One UI 9 Privacy Display can now obscure picture-in-picture videos on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra without restricting visibility across the entire screen.
The improvement arrived through the fourth One UI 9 beta, which Samsung released for the Galaxy S26 series in July. It expands the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s hardware-based privacy technology to floating video windows, giving users more control over which content people nearby can see.
When the feature is configured for a supported application, Privacy Display follows the picture-in-picture window as it moves around the screen. The rest of the interface remains normally visible, including when viewed from an angle.
One UI 9 Privacy Display targets floating videos
Picture-in-picture mode allows a video to continue playing inside a small floating window while the user opens another application or navigates around the phone.
Under One UI 9 Beta 4, the Galaxy S26 Ultra can apply its restricted viewing angle specifically to that floating window. Someone looking directly at the phone can continue watching the video, while a person viewing the device from the side sees a significantly obscured PiP area.
The remainder of the screen does not receive the same privacy treatment. This allows the phone owner to continue reading messages, browsing an application or using other controls without dimming or hiding the complete display.
Reports based on the beta software show the protection continuing to work when the PiP window is dragged to a different position. The system also recognizes interface elements such as the Edge Panel, reducing the likelihood that the privacy layer will interfere with other floating controls.
The feature could be useful when watching personal videos, attending a video call or viewing subscription content in crowded locations such as public transportation, airports and offices.
Users must configure individual applications
The PiP implementation comes with an important setup requirement.
Users must enable Privacy Display for the individual application that will produce the floating window. For example, a user who wants protection while watching a YouTube video in PiP mode would need to include YouTube in the feature’s application settings.
The full-screen Privacy Display mode should not be active at the same time. When privacy protection is applied to the entire screen, the software does not need to isolate the picture-in-picture window separately.
This makes the new function more of a targeted privacy option than a universal default.
The feature is also currently associated with beta software. Its behavior may change before Samsung distributes the stable version of One UI 9, and users participating in the beta program may encounter bugs or inconsistent application support.
How Samsung’s Privacy Display works
Samsung introduced Privacy Display as a major Galaxy S26 Ultra feature.
Unlike a conventional privacy screen protector, which permanently narrows the display’s viewing angle, Samsung’s system is built into the handset’s OLED panel and controlled through software.
The display uses separate pixel structures to control how light travels toward the viewer. When privacy protection is active, the phone limits the amount of visible content reaching people looking from the sides while maintaining a clearer image for the person directly in front of the screen.
Because the feature is software-controlled, users can activate it only in selected situations. Samsung allows Privacy Display to work with particular applications, notifications and sensitive activities such as entering passwords or unlocking the device.
That flexibility distinguishes it from adhesive privacy filters, which affect display brightness, color and viewing angles continuously.
The PiP upgrade takes that selective approach further by applying protection to a small, moving section of the interface instead of treating the screen as one fixed surface.
Beta 4 also addresses software problems
Samsung began offering the One UI 9 beta to Galaxy S26 series owners in selected markets in May 2026. Participating markets included Germany, India, South Korea, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Enrollment is handled through the Samsung Members application.
One UI 9 Beta 4 is based on Android 17 and includes the July 2026 security update. The release also addresses several software issues affecting navigation, Bluetooth audio, the lock-screen clock and Privacy Display routines.
One corrected problem involved Privacy Display failing to behave properly when it was activated through the Quick Panel or the main Settings application. Other fixes targeted a disappearing navigation bar during games and incorrect audio levels when the phone connected to some vehicles.
The PiP capability was not prominently described as a major feature in the official change log. Users and technology observers identified it while testing the new beta build.
Privacy features are becoming more precise
Smartphone privacy tools have traditionally focused on software permissions, encrypted data and biometric authentication.
Samsung’s approach addresses a more visible security risk: someone physically looking at a user’s screen. Sensitive information can be exposed even when a phone’s accounts and stored data are securely protected.
The risk is especially common in crowded public spaces, where another person may see messages, financial details, photographs or authentication codes simply by standing nearby.
Restricting only a PiP window illustrates how display privacy could become increasingly context-aware. Instead of making the entire screen darker or unreadable from the side, the device can identify sensitive interface elements and protect them individually.
That could eventually allow Samsung to apply different privacy levels to notifications, payment fields, images, video calls or sections of an application.
Availability remains limited
The selective Privacy Display capability depends on specialized display hardware and is therefore associated with the Galaxy S26 Ultra rather than the full Galaxy S26 lineup.
Owners also need to be running the One UI 9 beta build that includes the PiP enhancement. Samsung has not confirmed whether every application supporting Android’s picture-in-picture mode will work identically with the feature.
The company is expected to refine One UI 9 before releasing the stable software more widely.
For now, the PiP update demonstrates how Samsung is developing Privacy Display beyond a simple on-or-off screen filter. Its success will depend on whether the final implementation works consistently across popular video, communication and media applications without reducing usability for the phone’s owner.
Source (in Korean)
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