- Samsung is baking new features onto its upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 series.
- One of the rumored feature captured on OneUI 8.5 code shows 'privacy display', a feature meant to obscure prying eyes and prevent others from viewing your phone from side angles.
- This eliminates needing a third-party screen protector as the feature comes baked in at least on the S26 Ultra.
Fed up with people peeping into your phone’s screen? Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is gaining a new privacy display feature and that could be your way out. Instead of relying on third-party add-ons or screen protectors, this feature of Samsung’s could simply add to your privacy, quite literally and metaphorically. Here’s more about the rumored feature.
Apparently, an X user called Ach (@achultra) took it to the platform to discover the feature in the works. The user posted some images showing the various settings under the new privacy display that will dawn on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Based on the track record, we are assuming this is an Ultra-only feature and may not trickle down to the other S26 siblings.
What is Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new privacy display all about?
Of course, coming straight to the point, the rumored feature is all about protecting users from prying eyes. You know how there are screen surfers getting to enjoy all the fun you have on your phone while traveling or in a public place. It is when people peep into your phone’s screen, getting to see all that’s happening, and there’s no way to hide it unless you are opting for an extremely low brightness or a privacy screen protector.
Well, Samsung doesn’t want you to rely on third-party applications, and thus, the new privacy display feature comes into play. Apparently, it is not just a single flick of a toggle but rather an intricate system that masquerades your display in full or a part of it as you want. It is one of the best implementations of hiding sensitive information or details that you could be viewing or interacting with on your phone.
It works similarly to third-party screen protectors. You see your phone’s screen, and no matter how hard people try, they can’t view it from side angles. It literally obscures the prying eyes from peeping on your phone’s screen, whether you are in an elevator, bus, train, café, or anywhere in public.
The feature list is exhaustive. First up, you can flick the switch to turn on the Galaxy S26 Ultra privacy display feature, which is the most basic. Next up, you can flick a toggle against “Public Places,” and when your phone senses too many people around, such as public transport, it will automatically add privacy on your display. Moreover, you can choose to add a privacy display over screen locks and images, or a part of the image.
Additionally, there’s also an option to obscure when in picture-in-picture (PiP) mode. Finally, we have a ‘Maximum Privacy’ mode that dims down the brightness even below what the regular ‘privacy display’ feature dips to, and voila, you can now use your phone James Bond-style. You have some custom conditions as well that trigger various featurettes under ‘Privacy Display’ for you.
For the unversed, the code was initially discovered on One UI 8.5, and Ach mentions the same. However, he adds that the feature would require some hardware compatibility, which means privacy-conscious Samsung phones might not get the feature baked in unless the South Korean giant pulls some software trickery.
Also, we might not see the feature pop up on other S26 models as well, since this could be an Ultra-only feature. However, we will have to wait to figure out what’s gonna happen, so let’s hold onto that thought just for now.
