tap Add. You'll see a copy of the app in your Secure Folder." Secure Folder itself is switched on under Settings › Security and privacy › More security settings › Secure Folder, and if your phone does not support it, "the feature will not appear in the Security and privacy menu" (Use the Secure Folder on your Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung US, read 22 October 2026).

A copy, with its own sign-in

Samsung's UK page spells out what the copy means: "When you move an app you already have installed on your phone into the secure folder, a copy of the app is created. You will be able to log in to the copy of the app in the Secure Folder using a different account to the original version." It gives the two ways to end up with only one: uninstall the original "on your apps screen", or skip the copy entirely, because "If you download an app directly into the Secure Folder, that app will only exist in the Secure Folder". The plus-sign screen offers Download from Play Store or Download from Galaxy Store for that (What is the Secure Folder and how do I use it?, Samsung UK, read 22 October 2026; page "Updated : 14th May, 2026").

Neither Samsung page says whether the copy starts with the original's data or begins empty. Being able to sign in with a different account suggests a fresh start, but that is our reading; the pages are silent on it. Plan to sign in again inside the folder.

When an app misbehaves inside

Samsung's troubleshooting page covers apps that crash in Secure Folder: uninstall the app from inside the folder, install it from the Play Store, add it back with the plus sign, and if that fails, "we suggest contacting the app's developer. An update may be required to improve the app's compatibility with Secure Folder" (Unable to access Secure Folder on Galaxy phone or tablet, Samsung US, read 22 October 2026). So not every app is guaranteed to work there, and the developer, not Samsung, is the one who can change that.

Things to know before you rely on it

Notifications. Secure Folder's settings include a switch to allow notifications from its apps "even when Secure Folder is locked" (the US guide above), worth checking if you hide a messaging app there.
Updates. Apps inside are updated the usual way, from the Play Store or Galaxy Store (same page).
Enhanced encryption pauses them. Samsung notes that turning on its Encrypt option means "All apps and their notifications will stop working" until you decrypt (same page).
Removing an app from the folder is an uninstall: press and hold it inside Secure Folder, tap Select, then Uninstall (same page).

Getting files back out of the folder works differently and has its own walk-through, including what Samsung says about backing the folder up.