---
title: "What is Samsung KNOX and what is the impact on erasure?"
canonical: "https://support.blancco.com/space/KB/11633319/What%20is%20Samsung%20KNOX%20and%20what%20is%20the%20impact%20on%20erasure%3F"
format: markdown
---
| **Created date** | **Updated date** | **Affects version** | **Fix version** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| N/A | 4/24/2020 | Mobile Diagnostics and Erasure - All versions | N/A |

<span style="color: #000000">Samsung KNOX provides security features that enable business and personal content to coexist on the same handset. The KNOX-protected packages are encrypted with 256-bit AES algorithm and hence these packages cannot be </span><span style="color: #000000">overwritten.</span>

<span style="color: #000000">The user can handle the situation in a couple of ways:</span>

- <span style="color: #000000">Uninstall KNOX before erasure and then erase device.</span>
  - <span style="color: #000000">This is the recommended practice.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">Erase device regardless of KNOX.</span>
  - <span style="color: #000000">KNOX packages are not overwritten, but they can be considered as cryptographically erased because the packages are encrypted and the encryption keys are changed.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">Configure in settings that devices with KNOX are not erased.</span>
  - <span style="color: #000000">If erasure for KNOX device is attempted in this case, there will be a pop-up saying that KNOX should be uninstalled.</span>
  - <span style="color: #000000">This option can be managed from Blancco Mobile Diagnostics and Erasure under the Settings > Android-tab > "Erase devices that have Samsung My KNOX container"</span>