Samsung has announced – sort of – new security feature designed to protect the privacy of mobile users when in public places. The company hints at a “new layer of privacy” which it says is “coming soon”.
The announcement from the company is a little strange because it provides very little in the way of details. It is clear that Samsung is targeting common situations users find themselves in, such as commuting by train, and it promises a “new front line for privacy to keep your everyday moments truly yours”. So, just what does this mean?
It is actually quite hard to say as, while Samsung shares videos – one featuring the word “Look”, another “Wow”, and a third “Cool” – they do not give a great deal away. Animations overlaying photography show messages becoming unreadable when cartoon eyes near them. There is mention of AI, but just what is happening and how it works is pretty much left to the imagination.
Samsung starts the teaser campaign by saying:
Our phones are our most personal space, but we use them in the least private places. On the bus, in the elevator, and wherever we’re waiting in line, our digital laundry gets aired in plain view. And as phones become more tailored to our routines and preferences, concerns about privacy are only growing.
That’s why Samsung will soon unveil a new layer of privacy to shield your phone from shoulder surfing wherever you go. You’ll have the space to check your messages or enter a password on public transit without thinking twice about who might be watching.
The company goes on to provide a little more information, but remains cagey with specifics:
Not everyone needs the same level of privacy. This new layer gives you the choice to decide what works best for you. You can customise it to raise your guard with specific apps, or when entering access details for more private areas of your phone. With multiple settings for adjusting visibility, you can limit what others can see based on the level of privacy protection you need.
You can also choose to protect specific parts of your experience, such as notification pop-ups. It’s a tailored approach that you can fine-tune or switch off entirely, rather than a blanket one.
It took over five years of engineering, testing and refining to get here. We studied how people use their phones, what they consider private, and how security should feel in everyday life. The result is a fusion of hardware and software expertly calibrated to protect you without getting in your way.
Samsung concludes by adding:
This is the latest in a series of Galaxy innovations designed to keep you safe. There is no privacy without strong security. For more than a decade, Samsung Knox has established layers of protection for Galaxy devices, from dedicated security hardware like Knox Vault to ecosystem defenses such as Knox Matrix. This latest safeguard builds on that commitment to security, introducing privacy at a pixel level.
This is privacy you can see and security you can feel – and it’s coming to Galaxy very soon.
You can check out the videos for yourself here.
