What’s happened? Are you someone who sends images of IDs, passports, letters, bank cards or other sensitive information in messaging apps? A leak of Samsung’s new One UI 8.5 update suggests the South Korean brand might give you more protection when sending these documents.
- According to SamMobile, the upcoming One UI 8.5 update contains a new Privacy Protection feature in Samsung’s share options that can scan an image for sensitive information and allow you to blur, pixelate or redact those sections before sending.
- The feature has been spotted under More in the share menu, and presents a side-by-side compare view so you can see what the edited image looks like before you share.
Why is it important? For a variety of privacy and protection reasons, this new update could be very significant.
- Having this option helps users to avoid accidental overshare. Some users tend to send photos that accidentally reveal private information.
- With this feature, an automatic step to conceal that sensitive information could eliminate this privacy threat.
- This feature is practical and appears to offer an efficient workflow. Instead of manually editing images within a photo app, you can redact when you share with fewer steps.
Why should I care?
- If you’re a person who typically shares ID documents, receipts or screen shots that contain personal information, this feature might help prevent you from exposing sensitive information to friends, groups or strangers accidentally.
What’s next?
- Stay tuned to Samsung’s newsroom and the Samsung Members beta channels for an official feature announcement and information on which phones and which regions will receive it. The feature is said to be part of One UI 8.5 update.
- If Samsung releases this worldwide, then many users and competing manufacturers will likely follow, leading to a more protection-centered device use.
- We’d expect the update to hit Samsung’s most recent flagship phones first, such as the Galaxy S25, S25 Edge, S25 Ultra and Z Fold 7, with the software then rolling out to mid- and entry-level handsets later on.
