But while technology changes, your right to privacy doesn’t. New developments mean new ways of data being processed. At Samsung, we think you should have the full picture when it comes to your personal information. We believe transparency, choice and control must be at the core of the mobile experience.

In this highly digitized world, your security and privacy are more important than ever, so it’s only right that our users have full control over their devices. That’s why we focus on providing solutions that allow you to have complete controllability and total empowerment over how your data is used.

Security and Privacy Dashboard

This belief is the cornerstone of our Security and Privacy Dashboard. The Dashboard enables you to have complete control over your data, including who sees it and how it gets used. In one simple and easy-to-use interface, you can view, create and update your app permissions, controls and data-sharing features — effectively enabling you to call the shots on your data and customize your experience, your way.

The Dashboard also allows you to see any data that may be at risk, intuitively showing you the safety status of security items.

▲ Settings > Security and privacy

From there, you can quickly and easily change your settings to manage potential dangers at the touch of a button. Items are ordered in priority of the functions that could have the most significant impact on your online safety — such as lock screen, account security, lost device protection via Find My Mobile, app security and updates. These are instantly accessible at the top, with intuitive red, yellow or green alerts showing any problems at a glance and providing clear indicators of any security issues.

Of course, we also do the work for you. Apps can continue tracking data for months, even when they are not in use — but Galaxy devices proactively remove permissions from apps that have not been used in a while, which can then be reinstated if you choose in the Dashboard.

You can do this through Permission Manager and Permission Usage. Permission Manager easily shows you which apps can access your data — whether it’s your location, camera or microphone and in which context (for example, if it’s only when using the app). Permission Usage provides an easy way for you to see your recently used permissions — specifically, which apps have used a certain permission in the last 24 hours or seven days. And, to make things even easier, we also provide instant action prompts through the Dashboard to help make data decisions more intuitive and transparent.

It’s simple to access your Security and Privacy Dashboard. Just go to Settings and Security and privacy, where you can review and adjust permissions as you see fit.

You can also play with features to further enhance your device’s privacy, such as the Clipboard Access toggle. Turning this setting on (by going to Settings, then Privacy and looking for the toggle “Alert when clipboard accessed”) means that any time an app pastes something from your clipboard, you’ll get a notification. No more hidden activity.

It’s never been easier to see and understand your data privacy with Galaxy. We put the control in your hands.

Find My Mobile / Samsung Find

It’s one of life’s inevitabilities — at some point, we all misplace our phones. But with Find My Mobile and Samsung Find, you no longer need to worry about your device’s personal information getting into the wrong hands.

Once Find My Mobile is enabled, Samsung Find allows you to locate, lock and even erase your device’s data to create an access lockdown. You can find your device even if it’s not connected to a mobile network, as long as it’s turned on. And through Samsung Find, it’s not only your Galaxy phone you can hunt down — but also your Galaxy Buds, tablets, watches and other devices.

The additional options available make it easier than ever to find your devices. Users can invite family members in the Samsung Find app to view the location or activate ringing noises to help track down shared devices. To give yourself the best chance of locating lost devices with Samsung Find, you can extend the battery life by remotely turning on power saving mode.

▲ Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection

With Galaxy, you’re empowered to stay in complete control of your device — even when it’s not physically with you.

Advanced Intelligence Settings

As an industry-leading global manufacturer, Samsung is focused on enhancing the device experience through dedicated AI features while prioritizing privacy in the era of AI. Many of our Galaxy AI features use on-device data processing which means sensitive information stays with you and you alone. For those features that do require processing in the cloud or external servers, we make sure your data is protected with strict policies.

In a world of AI-enhanced experiences, we know that not everyone wants to use cloud-based AI. For some, keeping data on-device is a priority. So, while innovation is important to us, we believe it’s just as, if not more important that we continue to empower our users with the choice over their own experience.

That choice is yours with our Advanced Intelligence settings.¹ Built into our Galaxy AI-supported devices, these settings let you decide how much you allow your data to enhance AI experiences and whether you want to allow online processing for full AI functionality.

To access the settings, open Settings and select Advanced features, then Advanced intelligence. Here, you’ll see the option to “Process data only on device.”

▲ Settings > Advanced features > Advanced intelligence

We’re still just as committed to providing our users with transparency, choice and control over their devices in this epic new world. It’s all up to you, and it’s never been easier to see and understand what happens to your data at all times.

Your privacy, secured with Galaxy.

¹ Availability may vary by device model, OS and/or market.

#1

Who among us has not experienced the frustration of trying to book tickets home ahead of a busy holiday weekend? While some book online from the comfort of their homes, others – many of them elderly – will line up at the break of dawn to reserve tickets in-person at major train and bus stations.

#2

Picture this: Person A recently went to a restaurant, but ended up leaving without ordering anything. Person A uses a wheelchair, and the controls on the restaurant’s self-order kiosk were slightly out of reach. As the staff seemed busy, Person A felt shy about asking for assistance, and chose to visit another restaurant instead.

While at first glance, the two stories above may seem unrelated, they both exemplify the dark side of technology in the digital era. Things like telecommuting, distance learning, autonomous driving, and AI job interviews are proof positive that digital technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in both business and society. Unfortunately, digitalization is also creating issues.

To help address those issues, digital technology leaders must accept an important new mission: taking on corporate digital responsibility (CDR). In a nutshell, CDR involves developing products and technologies in a manner that protects users’ rights, and taking steps to enable more people to experience the benefits of digital technologies. The pandemic has prompted more sectors to utilize digital technologies, which has led to increasing pressure on businesses to engage in CDR. As a leader in cutting-edge technologies, what is Samsung Electronics doing to become more digitally responsible? Here are several ‘quests’ that Samsung has undertaken with regard to digital responsibility.

QUEST #1 | Consider Users’ Rights When Developing Products

The more useful a product is, the wider the gap between users and non-users becomes. Samsung strives for accessibility in its products, enhancing them with technologies that make it easy for all users, regardless of age, gender, or disability, to utilize them.

Take Samsung’s TVs, for example. The TVs’ Voice Guide function provides an audio guide for TV settings, combining channel and volume controls with tools to help you schedule a viewing, view current and scheduled program information, and browse the internet. When viewing content with sign language, Samsung’s proprietary AI algorithm automatically recognizes the sign language area and can enlarge it by up to 200 percent.

Samsung mobile devices have also introduced a variety of convenient accessibility features. This includes a function that allows those with hearing difficulties to pair a compatible hearing aid to their device via low-power Bluetooth, as well as a fixed-key feature for users with physical disabilities. In addition, Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator caters to users in wheelchairs with functions that make it possible to move the top of the screen to an easier-to-reach position, adjust the height of the main controls, and launch the menu by tapping anywhere on the screen.

Digital advancements can be incredible, but they can cut both ways. Yes, they tend to make life more comfortable, but they can also create social issues like ‘smombies’¹ and ‘nomophobia’.² From a product design standpoint, helping users enjoy healthy digital lifestyles is a key part of being digitally responsible. Samsung has therefore committed to developing digital well-being tools that are based on five digital well-being values: Digital Detox, Balance, Guard, Wellness, and Safety. For example, Samsung’s App Timer feature (which falls under the Balance category) can help users reduce the amount of time they spend on applications by setting time limits. Focus Mode (Digital Detox) allows users to pause or silence notifications from selected apps temporarily, while the Samsung Kids service (Guard) helps create a safe environment for children to explore, play and develop good digital habits.

Safety is crucial when it comes to smartphones, as we tend to fill them with a wide range of important information, including everything from bank account numbers, contacts and photos. Samsung’s Find My Mobile feature was created to protect that valuable information in the event that you lose your phone. Once activated, it tracks the location of the lost phone, tells the user where it is, and offers them the choice to delete their personal data, including messages and photos, or upload it to Samsung Cloud. The Samsung Knox platform offers defense-grade mobile security, while the smartphones’ Secure Wi-Fi feature allows you to safely browse the internet on public wireless connections without worrying about your personal information being compromised.

QUEST #2 | Share the Benefits of Digital Technology with More People

“I saved two lives that were almost lost.”

“The technology is really useful for finding hidden sparks and embers and putting them out.”

The quotes above are from firefighters who utilized a product of Samsung’s in-house incubation program, C-Lab (Creative Lab), to help protect their community. The product they’re describing is a thermal observation device that uses thermal imaging cameras to help firefighters detect fires’ ignition points and identify and rescue others. It’s just one of many C-Lab innovations that reflect Samsung’s commitments to (1) developing products and services that address social issues, and (2) sharing those technologies with communities that need them.

Lives’Talk, a wearable device for tracking nomadic livestock, is another example of a community-enriching C-Lab innovation. The technology was created to make it easier for nomadic communities in Kazakhstan to find and retrieve their livestock. Once attached to livestock, the device’s GPS transmitter-receiver tracks the animals’ locations in real time. A total of 700 Lives’Talk devices were donated in all, helping farmers in these communities become more self-reliant.

Samsung is also advancing digital education programs that equip young minds with the tools they need to become leaders in creating a better world. The Samsung Smart School initiative provides smart devices and solutions to students in areas with little access to IT equipment, reducing the digital divide while supporting students’ creativity. The Samsung Dream Class program, meanwhile, offers middle school students living in areas with lower access to high-quality education an opportunity to take part in enriching classes covering subjects like math and coding. The Samsung Innovation Campus program offers youth entering the job market for the first time hands-on training in skills that technology-related jobs require, including fields like AI, IoT and data analysis. Together, these initiatives are representative of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to promote digital responsibility worldwide.

QUEST #3 | Uphold the Principles of CDR When Developing New Technologies

Often, when developing AI technology, the ethical beliefs of the people behind the technology will inform the ethics of the AI itself. Having recognized the importance of emphasizing social and ethical responsibility in technology development, Samsung established a set of AI ethics principles to put into practice. The company also established guidelines for employees to raise awareness of AI ethics within its workforce.

Samsung has gone to great lengths to foster an ecosystem of open innovation. Not only has the company introduced more than 130 open source projects, but it also hosts its annual Samsung Open Source Conference (SOSCON) to offer experts a forum to share and discuss new developments.

RESULT | Samsung Ranks in Top Ten of WBA’s 2020 Digital Inclusion Benchmark

Samsung’s consistent, multifaceted efforts to be digitally responsible have earned a ranking in the top ten of the World Benchmarking Alliance’s (WBA) Digital Inclusion Benchmark. Notably, Samsung is the only Korean company to rank in the top ten, and ranks third in Asia and fourth among companies in the hardware sector.

The WBA represents an alliance forged among approximately 176 global, regional and local organizations to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WBA examines companies with a focus on seven key categories, including human rights, the environment, and digital inclusion. The WBA launched its very first Digital Inclusion Benchmark this year, which evaluated companies’ progress in improving access to technology, enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use, and innovating both openly and ethically.

Samsung was noted for being one of the few companies that had established AI ethics principles. The company’s C-Lab program was singled out for its social contributions, while Samsung’s devotion to the expansion of the open-source ecosystem also earned a positive review. The Samsung Kids feature, which encourages children to have healthy smartphone habits, also received a high rating, as did the company’s various social contribution programs, in particular those that are helping communities close the digital divide.

As a company that develops products and technologies that enhance users’ lives, Samsung is committed to promoting digital responsibility. Going forward, the company will continue to explore ways to make it easier for people to access and utilize a wide range of convenient and meaningful digital technologies.

¹ A ‘smartphone zombie’; one who is constantly staring at his/her smartphone

² A term that describes the fear of being without a mobile device

Festival season is in full swing, and millions of music lovers around the globe are expected to attend this year’s biggest shows. Donauinselfest in Vienna, Austria; Mawazine in Rabat, Morocco; Governors Ball in New York City and Lollapalooza in Chicago are just a few of the world renowned festivals that continuously lure in crowds of concertgoers with extensive lineups of the biggest acts in music, and guarantees of weekend-long festival fun. For many, summer just wouldn’t be the same without attending one of these mega events.

Samsung, too, has joined in on the festivities at a number of shows, like this year’s Coachella and 2014’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, with the Samsung Galaxy Experience.

Through the experience, participants can check out the latest Samsung mobile devices like the Galaxy S6, and participate in a slew of activities, like creating their own souvenir postcard using the wide-angle selfie mode on the Galaxy S6 or jamming out to festival artists using Samsung’s Milk Music. If you’re a Galaxy device owner, you also get an opportunity to experience an exclusive, behind-the-scenes environment brought to life by Samsung products But in addition to all the swag that the Galaxy life can get you at these selected shows, the Galaxy S6 boasts a ton of helpful and organizational features that make it worthy as the ultimate festival companion. Here are a few of them.

S Planner
Before the festival, be sure to update your smartphone’s calendar (known as the S Planner) to include the dates, times and stages of the festival lineup. Setting a reminder for your must-see shows an hour in advance will ensure you won’t miss out on any of your favorite artists.

Camera Options
There’s no need to bring an extra camera to capture your favorite festival moments when you’ve got the superior image processing technology of the Galaxy S6. The Quick Launch feature allows you to use the camera rapidly at the peak of the action by simply double tapping the home button to open the camera while the superior video stabilization option prevents shaky video. And with the Wide-Angle selfie mode, you can squeeze all your friends (and if you’re lucky, your favorite musician you just happened to bump into) in the shot.

Ultra Power Saving Mode
Using your phone all day at a festival to snap photos, send texts and make your friends jealous on social media can suck up a lot of juice. Battery life is, for obvious reasons, a precious commodity at musical festivals, which is why the S6’s Ultra Power Saving Mode is especially valuable.

Running the Galaxy S6 in this mode allows the device to last two days at a battery life of 37%, and lets you stretch the last 10% of battery life out for the last few acts of the festival. Sure, the screen might be black and white, and the number of useable applications is limited, but even with this adjustment you can still uses the essential functions.

Customizable Audio Settings
Can’t wait until the big show? There’s no better way to get pumped up for this year’s festivals than by jamming out to the headlining artists ahead of time. And the Galaxy S6 sound settings allow you to customize your sound experience.

The Adapt Sound option allows you to configure a personal sound setting based on your audio preferences when wearing headphones. You can also utilize SoundAlive+ to recreate the effect of rich surround sound, or Tube Amp to simulate the soft timbre of a tube amplifier. So, customize those options, crank up the volume and start the countdown until the big show.

Flashlight
For festivals where camping is involved, you’ll most likely need some extra light. Unlike previous Galaxy smartphones, there’s no need to download an app to utilize the device’s flashlight. Simply access the widget by creating a quick-launch shortcut icon on your home screen.

Find My Mobile
Thanks to the close quarters and big crowds of musical festivals, you may happen to misplace your Galaxy S6. But don’t fret. Simply utilize the Find My Mobile* feature, which uses geo-location to track your device and prevent others from re-activating it. From the Find My Mobile website, you can ring, lock and wipe your smartphone.

*The Find My Mobile feature is only available in select regions.