App Lock in Samsung: How to Lock Apps on Samsung Mobile Phones/Tablets Using S Secure App, Norton App Lock and More

by James · October 18, 2022

If there’s one thing we need on an Android device as an essential app, it has to be the app lock. Be it your cousins trying to snoop on your photos, or your parents trying to access your WhatsApp messages, it’s important to have an extra layer of security apart from the traditional one when accessing your phone. Samsung phones in particular have a built-in app lock system so you can easily lock your apps. However, there are some quirks regarding the built-in app lock. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to lock apps on Samsung mobile phones using the proprietary Secure Folder/S Secure app as well as third-party apps:

Table of Contents

How to lock apps on a Samsung mobile phone/tablet

Using secure folder

Secure Folder is a setting exclusive to Samsung devices running One UI 4 and above. It can not only lock apps but also hide photos, videos, files and other important documents. This is how it works:

Create a secure folder under Settings -> Biometrics and security
Sign in or create a Samsung account and agree to the terms of use
Enter your Samsung account information, then tap Sign in or create a new account
Select the lock method, pattern, pin or password, based on your convenience and tap Next
Enter the lock method again, then select Confirm. You can also enable/disable fingerprint unlocking.
A shortcut to the secure folder will be added to the home and app screens
Open the Secure Folder app
Tap “Add apps” and select the app you want to lock
This will create two versions of the app that you want to secure. One version will be a regular app, which can be accessed without a password, while the other will require a password. The latter will be stored in a secure folder and the data on both apps will be completely different.

Using the S Secure app

If you have an older Samsung device or want to use the traditional Samsung app lock instead of Secure Folder, which creates two copies of each app with separate data, try the S Secure app. This app allows you to lock and mask your apps.

Download the S Secure app from here.
Now, as soon as you open the app, you can lock or mask apps directly, no login required.
Tap the Settings app under Lock apps. You will be prompted for the lock screen password.
After entering your password, you can set the app lock in Samsung. The lock can be a PIN code, a pattern or a password.
Tap on locked apps and select “Add” at the top right
Now add the apps you want to lock
That’s it! The selected apps will be locked and cannot be accessed without a password

However, the method has a flaw. Anyone with access to the phone can uninstall the S Secure app. This will unlock all the locked apps and expose your data to others. Third-party apps like Norton offer a better solution. The app does not allow anyone to uninstall the app. How the app works:

Using Norton app lock

Download Norton App Lock from Play Store
Now open the app, press “Accept and start”
Grant necessary permissions to the app
After this, you set up your pattern or a PIN code.
Now select your Google account for password recovery in case you forget your password
Then select “Continue”
Tap the padlock next to the app you want to lock. The green padlock indicates that the app is locked, while the gray one indicates that the app is not locked.
If you want to disable/enable all app locks on all apps together, simply tap on the yellow padlock at the top right. The blue padlock and grayed-out bar indicate that the app lock is disabled.

For additional security, enable device management rights on Norton App Lock. This prevents others from uninstalling the app. The administrative rights can be activated through the “Enable device administrator” option, which can be found under the hamburger menu at the top left of the app list. With the device management permissions, you cannot uninstall the app unless it is disabled from the device manager in the Settings app.

Common questions

How to remove Samsung app lock

To remove the Secure Folder app:
1. Go to Settings > Biometrics & Security > Secure Folder
2. Tap More settings
3. Tap Uninstall
4. Tap Uninstall again if prompted
To remove the S Secure app, uninstall the app.
To remove Norton App Lock,
1. You must first disable the device administrator permission in the Norton App Lock app
2. Then simply uninstall the app

What should I do if I forget my app lock password?

If you have Secure Folder:
1. Enter the PIN you think is correct
2. After 2 or 3 attempts a “Forgot PIN” option will appear, tap on it
3. Now you can reset your PIN using your Samsung account
If you have Norton App Lock, you can reset your PIN with your Google ID
If you have the S Secure app, uninstall it