Samsung extends ‘Disabled Restart,’ a safety net for Galaxy phones left inactive
What you need to know
- Samsung is reportedly introducing “Inactive Restart,” a security feature that automatically restarts Galaxy phones left inactive, in a recent update.
- Another report suggests that this could be an expansion of the feature to more Galaxy phones, as the Galaxy S25 and S26 have this, while the Fold 7 recently adopted it.
- Samsung’s biggest privacy feature will be the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display, which hides the contents of your screens from prying eyes.
Samsung has a few new things to talk about, and one of those new things is a security update that might add an important feature.
After hearing the reports, Sammy Fans said that Galaxy phones (except the S26 series) have started noticing the “Inactive Restart” security feature. The feature has reportedly been added to the “additional security” section of the Galaxy phones’ “Security & Privacy” tab in the Settings app. Samsung’s new Inactivity Restart says it will “restart your phone if it’s been off for 72 hours.” This option is configurable, so you don’t need to enable this if you don’t want to.
An additional explanation reads, “After your phone restarts, you need to turn it on before you can receive notifications and alarms from other apps and see the names of incoming callers.” In this case, Samsung is advancing its protection against devices left unattended for any reason. We all know that it is easy to see a notification on your device, especially if you have a lock screen setting to show its content. With this, there is a safety net.
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Android Central Take
It’s little features like this, little security features, that Samsung occasionally throws into the mix. Inactive Restart probably won’t be used by most users—myself included. I use my phone every day. I even got to it a second ago to make sure I wasn’t dreaming that I already had this. The point is: this is a niche feature that sounds great, and it made me go, “ooooh,” but I may not see widespread use.
The description adds, “If your SIM is locked, you need to unlock it to receive incoming calls.”
The folks at SamMobile have picked up on this, too, adding that this could just be an extension of a dead reboot. I’ve seen this before on my Galaxy S25 Ultra; however, the publication says that many phones, such as those in South Korea and beyond, may see it more prominently with the February 2026 security patch.
Another privacy step
If we’re talking about privacy, then it’s hard not to mention the Galaxy S26 Ultra privacy display. Samsung was at MWC 2026 to highlight the new Ultra privacy feature, which attracted visitors. Privacy Screen works to block prying, prying eyes from your side from seeing what you’re doing on your phone. Unless they are directly on, they will see a black screen. Users have a little wiggle room with this, as they can decide to hide their entire screen, notifications, or specific apps with the privacy display.
Android Central Take
Privacy Screen is not a “small feature.” It’s a big part of what gets people talking about the Galaxy S26 Ultra, as it’s (arguably) the most interesting thing about it. Sure, we have camera improvements, but the Privacy Display is functional and I can easily see its use in everyday life. Sitting on the train or just standing at a red light? Now, no one can see who you are talking to or what you are doing. It effectively tells others to mind their own business without you having to speak.
Another report related to the Galaxy S26 says that Samsung appears to have added a second NFC sensor. This works to give users more choice and convenience when paying for things with NFC. The report claims that the Galaxy S26 is able to complete a scan when its “edge” is placed close to one. The original NFC sensor near the center of its back panel is still there.
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