Samsung is putting Private Share, a feature to securely share files that recipients can’t forward, standard on more smartphones. The option has only been available out of the box on Galaxy S21 phones until now.
The option is included in the One UI 3.1 update for last year’s expensive models, Samsung reports. Among them are the S20s, Note 20s and the foldable smartphones Z Flip and Z Fold2. Private Share allows users to send files up to 20MB that the recipient can only see and cannot forward. It is also not possible to make screenshots or screen recordings with those files. The sender decides how long a file remains visible and also sees whether the recipient has already looked.
According to Samsung, the function uses blockchain-based encryption, although the manufacturer does not explain how that blockchain functions exactly. Private Share is also in the Galaxy App Store, but Samsung puts it on phones from One UI 3.1 as standard. Also with One UI 3.1 there will be an option when sharing a photo to remove metadata such as location.
With One UI 3.1, Samsung is also putting the camera features that appeared on the S21 phones on last year’s high-end models. The manufacturer does that every year: an update for older models brings the camera functions of the new phones to those of the previous generation. These include switching backgrounds for video from the front camera, removing objects from the photo at the touch of a button, and recording multiple audio sources simultaneously with a video. The update for last year’s models will be released on Thursday, but Samsung is gradually spreading the update. As a result, it is not immediately available on every phone.