Samsung Health, the wellness app from the Korean tech giant, has begun rolling out a new update that forces users into an unavoidable dilemma. Anyone using the app to track physical activity, sleep, medication, or menstrual cycles faces a stark choice: allow your data to be used for artificial intelligence training, or see it deleted and lose synchronization across devices. The change was reported by How-To Geek and coincides with the app's redesign, just days ahead of the Galaxy Watch 9 launch.
Forced consent to AI training in Samsung Health
The new consent notice, which appears when launching the app, explains that Samsung will use collected health data to "improve Samsung Health, including algorithms to analyze health conditions and our AI features." The data involved includes not only step counts and sleep patterns but also sensitive information such as medication intake, cycle tracking, and even the user's full health records, including treatments, test results, and more. The company notes that processing may involve human review, a detail that raises additional privacy concerns.
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What happens if you refuse consent for AI data
Users who decline authorization through the app settings see a warning that their data will be deleted and future synchronization will stop. The message states: "You will not be able to sync health data with your Samsung account and your health data will be deleted unless retained pursuant to applicable law. If retention is required, we will erase it as soon as the required retention period ends." In practice, the app becomes unusable for anyone who values their privacy, as without sync, information remains trapped on the single device, preventing any backup or sharing between Galaxy Watch and smartphone.
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Privacy implications and comparison with other services
Samsung's strategy echoes recent statements by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, who warned companies about the risks of proprietary AI models for sensitive data. In a landscape where more platforms request personal data to improve algorithms, Samsung's approach appears particularly aggressive. Unlike Apple, which processes health data locally on the device using its Neural Engine, Samsung pushes for centralized processing potentially visible to human reviewers. Security experts emphasize that while the company guarantees anonymization, human review remains a non-trivial vulnerability. For those interested in protecting data in digital environments, our article on Satya Nadella offers insights on managing sensitive information.
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A dangerous precedent for health apps
Samsung's move could set a troubling precedent. If other fitness and wellness apps adopt similar policies, users would be forced to choose between functionality and privacy. Currently, Samsung Health remains one of the most popular platforms for Galaxy device owners, but this imposition risks alienating a segment of users concerned about data protection. The timing, just days before the Galaxy Watch 9 launch, suggests Samsung aims to enhance the new smartwatch's AI features by leveraging this data flow. For more on the legal and technical implications of AI training on health data, refer to the Wikipedia page for Samsung Health.
Source: https://9to5google.com/2026/07/13/samsung-health-ai-training-data-consent
