Samsung Secure Folder on Android compared with Vaultopaz
Samsung Secure Folder suits Galaxy owners who want a locked area that is already part of the phone, can hold apps, and whose lock can be reset through a Samsung account when that option is on. Vaultopaz suits people who want separate vaults that each open with their own pattern, with no account, and who are ready to keep their own recovery phrase and backup file.
The short version
Samsung Secure Folder is a private area built into supported Galaxy phones and tablets, with one lock for everything inside it. Vaultopaz is a separate app in which every pattern opens its own encrypted vault, without an account. Which one fits depends on whether you want a built-in folder with a Samsung account behind it, or separate vaults with no account and no reset behind them.
Side by side
| Topic | Samsung Secure Folder | Vaultopaz |
|---|---|---|
| Where files are stored | In a private area on the Galaxy phone or tablet itself. It opens only on that device, not from the web or a computer. | Encrypted in its own private storage on the phone. No cloud and no servers. |
| How you unlock | A PIN, password or pattern chosen at setup. On supported devices a fingerprint can be added as an extra way in. | A pattern on a 5 by 5 grid. Each pattern opens its own vault. |
| Encryption | Samsung says everything stored in Secure Folder is encrypted by Samsung Knox. Samsung’s help pages do not name the algorithm. | AES-256-GCM, with keys wrapped by the phone’s hardware keystore. |
| Backup | Samsung’s US help page says backing up Secure Folder data is no longer supported. Older backups can still be restored through the Samsung account. | A file you export yourself, sealed with a password or your recovery phrase. |
| Account | Setup includes signing in to or creating a Samsung account when prompted. | None. No sign-up, no internet permission and no analytics. |
| If you lose access | With Reset with Samsung account turned on at setup, you set a new lock through the Samsung account. Without it, Samsung says access cannot be recovered. | Nine recovery words, shown once at setup, reopen the vault on the same phone. Losing both the pattern and the phrase means the files are gone. |
| Moving to a new phone | Samsung’s Smart Switch tool, by cable or wirelessly. You select Secure Folder on the new device during the transfer. | Through an encrypted backup file. The recovery phrase alone does not move a vault. |
| Which phones | Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets that support it. Samsung notes that some older models may no longer do so. | Android 10 or newer, with a hardware-backed keystore. |
Where Samsung Secure Folder is the better choice
- It is already on the phone. On a supported Galaxy device you set it up from Settings, under Security and privacy, so there is nothing to install.
- It holds apps as well as files. Samsung describes Secure Folder as a private area for photos, videos, files and apps.
- A fingerprint can open it. On supported devices you can add a fingerprint as an extra way to unlock, next to the PIN, password or pattern.
- A forgotten lock can be reset. If Reset with Samsung account was turned on at setup, signing in with that account lets you set a new lock.
- Samsung’s own apps work with it. In Samsung’s Gallery and My Files you can select files and choose Move to Secure Folder, and Smart Switch carries Secure Folder to a new device.
- Its icon can be taken off the Apps screen. A setting or a Quick Settings toggle removes it and brings it back, and Samsung’s US page also describes renaming the folder and changing its icon.
Where Vaultopaz is different
- One pattern, one vault. Each pattern opens its own vault. The unlock screen never lists vaults, and a pattern that opens nothing gets the same quiet refusal as a mistyped one.
- No account and no cloud. Vaultopaz has no sign-up, no servers, no internet permission and no analytics.
- Encryption on the device. Files, notes and metadata are encrypted with AES-256-GCM, with keys derived through Argon2id and wrapped by the phone’s hardware keystore.
- A backup file you control. The encrypted backup is one portable file, sealed with a password or your recovery phrase, that opens on another phone without this phone’s hardware key.
- Photos straight into the vault. A photo taken inside Vaultopaz is encrypted at once and never reaches the gallery.
- Auto-lock and screenshot block. The vault locks immediately or 30 seconds, 2 or 5 minutes after you leave, and content screens refuse screenshots and screen recording.
Vaultopaz unlocks by pattern only, on purpose. It has not had an independent security review yet, and it keeps files, not apps.
Moving from Samsung Secure Folder to Vaultopaz
There is no automatic transfer. First move the files you want out of Secure Folder: Samsung’s US help page says to open Secure Folder, go to My Files, touch and hold the file, tap More and then Move out of Secure Folder. Then import them in Vaultopaz through the Android system file picker. Vaultopaz does not delete the originals, so once everything has arrived in the vault, remove the moved-out copies yourself, and then export an encrypted backup so the vault also has a copy that is not tied to this phone.
To see how the vaults and their patterns work, read one pattern, one vault. Before you rely on Vaultopaz for files you cannot lose, set up your recovery phrase and an encrypted backup.
Good to know: the limits
- The app has not had an independent security review yet.
- Unlock is by pattern only, on purpose. A pattern is knowledge you can keep to yourself, and a quick fingerprint or face unlock would give away that a vault exists.
- Losing both the pattern and the recovery phrase means the files are gone. There is no account and no reset.
- The recovery phrase works only on the same phone. Moving to another device needs an encrypted backup file.
- The phone must have a hardware-backed keystore (TEE or StrongBox). Without it the app refuses to create a vault.
Frequently asked questions
Is Samsung Secure Folder available on every Android phone?
No. Samsung describes Secure Folder as a feature of Galaxy phones and tablets and notes that some older models may no longer support it. On a device without support, the option does not appear in the Security and privacy menu.
Can I back up Samsung Secure Folder?
Samsung's US help page says backing up Secure Folder data is no longer supported. Older backups can still be restored through the Samsung account, and for a new phone Samsung points to its Smart Switch tool.
What happens if I forget the Secure Folder lock?
If Reset with Samsung account was turned on at setup, you tap Forgot, sign in with that account and set a new lock. If it was not turned on, Samsung says access cannot be recovered and the folder can only be removed and set up again.
Does Vaultopaz need a Samsung account?
No. Vaultopaz has no account and no sign-up of any kind. It needs Android 10 or newer and a phone with a hardware-backed keystore.