Samsung gives Galaxy owners an impressive amount of control over their phones. Features like Good Lock let users customize just about every aspect of their smartphones. But somehow, the company forgot to put a simple alaxy owners an almost ridiculous amount of control over their phones. Somehow, simply adding a fingerprint lock for apps.
With the One UI 9.5 update, this might finally change. Tipster Fahad Ali Javed has uncovered a native App Lock feature inside an unreleased One UI 9.5 build running on a Galaxy S26. So you would be able to secure individual apps directly from the app drawer without moving them somewhere else first. This could be one of One UI 9.5’s simplest and most useful additions.
Locking an app looks ridiculously easy
According to the leaked screenshots, pressing and holding an app icon brings up a padlock button. Tap it, and the app becomes protected using the same authentication method you already use to unlock your Galaxy phone, including biometrics or your screen lock.
Samsung appears to take the protection further than simply blocking the app itself. Widgets and shortcuts belonging to locked apps disappear from the home screen, while their notification content is hidden. Content created by those apps can still remain accessible to other apps that already have permission to see it.
This seems considerably more convenient than Samsung’s existing Secure Folder for everyday privacy. For those unaware, Secure Folder creates a separate protected environment where you can add apps, files, photos, and accounts behind another authentication layer. Samsung confirms that apps can be added directly to this secured space.
Samsung may be borrowing from Android
One UI 9.5’s implementation of this feature looks similar to the App Lock feature recently discovered in Android Canary 2608, according to Android Authority. Both impose similar restrictions on notifications, widgets, and other content access.
That’s all just speculation at the moment, though. One UI 9.5 itself hasn’t been officially announced. A leaked build has already appeared on the Galaxy S26. We’ll likely see Samsung’s next major OS update debuting alongside the Galaxy S27 series in early 2027 before reaching eligible older Galaxy devices.
