News: 0180805252

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Samsung Ad Confirms Rumors of a Useful S26 'Privacy Display' (theverge.com)

(Monday February 16, 2026 @10:00PM (msmash) from the for-what-it's-worth dept.)


Samsung has all but confirmed that its upcoming Galaxy S26 will [1]feature a built-in privacy display , releasing an ad that demonstrates a "Zero-peeking privacy" toggle capable of blacking out on-screen content for anyone peering over the user's shoulder.

The underlying technology is reportedly Samsung Display's Flex Magic Pixel OLED panel, first shown at MWC 2024, which adjusts viewing angles on a pixel-by-pixel basis -- and leaker Ice Universe has shared a video of the feature selectively hiding content in banking and messaging apps using AI. Samsung's Unpacked event is scheduled for February 25th.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/879652/samsung-galaxy-s26-privacy-display-ad-flex-magic-pixel



Useful? (Score:5, Insightful)

by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 )

Nobody is "spying on you" through your phone by looking over your shoulder. I promise.

Re: Useful? (Score:4, Informative)

by alantus ( 882150 )

Tell that to all the salarymen who buy privacy screen covers so that other people elbowing their ribs on the train every morning can't see their porn preferences. That's life in Japan.

Re: (Score:1)

by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

> Nobody is "spying on you" through your phone by looking over your shoulder. I promise.

It's probably for people who like to look at NSFW content while they're on the train or standing in line.

Re: (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

TIL "people watching" is not a thing.

Does this also mean... (Score:2)

by PhantomHarlock ( 189617 )

...that it can mimic a lenticular stereo display? If it can do eye tracking and adjust every other column of pixels to every other eye, it might be able to do that.

Samsung built-in privacy display :o (Score:3)

by Mirnotoriety ( 10462951 )

Will the built-in privacy display prevent the S26 sending screenshots back to the mothership every five seconds :o

We've had those for years (Score:3)

by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 )

They're also known as "cheap displays with terrible viewing angles".

Hmmm... (Score:2)

by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 )

Is anyone else vastly more concerned about the unspecified 'AI' that definitely-securely handles deciding what to hide than they are about someone shoulder surfing them?

Realistically the greatest risk to your phone's privacy lives behind the screen not in front of it.

Mod Parent up! (Score:2)

by jddj ( 1085169 )

"Realistically the greatest risk to your phone's privacy lives behind the screen not in front of it."

FINALLY! (Score:2)

by gurps_npc ( 621217 )

When I am concerned about people spying on my phone, shoulder surfing is exactly what I think of ! (Roll eyes so hard they might fall out).

The only people that want this functionality are people cheating on their spouses. This is perfect for the guy that wants to text his mistress while his wife is in the same room.

Re: (Score:2)

by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

> This is perfect for the guy that wants to text his mistress while his wife is in the same room.

According to Ashley Madison, which surprisingly is still around, the euphemism is "alternative dating experiences" . *rolls eyes*

Re: (Score:2)

by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 )

> According to Ashley Madison, which surprisingly is still around, the euphemism is "alternative doinking experiences"

FTFY

Re: (Score:3)

by quonset ( 4839537 )

Right, because there is no one else on the planet who might want this. Not attorneys, not people in the political realm, not diplomats, not corporate people. Nope, only cheaters would want this.

Anyway, my money is still on use strict vars . . .
-- Larry Wall in <199710011704.KAA21395@wall.org>