Samsung Secure Folder vs iPhone: what to know before you switch
Written for people switching from a Samsung Galaxy phone to an iPhone (or comparing the two) who rely on Samsung Secure Folder for private photos and apps
Short answer
Samsung’s Knox Secure Folder is an isolated Android workspace with its own PIN or pattern where you can keep separate copies of Gallery, Camera, My Files and third-party apps. iPhone has no single built-in equivalent: Apple’s Hidden album and iOS 18+ Hidden Apps folder both unlock with your main iPhone passcode rather than a separate code. When switching from Samsung to iPhone, you must move your photos out of Secure Folder before running Move to iOS, and then use a dedicated on-device encrypted vault app on your iPhone to keep a separate lock.
On this page
For anyone moving from a Samsung Galaxy phone to an iPhone, the biggest privacy shock is discovering that iOS has no Secure Folder.
On a Samsung phone, Knox Secure Folder acts like a tiny second phone inside your phone: it has its own separate PIN or pattern, its own Gallery, its own Camera, its own My Files browser, and even cloned copies of apps. On an iPhone, every built-in lock (Utilities > Hidden and Require Face ID) shares your main 6-digit iPhone unlock passcode.
Here is how each piece of Samsung Secure Folder maps to an iPhone, and how to move your files across before you trade in your Galaxy.
Feature-by-feature: Samsung Secure Folder vs iPhone
| Samsung Secure Folder feature | Built-in iPhone equivalent | What is missing on built-in iOS | How to get the missing part on iPhone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate lock code from phone screen lock | None on Photos or Apps (both use your iPhone passcode) | Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open Hidden and locked apps at home | Use an on-device encrypted vault app (own 5×5 pattern or PIN) or Custom-Password Apple Notes |
| Secure Folder Gallery & Camera | Photos > Utilities > Hidden | Only 1 flat folder, no direct-to-Hidden camera, syncs to iCloud, uses phone passcode | Use a vault app with multiple encrypted albums and a built-in vault camera |
| Hiding app icons | iOS 18+ Require Face ID > Hide | Moves app to App Library > Hidden, unlocked by Face ID or phone passcode | Combine iOS app hiding with a vault app that also has its own internal pattern or calculator cover |
| Cloning a second copy of an app | None | iOS does not allow installing two copies of the same App Store bundle ID | Use an app that supports multiple accounts or web logins inside a locked Safari profile |
How to move your Secure Folder photos to iPhone without losing them
Do not factory-reset your Samsung phone right after running Apple’s “Move to iOS” app! Because Secure Folder is an encrypted Knox container, Move to iOS cannot see inside it and leaves your Secure Folder photos behind on the old Samsung phone.
Instead, follow these four steps while you still have both phones in your hand:
- If you use a cross-platform encrypted vault app that runs on both Android and iPhone, install it on your Samsung phone first, import your photos out of Secure Folder into the vault, save an encrypted backup file, transfer that single encrypted file to your new iPhone, and restore it with your 12-word recovery phrase so your photos never sit unencrypted in iCloud.
- Alternatively, open Secure Folder on your Samsung Galaxy, open Gallery inside Secure Folder, select your items, tap More (three dots), and tap Move out of Secure Folder only when you are ready to transfer them over a direct USB-C cable or local transfer to your new iPhone.
- Once your photos are imported into your encrypted vault app on the new iPhone, delete any unencrypted copies from Apple Photos and empty Photos > Utilities > Recently Deleted.
- Before trading in your Samsung phone, open Secure Folder > Settings > More settings > Uninstall to wipe the Secure Folder container cleanly, and then run a full factory reset on the Galaxy device.
What iPhone still cannot replace: cloned dual apps
One Samsung Secure Folder trick has no direct counterpart on an un-jailbroken iPhone: installing a second, separate copy of WhatsApp, Instagram or Gmail inside Secure Folder.
Because Secure Folder uses Android’s enterprise work-profile isolation (the same underlying mechanism Android 15 Private Space uses), Android treats the inside of Secure Folder as a separate user who can install a fresh copy of any app with separate local data. Apple’s consumer iOS allows only one copy of each App Store bundle ID per phone. On iPhone, your practical workarounds are using apps with built-in multi-account switching, locking the app behind Require Face ID, or signing into a secondary web account inside a Face ID-locked Safari Private Browsing tab.
Questions
Does iPhone have a built-in Secure Folder like Samsung?
No. Samsung Secure Folder is a hardware-backed Android work-profile container with its own separate PIN, pattern or password. On iPhone, Apple’s built-in Hidden photo album and Hidden Apps folder share your main iPhone screen-lock passcode.
Does Apple’s 'Move to iOS' app transfer my Samsung Secure Folder?
No! Because Samsung Secure Folder is cryptographically isolated from the main Android user profile, the Move to iOS app cannot see or copy anything inside Secure Folder. If you factory-reset your Galaxy phone before exporting your Secure Folder files, those photos are lost.
Can I install two copies of the same app on an iPhone like in Samsung Secure Folder?
No. Standard consumer iOS does not allow cloning or running two separate instances of an App Store app on the same iPhone.
What is the closest equivalent to Samsung Secure Folder’s Gallery on an iPhone?
A dedicated on-device encrypted photo vault app. Like Secure Folder’s Gallery, it gives you multiple organised albums, a built-in camera that saves straight into the vault, and an encryption key derived from a pattern or PIN that is completely separate from your iPhone passcode.
What about Android 15's Private Space compared with Samsung Secure Folder?
Android 15 introduced a standard OS-level Private Space that works similarly to Samsung Secure Folder by creating a separate user profile at the bottom of the app drawer with an optional separate lock. iOS still has no separate-passcode profile.
Keep reading
How to create a secret folder on iPhone
Looking for Samsung’s Secure Folder on an iPhone? Here are the 4 closest ways to make a secret folder on iOS and what each one protects.
GuidePassword-protect a folder on iPhone
The Hidden album and locked apps open with your phone’s passcode. A locked note can have its own password, and a vault app adds a separate lock.
GuideLocking apps with Face ID: what it hides
Since iOS 18 you can lock or hide apps behind Face ID. Your passcode still opens them, and hidden app names still show up.
