Xiaomi's own version of the Privacy Display feature leaks. See how it will work

“Looking over someone’s shoulder” on a tram or in a doctor’s waiting room is currently only addressed by a handful of phones. We wrote about Xiaomi working on its own defense at the end of May – but now images of the finished settings have been released to the public, and it’s clear that the brand is taking a similar approach to Samsung. However, it will also actively involve the front camera.

The phone will turn on the feature itself when needed

Images of the interface were published on X by leaker Kacper Skrzypek, who reportedly obtained them from a global version of the system. The feature is named Smart privacy display and offers three levels of scope: it can run on the entire phone, only in selected applications, or only for notifications. In such a case, notifications will not be completely hidden, but will appear with partial protection.

That's how "Smart privacy display" options will look on supported #Xiaomi device (likely upcoming flagship).

Video recorded on Global ROM. "Page privacy display" and Xiaomi Hyper XiaoAi groups are, at least for now, available only on China ROM. pic.twitter.com/AigocVrasZ

— Kacper Skrzypek 🇵🇱 (@kacskrz) August 28, 2026

Furthermore, applications can be divided into groups, and each assigned different behavior. More interesting is the automatic function: the phone is supposed to automatically switch to private mode when you enter a password, make a payment, send money, or write messages. This eliminates the need for manual switching on sensitive screens.

The front camera is supposed to monitor whether someone is looking

The basic principle looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – controlling light at the individual pixel level, which limits screen readability from the side. However, the Chinese manufacturer adds its own layer: the front camera monitors the direction of gaze and alerts you when someone else is looking at the display from behind or from the side.

According to the text directly in the settings, face and gaze recognition is supposed to take place entirely on the phone. Reportedly, nothing is sent to the cloud, and data is not shared with anyone else, but we cannot independently verify this.

Protection will take its toll

The manufacturer immediately admits limitations in the settings, and there are quite a few. Enabled protection will slightly increase power consumption, it will turn off automatically in power-saving mode, and pause when viewing HDR content. Rotating to landscape will completely put it to sleep, and it will only reactivate upon returning to portrait. Those who opted for a third-party theme may encounter issues – some of them do not support the feature.

Which phones will get the feature?

Skrzypek talks about an unspecified upcoming flagship, most likely from the Xiaomi 18 series. The 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models, whose unveiling is expected in September, are likely candidates. Since this is pre-production software, the scope of the feature and the deployment date may still change for final phones.

Whether the new feature will also come to the Czech Republic is not yet certain. Hope is offered by the certification of the 18 Pro Max model, which for the first time has a real chance to arrive here as well – we wrote about it at the beginning of August.

Would you like your phone to automatically monitor who is looking at the display?

Sources: Kacper Skrzypek, GSMArena, Notebookcheck