How to Delete Now Brief on a Samsung Phone
Samsung's Now Brief feature is part of the broader Now Bar and Now Panel ecosystem introduced with One UI 6.1.1 and expanded in later versions. It surfaces contextual information — upcoming calendar events, weather, flight details, sleep data — directly on your lock screen or Always On Display. Useful for some, intrusive for others. If you're here, you likely fall into the second camp.
Here's exactly how to remove or disable it, along with what's actually happening under the hood.
What Is Now Brief, Exactly?
Now Brief is Samsung's AI-powered glanceable summary layer. It pulls data from connected apps — Google Calendar, Samsung Health, weather services, and others — and displays condensed "cards" on your lock screen before you even unlock your phone.
It's distinct from (but related to) the Now Bar, which is the persistent pill-shaped element at the bottom of the lock screen showing live activities. Now Brief sits above that, presenting a personalized overview of your day.
Both features fall under Samsung's Galaxy AI umbrella and require a compatible device running One UI 6.1.1 or later — primarily Galaxy S24 series, Z Fold6, Z Flip6, and select Tab S9 and S10 models.
How to Turn Off Now Brief on a Samsung Phone 📱
There are a few routes depending on what you want to remove and how completely you want it gone.
Method 1: Disable from the Lock Screen Directly
- Long-press on the Now Brief card on your lock screen
- A quick-settings popup should appear
- Tap "Turn off Now Brief" or "Settings"
- Toggle it off from there
This is the fastest route and works on most supported Galaxy devices.
Method 2: Through Lock Screen Settings
- Go to Settings
- Tap Lock screen and AOD (may appear as just "Lock screen" on some builds)
- Look for Now Brief and toggle it off
- On some One UI versions, it's listed under Widgets or Lock screen features
Method 3: Through the Now Bar Settings
Because Now Brief and Now Bar share infrastructure, disabling one sometimes surfaces options for the other:
- Go to Settings → Lock screen and AOD
- Tap Now Bar
- Inside Now Bar settings, look for a Now Brief toggle or a link to its dedicated settings panel
Method 4: Disable via Advanced Features
On some device and firmware combinations:
- Go to Settings → Advanced features → Samsung DeX / Galaxy AI
- Look for any Now Brief or Contextual suggestions toggle
🔍 Note: Menu locations vary by One UI version and device model. If a step doesn't match your screen exactly, use the Settings search bar and type "Now Brief" — Samsung's search function usually surfaces the toggle directly.
What Gets Removed vs. What Stays
It helps to understand what each toggle actually controls:
| Feature | What It Shows | How to Remove It |
|---|---|---|
| Now Brief | Daily summary cards (calendar, weather, health) | Toggle in Lock screen settings |
| Now Bar | Live activity pill (navigation, music, timers) | Separate toggle in Now Bar settings |
| AOD suggestions | Glanceable info on Always On Display | AOD settings within Lock screen |
| Bixby suggestions | Proactive Bixby cards in notification shade | Bixby settings or notification settings |
Disabling Now Brief only removes the summary cards. The Now Bar, Bixby routines, and notification-based suggestions are separate systems with their own controls. If you're seeing content you didn't expect, it may be coming from one of those other layers rather than Now Brief specifically.
Why Some Users Can't Find the Toggle
A few factors affect whether Now Brief settings are visible on your device:
- Firmware version: Now Brief was rolled out gradually. If your device hasn't received the relevant One UI update, you won't see the feature — or the toggle — at all.
- Device model: Not every Galaxy device supports Galaxy AI features. Budget and mid-range models (A series, for example) may have limited or no Now Brief functionality.
- Region: Samsung's software features sometimes roll out regionally. Certain Galaxy AI tools appeared in select markets before others.
- App permissions: Now Brief's card content depends on what apps have been granted data access. Even with Now Brief enabled, it may show nothing if calendar or health app permissions are restricted.
What Disabling Now Brief Does and Doesn't Do
Turning off Now Brief removes the card display from your lock screen — it does not revoke the underlying data permissions those apps hold. Your calendar, Samsung Health, and weather apps continue functioning and syncing as normal. If data privacy is the concern driving this decision, you'd also want to review app permissions individually under Settings → Privacy → Permission manager.
It also won't affect Samsung's broader data collection behaviors tied to your Samsung account. That's a separate settings area under Settings → Privacy → Samsung Privacy.
The Variables That Shape Your Experience
Whether Now Brief is useful or disruptive varies considerably by how you actually use your phone:
- Heavy calendar users who sync work and personal schedules often find it genuinely useful — it surfaces time-sensitive info at a glance without unlocking.
- Privacy-conscious users may object to AI aggregating personal data across apps on the lock screen, visible to anyone nearby.
- Users with minimal connected apps often see sparse or irrelevant cards, making the feature feel like visual noise.
- Battery-sensitive users have noted that always-on contextual features contribute marginally to background processing, though impact varies by device and usage pattern.
How much any of these factors apply to your day-to-day setup is something only your own usage patterns can determine. 🔧