Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display Tested and Certified, but Grey Haze Appears

Samsung debuted its Privacy Display feature with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The feature protects your personal information from prying eyes, making the screen nearly invisible from side angles. It has now received verification from UL Solutions, a global safety science company. Meanwhile, we noticed a potential issue with Privacy Display’s capability in dark mode.

UL Solutions verifies Samsung’s Privacy Display

The Privacy Display uses Samsung Display’s next-generation technology called Flex Magic Pixel (FMP). Unlike conventional privacy screen protectors, FMP is integrated into the phone’s OLED screen. It allows the content on screen to remain clear for your straight view while preventing shoulder surfing in public spaces.

UL Solutions verified that the feature works in all off-axis directions — up, down, left, and right. The company tilted the screen at 45 and 60 degrees and rotated it 360 degrees to measure brightness at different angles. When viewed at a 45-degree angle, the brightness dropped to 3.5% of the frontal brightness. At 60 degrees, it declined to below 0.9%. This makes the content on the screen very difficult to read from the side. In comparison, most phones’ screens remain about 40% bright from the side.

“Flex Magic Pixel allows users to turn the privacy function on or off by controlling the viewing angle at the pixel level. When the privacy mode is turned off, users can enjoy excellent image quality without any reduction in screen brightness, even when viewed from the front,” said a Samsung Display representative.

Personalize your privacy screen

Samsung has also made the feature flexible on the Galaxy S26 Ultra with software tricks. For example, you get these privacy modes: Partial Screen Privacy and Maximum Privacy Protection. The former hides only sensitive information, such as notifications, while the latter makes the screen even harder to view from the side. The company says that enabling Maximum Privacy Protection may also affect normal viewing.

During our testing in dark mode, Maximum Privacy Protection caused a weird grey haze on the screen. This is likely because the display blocks light more aggressively. In light mode, however, the feature works perfectly fine. We are not sure if this is intentional or an issue, but the latter seems more likely. Samsung could fix this with a future software update.

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