Samsung has cleared up the confusion surrounding Samsung Health data

Samsung Health users face uncertainty over new privacy notices. In early July, the company asked customers to consent to the use of health data to train and improve artificial intelligence models, sparking a wave of concerns about the security of personal information.

Reasons of confusion

The text of Samsung’s message turned out to be worded ambiguously. Many users have decided that when they try to withdraw their consent to the use of data for training neural networks, the company will automatically delete all medical records from the Samsung Health profile and disable synchronization with the Samsung Cloud cloud storage. Such assumptions made users question the feasibility of participating in the AI ​​program.

Explanation of the principle of data collection

After being contacted by journalists, Samsung provided an official explanation within the program. Interaction with user data is based on the following algorithm:

• Data intended for the training and optimization of AI models is stored separately from the information necessary for the operation of the Samsung Health program.
• In case of refusal to participate in the AI ​​training program, the company deletes only those fragments of information that were allocated for training neural networks.
• Basic user data and medical history, necessary for the operation of the service, remain completely safe. Synchronization via Samsung Cloud continues to work in standard mode after deactivation of the function.

Results of independent verification

Samsung acknowledged that the wording of the original warning was incorrect and promised to improve the clarity of such messages in the future. The authors of the profile resource SamMobile conducted their own testing, which confirmed the manufacturer’s words: after disabling the AI ​​​​training function, the corresponding switches in the Samsung Cloud cloud service remained active, and health data were not affected.