Samsung ad confirms rumors of a useful S26 ‘privacy display’

Samsung has released a new advertisement for its upcoming Galaxy S26 launch that all-but confirms rumors of a new display with a built-in privacy mode. Leaked videos show that the feature could be capable of entirely blacking out content from specific apps or parts of the display when viewed at an angle.

The new advert shows a woman reading a racy romance novel on a subway, while curious passengers look over her shoulder. An overlay shows a quick flick of a “Zero-peeking privacy” toggle, which blacks out the titillating content for the nosy onlookers.

That might sound similar to existing privacy filters, which have been available as after-market screen protectors for years, or found built into products including certain HP laptops. But leaks say what Samsung has in store for the S26 range is different.

It will reportedly use a new type of OLED panel that Samsung Display first debuted two years ago at MWC 2024 called Flex Magic Pixel. It allows viewing angles to be adjusted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, so the privacy effect is only applied to certain parts of the screen at a time. Combined with some AI, that means it could automatically protect sensitive information in a banking app, or be used to hide notifications in a messaging app, as shown in this short video clip shared by the reliable leaker Ice Universe.

We’ll find out more soon enough — Samsung has confirmed that its Unpacked launch event will take place later this month, on February 25th.