When Samsung finally spills the beans on its Galaxy S26 flagship phones on Feb. 25, Android users will likely be left squinting, trying to identify differences between these devices and the previous-gen Galaxy S25. However, there’s at least one feature to pay attention to, especially if you can’t stand when strangers try to peep at your phone during your commute on public transit.
A flurry of rumors dating back to 2025 has hinted that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature a “Privacy Display.” The long and short of it is that it will darken parts of your screen, or the whole screen, when viewed from different angles. It’s akin to an aftermarket privacy screen protector you can attach to your phone, but it’s built into the screen itself.
The privacy screen of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is truly amazing pic.twitter.com/iZxirp7Bzh
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 13, 2026
The relatively reliable Samsung leaker Ice Universe has posted a video on X showing how this feature will work in real life. At an angle of around 20 degrees, the phone’s text notification dims and then appears completely black. This short clip alone makes it seem like a standout feature Samsung could use to push its Ultra variant of the S26. If you want the coolest new feature, you’d better accept a big phone and a high price.
Privacy Display may work on the lock screen, images, and more
What’s more interesting is that Samsung will supposedly enable users to limit the Privacy Display to select parts of the screen. Supposedly leaked settings indicate that the feature could work with notifications or in picture-in-picture apps, such as cases where YouTube is playing a video outside the main app. There appears to be another option to enable Privacy Display in crowded spaces, such as an elevator or a packed subway car. It’s unclear whether this feature will identify a claustrophobic environment by leveraging the phone’s sensors for facial recognition or by some other method. Samsung may describe its crowd detection feature as an AI capability that uses machine learning to detect ambient noise and other environmental factors.
The next S26 Ultra will have a privacy feature that keeps people from peeking at your screen. pic.twitter.com/tFcgeFpCqG
— Ach (@achultra) October 2, 2025
The fact remains that we don’t know exactly how this will work. Samsung Display first discussed a “Flex Magic Pixel” technology at MWC in 2024. Samsung then claimed the technology “adjusts the viewing angle of the screen so that it is not visible to the person next to it.” The Korean outlet DealSite first reported last year that Samsung was mass-producing this display technology. It’s possible we’ll see these capabilities on the next Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold —we’ll have to wait for Samsung to give us the full rundown at its Unpacked event on Feb. 25—but as of now, the leaks indicate that Privacy Display will be an Ultra-only feature similar to the supposed camera zoom tools coming to the next high-end smartphone.
The Galaxy S26 and S26+ will seem tame by comparison. Recently leaked specs show the base two models will use a new Exynos 2600 chip, which will be the first Samsung-made phone CPU built on a 2nm process. That could improve the efficiency and performance of the two base phones. The Ultra will likely feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which we already know is powerful for everyday tasks and gaming. Aside from battery sizes and camera sensor options, the S26 is shaping up to be a modest refresh. If the stars align and Privacy Display proves popular, maybe we’ll see it on the S27 in a year’s time.
