Is Galaxy AI private? What stays on your phone, and what Samsung and Google get

The Morse teamPublished October 25, 202610 min read

As of October 2026, Galaxy AI is private only for the features that run on your phone. Samsung's own privacy notice lists six Galaxy AI tools that send your inputs outside the device: Writing assist, Note assist, Transcript assist, Browsing assist, Photo assist, and Creative studio (Samsung). Samsung's notice says the data those tools process includes your Samsung account information. Turning on Process data only on device keeps Samsung's own Galaxy AI features on the phone. Gemini, Circle to Search, and the other Google features on a Galaxy phone follow Google's rules, not Samsung's.

We read Samsung's Samsung account U.S. Privacy Notice (effective February 24, 2026), the Samsung Privacy Policy and its US Supplement (effective July 20, 2026), Samsung's Galaxy AI support and product pages, and Google's help pages for Gemini, Circle to Search, and Google Messages on October 25, 2026. Samsung deserves credit for that notice. Samsung's account notice lists, feature by feature, which inputs leave the device, and promises a consent prompt before each cloud feature's first use.

Galaxy AI privacy at a glance

Does Samsung see your Galaxy AI data?

Yes, Samsung sees your Galaxy AI data for every Galaxy AI feature that runs in the cloud.

• Samsung's account notice says some Galaxy AI apps "process your data solely within your device, while others require the collection of your data" (Samsung).
• Samsung's account notice says the data processed includes "your account information, device and app information, and your inputs" (Samsung).
• Samsung's account notice says a Galaxy AI feature that collects your inputs tells you what it processes and asks for your consent before you first use it (Samsung).
• Samsung's account notice says Now brief may process your data outside the device "including by third parties," for music playlists and viewing recommendations (Samsung).
• Samsung's Galaxy AI support page names auto formatting, auto summarizing, auto corrections, and image editing as cloud-based functions (Samsung).
• Samsung's Galaxy AI support page says the full Galaxy AI experience needs you signed in to both a Samsung account and a Google account (Samsung).

Samsung handles voice commands under its main Privacy Policy. Samsung's Privacy Policy says Samsung records your voice on its servers when you enable voice commands (Samsung). Samsung's Privacy Policy says a third-party speech-to-text provider working for Samsung "may also receive and store certain voice commands" (Samsung). Samsung's Privacy Policy also says Samsung may disclose your information when required "by law, legal process, or court order from governmental authorities" (Samsung).

What does "Process data only on device" turn off?

Process data only on device turns off every part of Galaxy AI that needs Samsung's cloud. Samsung's support page calls the setting a "master switch" that disables all cloud-based processing for the Galaxy AI features (Samsung).

To turn it on, open Settings, tap Galaxy AI, and turn on Process data only on device. On some models, Samsung says to tap Advanced features first (Samsung).

What keeps working, in Samsung's words:

• Samsung lists translation and time and weather Ambient wallpapers as on-device functions (Samsung).
• Samsung says "most translations are handled on the device itself" (Samsung).
• Samsung says Gallery's Edit suggestions run on the device, while Generative edit requires an internet connection (Samsung).
• Samsung says the Interpreter app comes with English and Spanish, and that other languages need a free download (Samsung).

Download the language packs you need before you turn on Process data only on device. Summaries in Samsung Notes and Voice Recorder are the bigger loss, because Samsung says Transcript assist in Samsung Notes needs a Samsung account and an internet connection (Samsung).

Which Galaxy AI features run on the phone, and which go to Samsung or Google?

We built this table from Samsung's account notice and support page and Google's help pages, all read October 25, 2026. "Off the phone" means the inputs Samsung's notice lists for that feature.

Does Samsung use Galaxy AI data to train its AI?

Samsung's own pages disagree on whether Samsung trains AI on your data.

• Samsung's newsroom wrote on September 9, 2025 that, whatever feature or settings you choose, "personal data is never stored long-term or used for AI training" (Samsung).
• Samsung's US Supplement to its Privacy Policy, effective July 20, 2026, says Samsung may use personal information about US residents "to develop and train our artificial intelligence algorithms and models" (Samsung).
• The Galaxy AI section of Samsung's account notice, effective February 24, 2026, says nothing about training and gives no retention period (Samsung).
• Samsung's Privacy Policy says Samsung keeps personal information no longer than necessary for the purpose it was collected, and anonymizes it in some cases (Samsung).
• Samsung's Privacy Policy says that where a specific privacy notice differs from the policy, you should refer to the specific notice (Samsung).

The top results for "is galaxy ai private" quote the 2025 newsroom line, and none of the ones we read cites the 2026 US Supplement. The supplement's training clause covers personal information about US residents in general, and Samsung's pages don't say whether Galaxy AI inputs are excluded.

Samsung has asked for training consent in at least one app. In July 2026, Samsung Health showed a toggle titled "Consent to the Use of Health Data for AI Training and Modelling," covering data like sleep, medications, and menstrual cycles, with human review, Malwarebytes reported (Malwarebytes). Galaxy AI's Health assist draws on the same Samsung Health data (Samsung).

Does the on-device setting stop Gemini, Circle to Search, and Perplexity?

No, Process data only on device doesn't stop Gemini, Circle to Search, or Perplexity. Samsung's support page describes the switch as covering "the Galaxy AI features" (Samsung), and these three belong to other companies.

Circle to Search. Samsung's support page calls the feature "Circle to Search with Google" and says it needs an internet connection (Samsung). Samsung's support page says your past Circle to Search searches "are saved along with other Google searches and can be managed with Google" (Samsung). Google said on March 18, 2025 that it doesn't save Circle to Search images to your Search history by default, and that the feature's menu can delete the last 15 minutes of history (Google).

Gemini. Android Police reported on September 19, 2026 that a Gemini question still goes to Google's servers with the switch on (Android Police). Google's help page says the Gemini app's connection to Samsung Notes "is connected by default on supported Samsung devices," meaning the Galaxy S25 or later and select devices on One UI 7 or later (Google). Google says you can disconnect Samsung Notes at any time in Gemini's Connected Apps settings (Google). Google's Privacy Hub says Gemini keeps chats with your account for 72 hours even with Keep Activity off, and keeps reviewed chats for up to three years (Google). We cover Gemini's settings in is Gemini private.

The same Android Police report says Magic Compose in Google Messages "still runs in Google's cloud." Google's help page says that on devices with AICore, Magic Compose runs on Gemini Nano and "no messages are sent to Google" (Google). Samsung's support page also lists Magic Compose as on-device (Samsung).

Perplexity. Samsung announced on February 22, 2026 that Perplexity would be an extra AI agent on upcoming flagship Galaxy phones, opened by saying "Hey Plex" or holding the side button (Samsung). Samsung said Perplexity's agent works with Samsung Notes, Clock, Gallery, Reminder, and Calendar (Samsung). As of October 25, 2026, Samsung's announcement makes no statement about how that data is handled, and the Galaxy AI table in Samsung's account notice has no Perplexity row (Samsung). For Perplexity's own rules, see is Perplexity private.

How Morse keeps your AI chats off Samsung's and Google's servers

Every gap above starts with an account. Galaxy AI's cloud features send your inputs with your Samsung account information, Gemini keeps your chats under your Google Account, and Samsung's one switch reaches only Samsung's half. Morse is a web app built the other way round. On Morse, your chat history is stored in your browser, encrypted, and not on Morse's servers, and you choose for each chat how much a model provider sees.

Morse's Anonymous mode removes your account, email, and IP address before a message reaches the provider. Morse doesn't train AI on your content, sell your data, or show ads, so there's no training clause to read past (Morse privacy policy). Morse's servers don't keep messages or log their content, so there's no retention period to guess at. Attached files are sent with the message and never stored by Morse.

• E2EE, for the notes and transcripts no one should read. Pick an open-weight model like GLM, Kimi, or DeepSeek. Your browser checks the secure enclave's proof that it's genuine before anything leaves your device, then encrypts the message so only that enclave can read it, and Morse's servers relay text they can't read. The protection rests on the enclave hardware and attestation working as designed. E2EE chats come with Pro, at $19 a month.
• Anonymous, to ask Gemini without your Google Account. Gemini, GPT, and Claude go through our proxy under Morse's own account. The provider sees the message without knowing it's you, and may keep it for a limited time to check for abuse, under its own policy. Leave out names you'd rather keep to yourself, since Morse strips who you are, not what you write.
• Private, for the summaries and rewrites you'd otherwise send to Samsung. Private is the default for a new chat. Morse has zero data retention agreements with its inference, search, and other providers, and where a provider confirms zero retention on each reply, Morse checks it and refuses a reply that doesn't.

In every mode, your history locks when you sign out, and unlocking it takes a key that never leaves your device plus one our server gives you at sign-in. Since we don't store chats, we usually have very little to give authorities. Your device holds the only copy, so deleting a chat or clearing your browser removes it for good. Morse can't recover it, so keep a copy of anything you need. For how other assistants compare, see are AI chats private.

So is Galaxy AI private enough for you?

• Translation and Interpreter: mostly private. Download your language packs, then turn on Process data only on device.
• Notes, transcripts, and web summaries: these go to Samsung with your account information. For text no company should read, use an E2EE chat on Morse.
• Gemini and Circle to Search: Google's rules apply, and Samsung's switch doesn't reach them. On Morse, Anonymous mode sends Gemini your words without your Google Account.
• AI training: Samsung's US policy allows it for personal information. Morse doesn't train AI on your chats, so there's no setting to find.

You can try a chat from the Morse home page without an account, or start free and add E2EE with Pro.