Anurag is an experienced journalist and author who’s been covering tech for the past 5 years, with a focus on Windows, Android, and Apple. He’s written for sites like Android Police, Neowin, Dexerto, and MakeTechEasier. Anurag’s always pumped about tech and loves getting his hands on the latest gadgets. When he's not procrastinating, you’ll probably find him catching the newest movies in theaters or scrolling through Twitter from his bed.
Samsung keeps adding AI features to its phones, but I haven’t found much use for them myself. My Galaxy S21 FE is getting old, and its battery life has dropped from a full day with around five to six hours of screen-on time to closer to four hours.
There are plenty of reasons an old phone’s battery doesn’t last as long, so I can’t blame AI for the whole decline. Still, disabling Personal Data Intelligence in Settings has improved my battery life. The feature provides personalized suggestions based on how you use your phone, and I’m happy to give those up if it means getting more time between charges.
AI is being shoved into everything
Not just phones but also washers
AI is being shoved into every product you use. Earlier this month, my friend bought a washer with AI, and I honestly don’t understand why these appliances need it. Brands have certainly decided that our phones do, and Samsung is one of the loudest about it. Since launching Galaxy AI, the brand has only doubled down on the features you get across its phones. You can identify objects, generate random images, rewrite messages, get personalized briefings, and whatnot. Every launch adds more to the list, and you’re left to figure out which features actually deserve your attention.
Some of these tools are useful, but I haven’t found much use for them myself. I’d rather have a phone that lasts longer between charges than another personalized briefing. That gets particularly frustrating when a feature runs in the background even though you rarely interact with its suggestions. Personal Data Intelligence is one of those features. Samsung uses it to personalize parts of your phone, but that personalization needs to offer enough value to justify keeping it enabled. On my S21 FE, I’m getting more out of turning it off.
What Personal Data Intelligence actually does
It supports AI features across your phone
Personal Data Intelligence uses information on your phone and your usage patterns to provide suggestions across Samsung’s software. Depending on your device and software version, that includes recommending apps, suggesting calendar events, and personalizing information shown to you. You don’t need to open a separate AI app to use it because the suggestions appear within features you already use.
Samsung has offered this kind of personalization for years. Before Galaxy AI, its Smart Suggestions widget already recommended apps to open, people to call, and calendar events to add based on your usage patterns. So, although the current naming fits Samsung’s AI push, the idea behind these suggestions predates it.
Samsung expanded its personalization technology with the Personal Data Engine, introduced alongside the Galaxy S25 in January 2025. It analyzes on-device habits and preferences to support features such as Now Brief and natural-language searches in Gallery. Samsung says the engine operates when Personal Data Intelligence is enabled.
The on-device processing is relevant here. This means the personalization happens on your phone, which is good because the data doesn’t leave your phone. But it also means your phone does more work because the cloud isn’t handling this processing, and if you don’t have flagship hardware, it can affect how much battery life you get.
Turning off Personal Data Intelligence
You only lose the AI features you're not already using
You can find the setting under Settings -> Security and privacy -> More privacy settings -> Personal data intelligence. From there, turn off the main switch. The wording and location vary between software versions, so you can also search for “Personal data intelligence” in Settings if you don’t see it in that menu.
Disabling it has improved battery life on my S21 FE. I used to get around five hours of screen-on time, and after disabling the feature, that has extended to around six hours. That’s enough to get me through a full day before I come home and put the phone on charge. My S21 FE still heats up, but I’ve noticed it runs slightly cooler with the setting disabled. Other owners report similar results, including reduced overheating and battery drain, but some say the feature has negligible impact.
The trade-off is the personalization that relies on it. You give up relevant suggestions, and Samsung says turning off Personal Data Intelligence also deletes the analyzed data. That refers to the information produced by the analysis, rather than an instruction to delete your photos or calendar entries. For me, those suggestions aren’t useful enough to justify keeping the feature enabled when disabling it improves battery life. I’d rather get more time between charges than keep a personalization feature I barely use.
Get the most out of your Samsung Galaxy
There are many ways you can put your old Samsung Galaxy to good use. For one, you can use it as a desktop PC if it supports DeX. You can also use it as a dedicated player for your Jellyfin library, a home security camera, or even a webcam for your meetings.