For now, Samsung has put on hold the roll-out process of One UI 7, its brand new Android-based software update. The company has not provided any official information about the reason behind the pause, but most people assume it is a serious security vulnerability targeting Secure Folder—a tool specially made to secure and protect private data.
One UI 7’s Secure Folder Bug Exposes Private Photos
The bug is a major drag for people who use the Gallery app inside Secure Folder to keep their photos. Information from SamMobile makes it clear that the Gallery app has an in-built feature which is “stories” that can be created automatically from the images.
What is the issue, you might ask? Well, the story created there can indeed alert a user who is outside your Secure Folder. The notification allows anyone who taps on it to see your private photos. This means that the folder’s security has in skip mode.
The situation becomes worse when we realize that the default situation for the “Auto create stories” is switched on, and many users, therefore, might have unconsciously leaked significant data.
What You Can Do Right Now
Meanwhile, an official solution hasn’t been found yet. There is a simple trick to prevent this from happening:
How to Disable Auto Story Creation:
- Open the Gallery app inside your Secure Folder.
- Click on the three dots menu on the top-right corner.
- Access Settings.
- Turn off Auto create stories.
If you disable this feature, the stored photos won’t be affected–it only disables the Gallery app from scanning and compiling the photos and videos into stories that can be viewed on the outside of the Secure Folder.
Why This Is a Big Deal
In creating a wall-off zone on a smartphone, Secure Folder ensures that all apps, as well as, files are kept separated. So the scenario of some content enclosed in that area causing the visibility of such content outside of the walled-off zone will undoubtedly make it all the more tragic how the concept of the Secure Folder initially got completely lost.
This is not as it is, a security breach or a malware attack, but it is however a betrayal of users’ trust and raises skepticism about Samsung’s internal testing processes, especially considering how complicated Samsung makes it already to back up Secure Folder data.
