Latest Samsung Internet Beta brings some new privacy features

A new version of Samsung Internet Beta has been released today, it brings a wide variety of privacy-oriented features, as well as a number of interface improvements.

Some of the novelties brought by build 11.2.0.54 are aimed at making the app easier to use on devices whose screens are larger and slimmer than conventional smartphone displays. That's in line with the design philosophy that Samsung has for One UI.

More customizability with better privacy protections

Therefore, Samsung Internet Beta users are now able to place even more commonly used action shortcuts into the app's bottom menu bar. As a result, things like sharing, activating Secret Mode, and opening a new tab can now be more accessible, being literally just a tap away should you want them to. These and other customizations can be accessed by tapping the Appearance option under the app's main Settings menu.

Interface changes aside, Samsung also developed a way to prevent websites from launching apps that users clearly do not want to be launched. The development team specifically mentioned YouTube as an example of such annoying behavior, noting how many continue to access Google's video platform via Samsung Internet due to the built-in ad blocker. Starting with the latest beta build, doing so will be much more bearable, assuming you don't disable the new feature.

There's also a new feature called “Block unwanted pages”, the solution combats malicious websites that would usually require a double-tap on the back button to leave. They do so by silently inserting spam pages in your browsing history before the actual navigation so when you try to go back, you see the spam page instead of the page you wanted to see.

Finally, Samsung's on-device neural networking platform that blocks tracking cookies has also been updated and now reportedly catches twice as many privacy risks as before, according to the company.

Samsung Internet Beta 11.2.0.54 began rolling out via the Google Play Store last week and should now be available for download globally. As always, there are no guarantees all of the new features and changes introduced herein will make their way to the stable version of the Android app. Yet most are expected to do so sooner or later.