I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for less than 48 hours, and I’ve already found the secret to either loving, or hating the new Privacy Display feature.
I was surprised to discover there’s a fine line between it being helpful and it being a bit of a pain, but luckily it’s very easy to manage.
I tested the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the Privacy Display has to be seen to be believed
The world-first feature is very special, but there’s a lot more to the phone
Not everything has to be private
Always-on isn’t best
Like any new feature, it’s tempting to just turn it on and make the most of its ability, and that’s how I approached the Privacy Display initially.
Under the Quick Settings shortcut, you can simply activate the Privacy Display and have it work globally and in all instances. Everything remains private, and no-one can peep at your screen.
It’s only after living with the phone with Privacy Display active all the time that you begin to see the downsides of this setting.
For example, the issue which frustrates me the most is when taking photos and the screen is not always directly in front of you. Privacy Display makes seeing the viewfinder off-angle difficult.
If I glance at the screen when the phone is on the desk after quickly using it, the screen is dark until I pick it up to look at it directly.
Showing other people anything on the screen is more difficult, unless you turn Privacy Display off.
Thankfully, Privacy Display doesn’t affect the always-on lock screen, so you can see the time and date when the phone is face-up.
This aside, I found myself turning Privacy Display on and off quite regularly.
Not the way to use it
Set up specific apps
Anyone who has used a screen protector with a privacy shade will already know this pain, but Samsung has thought about it and provides an option to customize Privacy Display to work with specific apps.
This is the game-changer. Without it, Privacy Display may have become a feature which was turned off in frustration, and never activated again. Instead, you’re in complete control, and it dramatically increases its usability.
Under the Conditions for Turning On menu, you can toggle just about any app installed on the Galaxy S26 Ultra to work with Privacy Display. Everything from the calculator to Chrome, and Files to the Gallery is there.
It works really well too. Opening any app with the Privacy Display toggle sees the feature immediately turn on, and then off again when you exit the app. It’s fast, seamless, and makes the feature feel like an organic part of the phone.
Choose apps carefully
The same risks apply
Setting Privacy Display to only operate with certain apps is definitely the way to go with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it’s still worth being selective with the apps you choose.
For example, there may be times when I want Chrome to be protected, but for the most part it won’t be necessary, and the times when I want to show someone else a browser page will outweigh the times I want no-one to see it.
Therefore, not activating it automatically and doing so manually is the wisest course of action. It’ll be worth thinking the same way about social networking apps, the Play Store, games, or if you’re like me and constantly looking at cars to buy with friends, apps like Autotrader.
It needs to be carefully set up
Don’t just leave it on
The Privacy Display needs careful setup, and spending some time going through the list of apps in its settings will be just as important as signing in to your accounts, changing the wallpaper, and choosing a new ringtone during the first few hours with your new phone.
If you don’t, the feature is off by default anyway, meaning you won’t get any privacy benefit. If you just turn it on, it may frustrate in particular everyday situations, and you’ll miss out on what is a very useful feature.
The only way forward with Privacy Display is to choose which apps it works with, ensuring it’ll rarely frustrate, and always keep your most personal on-screen activity private.
- SoC
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Display type
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Dynamic AMOLED 2X
- Display dimensions
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6.9-inch
- Display resolution
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3120 x 1440
- RAM
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12GB / 16GB
- Storage
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256GB / 512GB / 1TB
