(Credit: Eric Zeman)
SAN FRANCISCO—Some things are meant to stay private, whether it's a messaging thread, company data, or government secrets. Mobile phones are privacy disasters waiting to happen. Much of our most sensitive information is accessible via phone, including our government IDs, financial details, health data, and work materials.
Samsung believes one new feature of its Galaxy S26 Ultra phone will help: Privacy Display. This tool, exclusive to the Ultra model, lets you hide your screen with a swipe and a tap so others can't see or read it. Does it work? Here are the details you need to know.
New Display Tech at Work
Privacy Display is a hardware feature, not a software one. It's built into the display itself at the pixel level. The new technology from Samsung Display uses narrow pixels and controls how they disperse light. You always get the full experience from the screen when viewed straight on, but it dims when viewed from the sides—so much so that it appears almost turned off.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Unlike plastic screen shades, you can enable or disable Privacy Display at a moment's notice. You activate it from the swipe-down control center. The tool's settings let you customize the experience to some degree. For example, you can activate it with passwords, patterns, or PINs, or set it to turn on when using specific apps—like your employer's email client.
There are two modes. Maximum Privacy Protection obscures the entire screen. With this mode on, no part of the screen is visible from the top, bottom, or sides when viewed at an angle. Partial Screen Privacy hides just the notification shade. This is truly helpful. When you know you need to preview your messages, but those messages might contain private information, Partial Screen Privacy prevents others from seeing the message pop-ups when they arrive, though you can still see them.
I demoed Privacy Display at Galaxy Unpacked, and it works as advertised. The screen does, in fact, dim so much that it becomes unreadable when viewed from a side angle. At the same time, I couldn't tell whether the feature was on when I was using the phone. In other words, my experience was unchanged while it was on.
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Samsung didn't say if or when Privacy Display will become available across more of its devices. Suffice to say, if you often find yourself hiding in a corner to peruse sensitive material on your phone, Privacy Display means you don't have to.
While Privacy Display is limited to the Ultra, all three phones are packed with other privacy features.
The School of Hard Knox
Many of the S26's privacy features are enabled by Knox, Samsung's secure element in its phones and other devices. The Knox Vault, for example, safeguards your personal data, biometric information, and more. It's similar in effect to Google's Titan M2 security co-processor.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Call Screening intercepts incoming calls and sorts out who the caller might be, so you know whether or not to pick up. Privacy Alerts let you know when apps surreptitiously try to access your data without permission. Private Album is a lockable gallery you create to protect or hide photos and images you don't want anyone to see.
The new AI features are kept under lockdown, too. For example, the Personal Data Engine (PDE) encrypts your personal information and stores it in the Knox Vault. This is how features like the new Now Nudge work. On-device AI is reading your messaging thread in order to suggest certain actions. The PDE protects that information.
Whether you want to hide your screen when in public or keep your personal info protected from AI, Samsung says its Galaxy phones are up to the task. We look forward to testing Privacy Display and other privacy features in our full review.