Samsung unveils display technology that adds built-in privacy screens to apps and notifications

At Samsung’s Galaxy S26 live event on Wednesday, the company introduced a new display technology designed to help prevent “shoulder surfing” by enabling users to enable privacy mode on a per-app basis. Samsung positioned the feature as a smarter, more flexible alternative to traditional privacy films — the overlays that limit screen visibility unless you’re looking straight at the phone.

Samsung noted that conventional privacy films often come with compromises, such as dimmer displays and the inconvenience of not being able to easily show something on your screen to someone sitting next to you.

Samsung’s approach is a new mobile display architecture that uses two types of pixels: narrow and wide. The company calls this design Black Matrix. When privacy mode is enabled, the Black Matrix setup narrows the path of light emitted from each pixel, making the display visible only to the person looking directly at it. When privacy mode is turned off, Samsung says a widened standard pixel works alongside the narrow pixels to send light in all directions for normal viewing angles.

The company said the new Privacy Display feature is customizable. Users can choose which apps or notifications automatically trigger privacy mode while everything else stays in normal view. For example, a person could set messaging apps or banking apps to always display in private mode, while leaving the privacy effect disabled for apps where it’s less necessary. Samsung said this flexibility also applies to notifications, allowing selected alerts to be effectively blacked out when viewed from the side.

Samsung also described a “maximum privacy protection” option that further strengthens privacy by reducing bright areas and lifting darker regions, making content harder to read from off angles.

The new display technology will first appear on the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra, which Samsung said will also feature upgraded, faster AI performance and a custom chipset.

Samsung demonstrated the privacy screen on stage during Wednesday’s event, with creator Miles Franklin (MilesAboveTech) showing how it works in real time. In the demo, the feature appeared to perform as Samsung described, including when applied to smaller screen elements like individual notifications.

Samsung had teased the technology ahead of the Galaxy S26 event but had not previously explained the underlying mechanics. The company also noted that the privacy feature will work with selected apps to help protect sensitive moments, such as when users enter PINs, patterns, or passcodes.