One UI 8 fixes a major security flaw in Samsung's Secure Folder

Secure Folder is one of the marquee features on Samsung's Galaxy phones and tablets. However, it had a security flaw that exposed hidden apps and photos in certain scenarios. The South Korean firm has fixed that shortcoming with help from Google.

A couple of months ago, it was reported that Secure Folder would use Android 15's Private profile rather than the earlier Work profile with the One UI 8 update. And it turned out to be true. Samsung has patched (via Android Authority) that vulnerability, so Secure Folder now uses the Private profile instead of the Work profile.

This change stops hidden apps and photos/videos inside from getting exposed by some apps that treat Secure Folder as just a regular work profile.

When Samsung developed Secure Folder and launched it in 2017, Android didn't have a Private profile. So, Samsung used Android's Work profile to develop Secure Folder. When the Private profile was launched with Android 15, some core system components inside Android, such as Permission Controller and Photo Picker, could access data within Secure Folder.

Fortunately, with One UI 8.0, Samsung has reclassified Secure Folder as a Private profile. So, even Permissions Controller and Photo Picker can't see any data inside Secure Folder. You have to completely close and hide Secure Folder for this to work, though. Merely closing Secure Folder wouldn't work. Hiding Secure Folder will also stop notifications from apps associated with it.

However, with this change, Secure Folder doesn't work with third-party app launchers, even though Google designed Private profiles to work with third-party app launchers. Hopefully, Samsung will fix this issue in future builds or versions of One UI.