Samsung Will Delete Your Data Unless You Allow AI Training

Some Samsung Health users are reportedly being asked to let Samsung use their personal health information for artificial intelligence training and modelling.

A new consent option appearing in the app warns that users who withdraw permission will no longer be able to synchronise health information with their Samsung account. It also says the affected data will be deleted unless Samsung is legally required to retain it.

Data Deletion Notice

The setting is titled “Consent to the Use of Health Data for AI Training and Modelling.”

Although users can disable the option, screenshots published by How-To Geek show that doing so triggers a warning about the loss of Samsung account synchronisation.

The notice says Samsung will delete the health data covered by the withdrawn consent unless applicable law requires the company to keep it. Any legally retained information would be deleted after the required retention period ends.

The reported setting appears to be reaching only some users at this stage. Samsung has not publicly confirmed how widely it is being rolled out.

Data Included in AI Training

A Samsung Health information page lists four broad categories of information that may be processed for AI training and modelling:

• Health and wellness data, including body measurements, nutrition, steps, physical activity, and sleep
• Medication information, including prescriptions and dosages
• Health records, including diagnoses, prognoses, test results, treatments, and past medical records
• Cycle-tracking data, including menstrual-cycle information, physical conditions, and indicators such as heart rate

Samsung’s notice says permitted data may be used to train and model AI systems, including through human review. The company says this work is intended to improve Samsung Health, its health-analysis algorithms, and AI features.

Privacy Questions Remain

It is currently unclear whether all information used for this purpose is anonymised, pseudonymised or processed in another form that prevents individual users from being identified.

Samsung has not publicly explained whether users can keep ordinary cloud synchronisation while separately refusing to allow their information to be used for AI development.

That distinction matters because Samsung Health stores highly sensitive information. Depending on the features used, this can include medical records, medication details, menstrual-cycle data, sleep patterns, and physiological measurements.

Samsung says its app protects private health information and requires two-step verification for users. Its support pages also allow people to download or erase the personal data stored through Samsung Health.

Sync Tied to Consent

The main concern is not simply that Samsung is requesting permission to train AI with health information. Users can technically reject the request.

However, the accompanying warning indicates that refusing permission also disables health-data synchronisation with the user’s Samsung account. This means people who do not use Samsung’s newer AI features could still lose a basic cross-device function.

Samsung has recently expanded AI-based health features that analyse sleep, activity, heart rate, body composition, and other measurements to provide personalised insights. The company describes Samsung Health as moving from passive tracking toward proactive, AI-powered guidance.

Users Reject the Trade-Off

An Android Authority reader poll showed strong opposition to the reported arrangement.

At the time of publication, 81% of 58 respondents said they would not allow Samsung to use their health data for AI training. Another 19% said they might agree if it produced better tracking or new features, while none selected an unconditional yes.

The poll represents only a small group of readers and should not be treated as a wider public survey. However, it reflects the privacy concerns raised since screenshots of the setting appeared online.

Samsung was contacted for confirmation of the setting, its effect on cloud synchronisation, and the safeguards applied to health information. The company had not responded publicly at the time of reporting.