Now Brief

Samsung Bixby Sends Data to Cloud Despite Galaxy AI On-Device Processing Setting

Users who enabled the 'Process data only on device' toggle in Galaxy AI believed their interactions would remain local, yet Bixby continued transmitting information to Samsung servers. Independent testing on a Galaxy S26 Ultra revealed that each of three text queries generated roughly 17 KB of outbound traffic, while ten voice commands produced approximately 540 KB. In contrast, Photo Assist and Now Brief correctly respected the local-only restriction and prompted users to disable it for cloud features. Network monitoring confirmed the connections but could not decrypt payload contents, although Samsung's privacy policy explicitly permits collection of voice recordings when the assistant is active. A separate Offline processing option exists for Bixby, allowing basic commands without internet access, but more complex natural-language requests frequently failed. The findings demonstrate that a single device-wide toggle does not cover all AI components, requiring users to locate and adjust Bixby's dedicated settings separately.