New Samsung Secure Folder flaw means your photos aren’t so secure after all, but here’s the fix

Secure Folder's Gallery app automatically generates stories of your sensitive media, and exposes them through a notification.

Apr 14, 2025 - 12:19

New Samsung Secure Folder flaw means your photos aren’t so secure after all, but here’s the fix

Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority

A flaw in Samsung’s One UI 7 lets media from the Secure Folder appear in auto-generated stories.
These stories trigger notifications visible outside of Secure Folder, which when clicked, expose hidden photos/videos.
Users should disable “Auto create stories” within Secure Folder’s Gallery app settings.

Samsung’s Secure Folder promises to be an encrypted space on your Galaxy smartphone where you can store files, images, and more away from prying eyes. Its whole premise is to keep files private and avoid surfacing them if anyone else uses your device by chance. However, Secure Folder isn’t as secure as Samsung promises it to be. We’ve already found one flaw in Secure Folder that lets anyone see which apps and photos you have stored within. Now, there’s another Secure Folder flaw.

Sammobile found that the Gallery app inside Secure Folder in One UI 7 can make its contents visible outside of Secure Folder through auto-generated stories. Firstly, the Gallery app inside Secure Folder can automatically create stories from your photos and videos, which sends out a notification to your system outside of the Secure Folder. What makes the flaw worse is that tapping on the notification will reveal all its content, even outside the Secure Folder.