‘It’s About Time,’ Samsung Phone Owners Scream as Users Spot a Secret Button That Locks Sensitive Apps and Prevents Spying

SAMSUNG is planning a clever trick to help smartphone users keep nosy friends and family out of their apps.

And some onlookers believe that Apple’s recent iOS 18 announcement may have spurred the new feature.

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Samsung’s Android devices already have several privacy protection features, such as Secure Folder to keep sensitive files and apps out of sight.

But a new way could be on the horizon at some point in the future, according to software geeks who have delved behind the scenes of Samsung’s system.

Self-described “Android techie” Tarun Vats shared a screenshot of an app lock option that appears to be in development.

Fans now believe it could be a new feature coming to the next version of Samsung’s Android operating system, One UI.

“One UI 7 can bring App Lock, allowing you to lock any app you want!” Tarun wrote in X.

“It’s about time,” reacted one user.

But others were quick to point out that Apple just announced its own app blocking feature.

During a recent major event, the iPhone maker revealed that iOS 18 will have the ability to lock and hide apps.

The limitation of Samsung’s current Secure Folder route is that it creates a duplicate of the app, which means you’ll have to delete the original if you want it to only appear in your Secure Folder.

Allowing people to block apps would be much simpler.

“I have requested them so many times and now after iOS they will add this,” wrote one Samsung owner.

“They are copycats…”

As with any early software leak, it’s still in development, so Samsung may decide not to release the feature fully.

We’ll have to wait and see when One UI 7 will be released later this year.

If last year is anything to go by, it will be in October.

For now, Samsung is all focused on its big Galaxy Unpacked event, which will take place on July 10th in Paris.

The company teased: “The next frontier of Galaxy AI is coming. Get ready to discover the power of Galaxy AI, now built into the latest Galaxy Z series and the entire Galaxy ecosystem.

“Get ready for a world of possibilities as we enter a new phase of mobile AI.”

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