Last updated: May 5th, 2026 at 07:58 UTC+02:00
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You can limit Privacy Display to your notifications instead of hiding the entire screen.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
The Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display is one of the most unique features on any smartphone today. It limits the viewing angle of the screen so people can't see what's on it from the side or above. There's both a standard and a maximum privacy option depending on how much you want to hide from onlookers.
It doesn't have to be on all the time, either. You can limit it to specific apps (banking apps are a great fit here) or have it activate when you're entering a password, pattern, or PIN; it then turns off automatically once you're done.
But perhaps the most useful option is to set it to activate only when a notification appears. And, instead of making the entire display harder to read, it only hides the part of the screen the notification occupies. Anyone who's been caught off guard by someone glimpsing their notifications will appreciate that.
Setting this up is pretty easy. On your Galaxy S26 Ultra, go to Settings > Display > Privacy Display > Conditions for turning on. There, enable the Notification pop-ups option.
Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
Setting up Privacy Display to hide notifications only – Source: Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
Once set up, Privacy Display will kick in automatically whenever a notification appears and turn off once the pop-up disappears. This works whether your phone is locked or unlocked, and even in Always On Display mode.
To make notifications extra difficult to view, be sure to enable the Maximum privacy protection option in the Settings > Display > Privacy Display menu.
If you want Privacy Display to activate in other situations, like when you're entering a password, you can choose those in the Conditions for turning on menu as well. For even more granular control, you can set up custom Privacy Display routines using the Modes and Routines app.
Abhijeet's writing career started with guides for custom firmware for Samsung devices (including the original Galaxy S), and he moved to SamMobile in mid-2013 and worked up the ranks to Editor-in-chief. In addition to phones and mobile devices, his interests include gaming on both PC and console, PC hardware, and spending countless hours on YouTube watching videos on tech, movies, games, politics, and internet dramas.
