It's January, and that means New Year's resolutions and new Samsung phones. For its upcoming Galaxy S26 line, Samsung's rumored to be cooking up a new Privacy Display feature to protect your screen from prying eyes. We first heard about it in October through code within a leaked One UI 8.5 build, but now a new leak shows off how it could work to make using your phone in tight public spaces less of a minefield.
Once enabled, Privacy Display blocks out your phone's screen at certain angles, making it harder for lookie-loos to get a glimpse. From the user's point of view, the content should appear as normal, but viewing it from the top, bottom, left, or right sides will dim the display. This latest leak echoes much of what we've learned from earlier reports, though it's our closest look yet at seeing the feature in action.
While using a device spoofed as a Galaxy S26 Ultra, tech reporter Josh Skinner of SammyGuru was able to surface a page for the new feature in Samsung's updated Tips app. The page contains an animation that reveals you'll find Privacy Display in the Display section of the Settings app.
There will also be a Quick Settings toggle to enable the feature, as well as the option to set specific conditions for it to be triggered automatically based on the app or notification you have open when you're out and about.
The animation shows a rendering of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which appears to confirm rumors that Privacy Display will be exclusive to the company's high-end option. Samsung typically rolls out upgrades for its premium phones before they trickle down to mainline flagships in future generations. Privacy Display is one of several rumored updates for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, including a new 12MP 3x telephoto camera, 25W wireless charging, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
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