Samsung’s built-in Device security is an unauthorized-app scanner powered by McAfee that comes pre-installed on many Samsung Galaxy phones running Android 7, 8, and 9. You cannot uninstall it, but you can disable it. This guide shows you how to turn off McAfee mobile security step by step.
What is “Device security” on Samsung Galaxy?
On affected phones, Device security scans installed apps and can flag or block software it does not recognize. Because it is a built-in system app, removing it is not possible — the workaround is to disable it by clearing its data.
How to disable McAfee Device security
- Open your phone’s Settings.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap the ⋮ (three dots) options button in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Tap Show system apps.
- Scroll down to Device security and tap it. You can also search for “Device security” and tap the result.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap the Clear data button.
- Confirm by tapping DELETE on Android 7 and 8, or OK on Android 9.
Confirm that it is disabled
Go to Settings > Device maintenance (or Device care) > Device security. You should now see that Device security is disabled (deactivated).
Note: Disabling Device security only stops Samsung’s built-in McAfee scanner. It does not affect any other antivirus or security app you have installed yourself.