A Galaxy AI switch that sounds like it keeps everything on your phone does not cover Bixby, and a test found spoken commands going to Samsung's servers.
Samsung's Galaxy AI has a switch called "Process data only on device." A reviewer at Android Police tested it on a Galaxy S26 Ultra and found it does not cover Bixby, Samsung's own assistant. With the switch on, typed questions and spoken commands still went to Samsung's servers.
The reviewer used a free app called PCAPdroid to log each connection the phone made. The app shows where data goes and how much, but it cannot read encrypted content. Three typed questions to Bixby each sent about 17KB to a Samsung server. Ten spoken commands, including a 5-minute timer and dark mode, sent about 540KB over one connection that lasted about three minutes.
That works out to about 54KB per command, roughly three times a typed question. None of those commands needed the web, so the extra data suggests voice audio was sent, not text. Samsung's US privacy policy also says it collects voice recordings on its servers when you use voice commands.
The switch's name sounds like a promise for the whole phone. In practice, Bixby follows separate rules in a menu most owners never open. The Galaxy AI menu does not mention Bixby, and tapping the switch's label shows a list of covered features that leaves it out.
Bixby's web answers also showed a Sources button with Perplexity's logo. Samsung has said Perplexity powers Bixby's real-time web search. The logs did not show the phone talking to Perplexity directly, so the handoff happens on Samsung's side. One answer also asked the reviewer to update location-sharing settings, which suggests an approximate location may travel with each question.
The photo tools passed. With the switch on, Photo Assist kept edits on the phone and asked the reviewer to turn the switch off before doing anything that needed the cloud. Now Brief did the same. If you only use those features, the switch did what it says.
Holding the side button opens Gemini by default, not Bixby. If you never use Bixby, this finding touches you less.
The alert box above lays out the steps. In short, Bixby has its own Offline processing setting that is hard to find, and turning Bixby off is the only sure way to keep your voice off Samsung's servers.
Offline mode has limits. In airplane mode, "Set a timer for five minutes" and "turn on dark mode" worked. Everyday phrasing such as "my eyes hurt when I use my phone at night" failed. Natural speech is the new Bixby's main selling point, and it still needs Samsung's servers.
This is one reviewer's test on one phone running One UI 8.5. The material does not say how long Samsung keeps voice recordings or whether it plans to change the switch's wording or link it to Bixby's offline setting.
Galaxy AI's on-device switch does not cover Bixby, so use Bixby's Offline processing or turn Bixby off if you want your voice kept off Samsung's servers.
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