Samsung announced on Tuesday the launch of a new privacy feature, Maintenance Mode, with the aim of protecting users’ devices from spying on personal information.
The tech giant said in a blog post that the global rollout of the maintenance mode feature for select Galaxy devices comes after the successful pilot program in South Korea and the initial launch in China, it reported.Arabic portal for technical news“.
Samsung explained that the maintenance mode can relieve users of the anxiety they feel when delivering their personal devices to maintenance shops by allowing them to block access to their personal information, such as: photos, messages or contacts.
“Our entire life is on our phones, and that includes credit card information and family photos,” said Seungwon Shin, Vice President and Head of Security Team, Samsung Mobile eXperience Business. “With maintenance mode, we are giving more confidence that Galaxy users can maintain their privacy, even if they have handed their phones to someone.”
“This is just the latest example of our ongoing effort to offer new ways to make people feel safe and in control, so they can explore new mobile experiences with complete peace of mind and the knowledge that we are behind them,” he said. Shen added.
Samsung Maintenance Mode Features
According to Samsung, maintenance mode is a way to create a separate user account when users hand over their devices for repair so that they can perform basic functions without being able to access any of their private information. All the user needs is to select the maintenance mode in the Battery and Device Care menu in Settings and restart the smartphone. Once restarted, all of their personal information, including photos, documents and messages, will be limited.
Once in maintenance mode, the person who maintains the device will not even be able to retrieve the apps installed by the user. Data or accounts created while using maintenance mode are automatically deleted once the owner exits maintenance mode.
Samsung noted that Galaxy devices are protected by its Knox, a defensive-grade security platform that provides a multi-layered approach to protection. And thanks to open collaboration with trusted industry partners, any potential threats can be detected and neutralized faster.
The company pointed out that thanks to the software and hardware security features it provides in its devices, users can be assured of their privacy, as Galaxy devices provide control and transparency features, with features such as: Security and Privacy Dashboard and Permission Manager, users can easily determine what happens to their data.
Samsung has indicated that it is constantly evaluating new ways to protect users and push new ones. In 2021, the company launched the Knox Vault feature, which isolates the most important information from the rest of the device. Earlier this month, the company unveiled Knox Matrix, its vision for the next level of security across multiple devices.
After successfully testing the maintenance mode on the Galaxy S21 series in Korea last July, it launched in China last September. Today comes the global launch, which will take place gradually over the next few months on select models with UI 5. The launch will continue throughout 2023 with the expansion of the launch to other Galaxy device models.
