---
title: "How to Lock a Folder on iPhone (Secure Folder Alternatives)"
description: "iPhone can't lock a folder or match Samsung's Secure Folder. Here are 5 workarounds, from locked Notes and Face ID app lock to vaults, ranked by protection."
url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/lock-folder-on-iphone
lang: en
published: 2026-09-30
updated: 2026-10-29
author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team"
publisher: VaultForYou
---

# How to lock a folder on iPhone: 5 workarounds, ranked

> iOS has no folder lock. These five workarounds get you close, and we rank each one by what it actually protects.

Published 2026-09-30 - Updated 2026-10-29 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team

## Quick answer

You can't password-protect a folder on iPhone: iOS has no folder lock. The closest built-in options are locking the whole Files app with Face ID, locking individual notes, or adding a password to a PDF in Preview. For a folder-like space with its own code and encryption, use an encrypted vault app.

- **Native folder lock?:** No. iOS can't put a password on a single Files folder.
- **Quickest fix:** Touch and hold the Files app, then tap Require Face ID.
- **Notes catch:** Notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments can't be locked.
- **Strongest option:** An encrypted vault that opens with its own code, not your passcode.

There's no way to right-click a folder on iPhone and give it a password. The Files app lets you create, color, tag and compress folders, but it has no lock option. That's true no matter how recent your iOS version is.

You still have options. Apple has added pieces that get you part of the way: app locking, locked notes and, in the Preview app, password-protected PDFs. Third-party vaults cover the rest. Below are five workarounds, each with steps, what it really protects, where it falls short and a protection level, so you can pick the one that fits who you're hiding files from.

## Can you lock a folder on iPhone?

Not directly. iOS can't put a password on an individual folder. It can lock a whole app, a single note or a single PDF, and a vault app can give you an encrypted, folder-like space with its own code.

The right workaround depends on the threat. Keeping a friend from scrolling through your files is very different from protecting documents from someone who knows your iPhone passcode. Keep that question in mind as you read. The table near the end matches each method to a situation.

## Method 1: Lock notes in the Notes app

Locked notes are the closest built-in thing to a password-protected folder for photos and text. You lock each note on its own, then keep all of them in one Notes folder.

### Steps

1. **Choose how locked notes open** Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Notes, then tap Password. Choose Use Device Passcode, or Use Custom Password for a separate password.
2. **Put your photos in a note** In Notes, create a note and add photos and text. Leave out videos, audio, PDFs and other files, because those block the Lock option.
3. **Lock the note** Open the note, tap the More button, then tap Lock. The note's title stays visible in the list, but its contents are hidden.
4. **Lock it again after viewing** Tap the lock icon in the note, or tap Lock Now at the top of the notes list.

Opening one locked note unlocks all your locked notes in that account for several minutes, which makes it easy to move between them.

### What it protects

- The contents of each locked note, behind Face ID, Touch ID, your device passcode or a custom Notes password
- With a custom password, a lock that's separate from your iPhone passcode
- iCloud notes stay locked on your other Apple devices too

### Limitations

- **Many file types are blocked.** Apple says you can't lock notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments. In practice, it works best for photos and text.
- **Titles stay visible.** A locked note's title still shows in the notes list, so name it something boring.
- **No folder lock.** You can put locked notes in a folder, but the folder itself can't be locked.
- **Some notes can't be locked at all.** That includes notes with tags, Quick Notes, notes shared in iCloud and notes that sync with other accounts, like Gmail.
- **Forgotten custom passwords are final.** If you forget a custom password and can't use Face ID or Touch ID, Apple can't help you get those notes back.

**Protection level:** Low to medium. It's fine for a few photos and private text. It's stronger with a custom password than with your device passcode.

## Method 2: Lock the whole Files app with Face ID

You can't lock a folder in Files, but you can lock the Files app itself. Since iOS 18, iPhone can require Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open almost any app.

### Steps

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold the Files app until the quick actions menu opens.
3. Tap **Require Face ID** (or Touch ID or Passcode).
4. Tap **Require Face ID** again to confirm.

From then on, Files asks you to authenticate each time it opens and locks again after you quit it. To undo it, touch and hold the icon and tap **Don't Require Face ID**.

The same quick action works on the Photos app. If it's pictures you want to protect, our guide on [how to lock photos on iPhone](/blog/lock-photos-on-iphone) compares that with the Hidden album, locked notes and a vault.

### What it protects

- Everything you browse through the Files app, including On My iPhone and iCloud Drive folders
- Apple says information inside a locked app won't appear in places like search, notification previews or Siri suggestions

### Limitations

- **It's all or nothing.** The whole app is locked, not one folder.
- **It uses your iPhone's own unlock.** Anyone who knows your passcode, or whose face is enrolled in Face ID, can open it.
- **It's per device.** Apple notes that the locked status doesn't sync through iCloud, so iCloud Drive folders are still open on your other devices unless you lock Files there too.
- **You can't hide Files.** Only apps you download from the App Store can be hidden, so the Files icon stays in plain sight.
- **Nothing extra is encrypted.** The lock controls who opens the app. It doesn't change how the files themselves are stored.

### What about Screen Time?

Before app locking existed, a common trick was to give Files a tiny Screen Time limit that needed a Screen Time passcode to extend. It still works as a speed bump. But Screen Time is a parental-control tool, its menus have been renamed across iOS versions, and Require Face ID now does the same job more cleanly.

**Protection level:** Low. It keeps a borrower out of Files, but not anyone who knows your passcode.

## Method 3: Password-protect a PDF or zip file

A password-protected file keeps its lock wherever it goes. That makes it good for a few sensitive documents. It's a poor fit for a folder you keep adding to.

### Steps: Lock a PDF in Preview

On iOS 26 and later, the Preview app can add a password to a PDF.

1. Open the **Preview** app. Tap **Scan Documents** to scan paper pages into a PDF, or open an existing PDF.
2. To add photos, show the page thumbnails, touch and hold a thumbnail, and tap **Insert from File**.
3. Tap the menu button next to the file name, then tap **Lock**.
4. Enter the same password in the **Password** and **Verify** fields. **Require Password** turns on automatically.
5. Confirm, then delete any unlocked copies of the same document.

### Steps: Zip on iPhone (no password)

In Files, touch and hold a file or folder and tap **Compress** to make a .zip file. There's no password option, so a zip made on iPhone isn't protected. To get an encrypted zip, you have to create it on a computer or with a third-party app.

### Why Files says a password-protected zip isn't supported

Apple's Files documentation covers Compress and Uncompress but says nothing about encrypted archives. In practice, results depend on how the archive was made. Zips encrypted with AES, which is what 7-Zip and WinRAR typically use when you set a password, often won't open in Files. That failure is about the encryption format, not a wrong password. Your options:

- Use a third-party archiver that explicitly supports AES-encrypted zips.
- Ask the sender for a password-protected PDF instead, which Preview handles natively.
- Re-create the zip with older, standard zip encryption. Files may open it, but that encryption is weak, so you trade security for access.

### What it protects

- The contents of each locked file, even after you send it or copy it to another device
- A password that's separate from your iPhone passcode

### Limitations

- **It's static.** Every new document means building and locking a new file.
- **Opened copies are unprotected.** Once you extract a zip or save an unlocked copy, those files sit in Files with no lock.
- **The password is everything.** A short password is easy to guess, and a forgotten one has no reset link.

**Protection level:** Medium for individual files, as long as you use a strong password. It's low as a working "folder."

## Method 4: Build a password prompt with Shortcuts

A Shortcuts automation can ask for a password before it opens Files. It feels like a lock, but it's really a speed bump.

### Steps

1. Open **Shortcuts** and tap **+** to create a shortcut.
2. Add **Ask for Input**, set to Text, with the prompt "Password?"
3. Add **If**: Provided Input **is** your chosen password.
4. Inside the If block, add **Open App** and choose Files.
5. In the **Otherwise** block, add **Show Alert** with "Wrong password."
6. Save the shortcut and add it to your Home Screen.

### What it protects

- Nothing, technically. It only adds a prompt in front of one Home Screen icon.

### Limitations

- **The password is visible.** It's stored as plain text inside the shortcut. Apple's Personal Safety guide lists Shortcuts among the built-in apps that can't be locked, so anyone can open the editor and read it.
- **Files opens without it.** Anyone can launch Files from App Library or search and skip the prompt.
- **No encryption.** Your files aren't changed at all.

If you lock Files with Face ID (Method 2), this shortcut adds nothing.

**Protection level:** Very low. It deters a quick tap, nothing more.

## Method 5: Use an encrypted vault app

An encrypted vault app is the closest thing iOS has to a real locked folder. It's a separate space with its own code, and files are encrypted on the device. In VaultForYou, each vault is effectively a locked folder that opens with a pattern you draw.

### Steps (VaultForYou)

1. Install VaultForYou on your iPhone (iOS 16 or later). You don't need an account.
2. Draw a pattern that connects four or more dots, then draw it again to confirm. That pattern opens your vault.
3. Select the photos, videos or documents you want to protect and move them in. The app shows how many were saved and flags duplicates.
4. Moving a photo in creates a copy, so delete the original from Photos and empty Recently Deleted.
5. Optional: set a different pattern for a second vault, or a duress pattern that opens a decoy vault.

### What it protects

- Files are encrypted on your iPhone, and the encryption keys stay in the iOS Keychain. VaultForYou never sees your pattern, so the company can't see your files.
- The lock is separate from your iPhone passcode, so knowing the passcode doesn't open the vault.
- The lock screen shows no vault names, counts or previews, and files stay out of Photos, search and widgets.
- The app-switcher preview can be hidden.

### Limitations

- **A forgotten pattern is final.** That vault can't be opened by you or by VaultForYou. Export anything you can't afford to lose and keep a copy somewhere safe.
- **Backup is optional and Premium.** With iCloud backup on, each file is encrypted before it goes to iCloud. With it off, a lost iPhone means lost files.
- **It holds files, not apps.** It won't lock other apps the way Samsung's Secure Folder can.

**Protection level:** High for the files inside, including against someone who knows your iPhone passcode.

> **Want a folder that opens only with your pattern?.** VaultForYou encrypts files on your iPhone. No account needed. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000)

## Is there a Secure Folder on iPhone?

No. iOS has no built-in equivalent to Samsung's Secure Folder. You can get parts of it on iPhone, but not in one feature.

Samsung describes Secure Folder as a private space for photos, videos, files, apps and data, protected by its Knox security platform. It can hold separate copies of apps, its icon can be hidden from the Home and Apps screens, and it requires a Samsung Account. On a Galaxy phone, you set it up in Settings -> Security and privacy -> More security settings -> Secure Folder.

Here's how the iPhone options compare:

| Capability | Samsung Secure Folder | Locked note | Files app with Face ID | Encrypted vault app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lock separate from phone unlock | Yes, its own lock type | Yes, with a custom password | No, uses your Face ID or passcode | Yes (VaultForYou: drawn pattern) |
| Holds apps | Yes | No | No | No |
| Holds videos and documents | Yes | No: no video, audio, PDF or file attachments | Yes | Depends on the app (VaultForYou: photos, videos, documents) |
| Hides that it exists | Icon can be hidden | No, titles stay visible | No, Files can't be hidden | Varies (VaultForYou: no vault names, counts or previews) |

If what you want from Secure Folder is a separate lock around private files, a vault app is the closest match. If you want to hide a downloaded app, Apple's Hide and Require Face ID moves it into a locked Hidden folder in App Library.

## Which method should you use?

Start with who you're protecting files from. For casual snooping, built-in tools are enough. For someone who knows your passcode, you need a separate lock and encryption.

| Your situation | Best method | Protection level |
|---|---|---|
| Hide a few photos and private text from a curious friend | Method 1: locked notes with a custom password | Low to medium |
| Hand your phone over without exposing any files | Method 2: lock the Files app with Face ID | Low |
| Store or send one sensitive document | Method 3: password-protected PDF in Preview | Medium |
| Add a quick prompt to a Home Screen icon | Method 4: Shortcuts | Very low |
| Protect photos and documents from someone who knows your passcode | Method 5: encrypted vault app | High |

Ranked by protection, from strongest to weakest: the encrypted vault (5), the locked PDF (3), locked notes (1), the Face ID-locked Files app (2) and the Shortcuts prompt (4). Many people combine two. They lock the Files app for everyday privacy and keep their most sensitive photos and documents in a vault.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you password-protect a folder on iPhone?

No. iOS has no setting that puts a password on a single folder in the Files app. You can lock the whole Files app with Face ID, lock individual notes, or password-protect a PDF in Preview. For a folder-like space with its own code and encryption, you need a third-party vault app.

### Can I lock the Files app with Face ID?

Yes. On the Home Screen, touch and hold the Files app, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then confirm. The whole app then asks for authentication every time it opens. It uses your iPhone's Face ID or passcode, so anyone who knows your passcode can still get in.

### Why does the Files app say my password-protected zip isn't supported?

Usually it's the archive's encryption, not your password. Apple doesn't document support for encrypted zips in Files, and archives encrypted with AES by tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR often won't open there. Try a third-party archiver that supports AES zips, or ask the sender for a password-protected PDF instead.

### Why can't I lock a note on my iPhone?

Apple doesn't allow locking notes that have video, audio, PDF or file attachments, notes with tags, Quick Notes, notes shared in iCloud, or notes that sync with another account such as Gmail. Remove the attachment or move the note to iCloud or On My iPhone, then try Lock again.

### Is there a Secure Folder on iPhone like Samsung's?

No. Samsung's Secure Folder is a separate encrypted space that can hold apps and files and hide its own icon. iOS has nothing built the same way. The closest you can get is an encrypted vault app for files, plus Apple's app lock to put Face ID in front of individual apps.

### What happens if I forget the password for a locked note?

If you used a custom password and can't use Face ID or Touch ID, Apple says it can't help you get back into those notes. You can reset the password, but the new one only applies to notes you lock afterward. Store custom passwords in a password manager before you rely on them.

## Bottom line

iPhone can't lock a folder, and none of Apple's tools quite add up to one. Locking the Files app with Face ID stops casual browsing. Locked notes work for photos and text, and Preview's locked PDFs work for single documents. All of them either rely on your iPhone passcode or don't behave like a folder you can keep adding to.

If the files matter, use a vault with its own code that encrypts them on the device. Then delete the originals and empty Recently Deleted so no unlocked copy is left behind.

## Sources

- [Apple Support: Lock your notes on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-notes-iphf177bb154/ios)
- [Apple Support: Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios)
- [Apple Support: Lock PDFs in Preview on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-pdfs-iphe85f2ea31/ios)
- [Apple Support: Organize files and folders in Files on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/organize-files-and-folders-iphab82e0798/ios)
- [Samsung Support: What is the Secure Folder and how do I use it?](https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/what-is-the-secure-folder-and-how-do-i-use-it/)

## Keep reading

- [How to Lock Photos on iPhone: 4 Ways That Actually Work (2026)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/lock-photos-on-iphone): Lock photos on iPhone with the Hidden album, a Face ID lock on the Photos app, a locked note or an encrypted vault, and see who can still open each one.
- [How to Hide Photos on iPhone: Hidden Album Guide (2026)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/hide-photos-on-iphone): Hide photos on iPhone in seconds, find your hidden photos in the Hidden album, and see who can still open them, what syncs to iCloud and when a vault is better.
- [8 Best Photo Vault Apps for iPhone to Hide Photos (2026)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/best-photo-vault-apps-iphone): We compared 8 photo vault apps that hide photos on iPhone on unlock method, decoy vaults, backup and account needs, plus what to check before you trust one.
- [Where to Store Passport and ID Scans on iPhone (Safely)](https://www.vaultforyou.app/blog/store-passport-id-scans-iphone): Don't leave passport and ID scans in your camera roll. Compare Photos, Hidden album, Notes, Files, Apple Wallet and a vault, then follow a 5-step safe setup.

---

Our guides are written and fact-checked by the VaultForYou team against Apple's own documentation. We make VaultForYou, a private vault app for iPhone. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000