What find Folder Does and Where to Find It

find Folder is a built-in Samsung app that creates a password-protected space on your phone for photos, documents, files, and apps you want to keep private. It sits separately from your main phone storage, so anything inside it stays hidden from your regular file browser, gallery, and home screen unless you open find Folder itself.

On most Samsung phones, find Folder comes pre-installed. You can find it by swiping down from the top of your home screen to open the app drawer, then scrolling to find the find Folder icon—it looks like a folder with a lock on it. If you don't see it in your app drawer, it may be disabled on your device, and you can turn it on through Settings.

The first time you open find Folder, Samsung will ask you to set up a PIN, pattern, or biometric lock (fingerprint or face recognition). This is the password that protects everything inside. Write this down or store it somewhere safe—if you forget it, you'll have trouble accessing your files.

Key Takeaways

  • find Folder is a locked storage space on your Samsung phone that hides files, photos, and apps from your main phone view.
  • You open it from your app drawer and unlock it with a PIN, pattern, fingerprint, or face recognition that you set yourself.
  • You can move files into find Folder by opening the app, tapping the menu, and selecting the option to add files from your phone or cloud storage.
  • If find Folder doesn't appear in your app drawer, you can enable it through Settings under Biometrics and Security or Apps.
  • Forgetting your find Folder password means you cannot access those files without resetting your Samsung account or factory resetting your phone.

How to Enable find Folder If It's Turned Off

If find Folder doesn't show up in your app drawer, it's likely disabled rather than missing. Open your phone's Settings app, then look for Biometrics and Security or Security and Privacy (the exact name varies by Samsung model and Android version). Scroll down until you see find Folder listed.

Tap find Folder, then tap the toggle or button to turn it on. Samsung may ask you to sign in with your Samsung account or set up a lock method if you haven't already. Once it's enabled, the find Folder icon will appear in your app drawer within a few seconds.

On some older Samsung phones, find Folder lives under Settings > Apps > App permissions instead. If you can't find it in Biometrics and Security, try searching "find Folder" in your Settings search bar at the top—this is the fastest way to locate it on any model.

Moving Files and Photos Into find Folder

Open find Folder and unlock it with your PIN, pattern, or biometric. Once inside, you'll see a mostly empty folder. To add files, tap the menu button (three dots or lines, depending on your phone model) and look for an option like Add files, Add content, or Move to find Folder.

Tap that option and you'll see a file browser showing your phone's storage. Navigate to the photo, document, or file you want to move, select it, and confirm. The file will move into find Folder and disappear from your regular gallery or file app. You can also add multiple files at once by selecting them all before confirming.

For photos and videos, you can also open your regular Gallery app, find the image you want to protect, tap the menu, and select Move to find Folder if that option appears. Not all Samsung phones show this shortcut, so the method above (adding files from inside find Folder) works on every model.

Changing Your find Folder Lock Method

Open find Folder and unlock it. Tap the menu button, then look for Settings or a gear icon. Inside, you'll find an option for Lock type, Unlock method, or Security. Tap it to change from a PIN to a pattern, fingerprint, face recognition, or a combination of these.

If you want to add your fingerprint or face as a backup to your PIN, most phones let you set multiple unlock methods. This way, you can unlock find Folder quickly with your fingerprint but still have your PIN as a backup if your biometric doesn't work.

If you forget your find Folder PIN or pattern, you cannot reset it without signing into your Samsung account. Samsung will ask you to verify your account identity, and then you can set a new lock. If you don't remember your Samsung account password, you'll need to recover it through Samsung's account recovery page before you can regain access to find Folder.

Viewing and Managing Files Inside find Folder

Once files are in find Folder, they stay there until you move them out. Open find Folder, unlock it, and you'll see your files organized by type—photos and videos in one section, documents in another, and installed apps in a third. Tap any file to open it, just as you would in your regular file app or gallery.

To move a file out of find Folder, open the file, tap the menu, and select Move out of find Folder or Extract. The file will return to your regular storage. You can also delete files from inside find Folder by selecting them and tapping delete—this removes them permanently, not just from find Folder.

find Folder also lets you install apps inside it. Tap the menu, select Add apps, and choose from apps already on your phone. These apps will run only inside find Folder and won't appear on your home screen. This is useful if you want a separate login for a messaging app or social media account.

What Happens When Your Phone Locks or Restarts

find Folder locks automatically when you lock your phone or after a period of inactivity (usually a few minutes, depending on your settings). When you unlock your phone, find Folder stays locked—you have to unlock it separately by entering your PIN, pattern, or biometric again.

If your phone restarts, find Folder will be locked when it boots back up. You'll need to unlock your phone first, then open find Folder and unlock it again. This two-layer protection means that even if someone gains temporary access to your unlocked phone, they still can't see what's inside find Folder without knowing its password.

If you restart your phone and forget your find Folder password, you'll be locked out of those files. Samsung does not have a way to bypass this lock without your account recovery information, so treat your find Folder password with the same care as your phone's main PIN.

Backing Up find Folder to Cloud Storage

Files inside find Folder are not automatically backed up to Samsung Cloud or Google Drive. If you want a backup of your find Folder files, you need to move them out of find Folder first, then back them up through your regular cloud service, or use Samsung Cloud's backup feature for your entire phone (which includes find Folder data if you have Samsung Cloud enabled).

To check if Samsung Cloud is backing up find Folder, open Settings, search for Samsung Cloud, and tap it. Look for an option to back up apps or app data. If it's enabled, your find Folder contents will be included in your phone backup. If you don't use Samsung Cloud, your find Folder files exist only on your phone unless you manually move them to another service.

If you switch to a new Samsung phone and want to restore your find Folder files, sign into your Samsung account during setup and choose to restore from your previous phone's backup. find Folder and all its contents will transfer to your new device, provided you use the same Samsung account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone else open find Folder if they have my phone?

No. find Folder requires a separate unlock (PIN, pattern, fingerprint, or face) every time it's opened, even if your phone is already unlocked. Someone would need to know your find Folder password or have your biometric data to access it.

What if I factory reset my phone—will my find Folder files be erased?

Yes. A factory reset erases everything on your phone, including find Folder and all files inside it. If you have Samsung Cloud backup enabled, your find Folder data may be restored when you sign back into your Samsung account after the reset. Otherwise, those files are permanently gone.

Can I use find Folder on a non-Samsung phone?

No. find Folder is exclusive to Samsung phones and tablets. Other Android phones have similar features—Google Pixel phones have a Private Space feature, and other brands may have their own locked folder apps—but find Folder itself only works on Samsung devices.

Does find Folder use encryption?

Yes. Samsung encrypts files inside find Folder so they cannot be read even if someone physically removes your phone's storage. The encryption is tied to your find Folder password and your phone's security, so the files remain protected as long as you keep your password private.

Can I share files from find Folder with someone else?

You can move a file out of find Folder and then share it normally through email, messaging, or cloud storage. However, you cannot share a file directly from inside find Folder—you have to extract it first. Once you share it, the recipient receives a regular file with no special protection.