In September, Samsung revealed that it would be introducing advertisements to select high-end smart refrigerators. This announcement was included in a changelog, with the company later affirming that the patch notes were genuine, contrary to what some users hoped. While Samsung doesn’t currently intend to implement ads across all of the smart fridge’s various themes, users of the Weather or Color themes will now begin to notice ads along the bottom third of the screen (via The Verge). Meanwhile, those utilizing the Gallery and Art themes will be free from advertisements, so not everyone will be impacted.
If you happened to overlook the news and suddenly find ads on your fridge, there’s no need to panic — Samsung won’t compel you to view ads every time you start preparing dinner. There is, in fact, a surprisingly simple method to disable the ads and restore your Samsung smart fridge to its practical, intelligent, and ad-free functionality.
How to turn off ads on Samsung smart fridges
In contrast to the ads that Microsoft now integrates into Windows 11, Samsung has provided users with an option to disable the advertisements they are shown. As detailed in an announcement providing further information about the launch of the “pilot program,” Samsung indicates that users can navigate to the Advertisements tab in their Settings menu at any time to turn off the ads. The advertisement will also feature on the new Daily Board theme that is being introduced with this latest update, although it won’t occupy much space, appearing instead as a single tile on the board. Even if you choose not to disable them completely, you can always dismiss an ad, and it won’t reappear for the remainder of the campaign run, Samsung states.
Like many issues, the fact that Samsung is implementing this in fridges priced around $2,000 or more is the primary concern, as individuals already possess these smart appliances in their homes and are using them without having agreed to receive ads when they made their purchase. Furthermore, while the service will exclusively showcase Samsung advertisements for the time being, there are apprehensions that it’s only a matter of time before the company starts collaborating with other businesses and permits third parties to buy ads for display on its refrigerators.
