What do the ads on Samsung's refrigerators look like, and can you turn them off?
Samsung's smart refrigerator, the
Samsung Family Hub for 2025 Update Elevates the Smart Home Ecosystem
https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-family-hub-2025-update-elevates-smart-home-ecosystem/
Ads will arrive on Samsung Family Hub smart fridges next month. | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/report/806797/samsung-family-hub-smart-fridge-ads-opt-out
Around September 16, 2025, Samsung notified Family Hub users of an update stating, 'Ads will be displayed to improve our service and provide additional content.' Jeong Seung-moon, executive vice president of Samsung's digital home appliance business and head of the research and development team, commented in April 2025 that 'we have no plans to include ads.' Since Family Hub is an expensive refrigerator with models ranging from $1,800 (approximately 260,000 yen) to $3,500 (approximately 510,000 yen), many people have criticized it, saying, 'Samsung is trying to make more profit from products already purchased.'
Samsung will start displaying advertisements on refrigerators - GIGAZINE
Samsung began offering a software update for Family Hub on October 27, 2025. The update includes an enhanced user interface, improved 'AI Vision Inside' functionality that identifies and manages the contents of the refrigerator, voice recognition functionality with Samsung's AI assistant ' Bixby ,' enhanced security, and widgets for displaying advertisements, which will be available from November 3rd.
The widget that actually displays the ad looks like this: On the cover screen when you're not operating the Family Hub display, the widgets in about a quarter of the space at the bottom of the screen switch every 10 seconds, displaying 'Calendar appointments,' 'Weather forecast,' 'News,' and 'Advertisements.'
You can change the Family Hub cover screen in the settings. Even in the case of the 'Daily Board' added in the October 2025 update, advertisements will be displayed in one of the six tiles.
Regarding the ads that will be displayed, Shane Higbee, head of Samsung America's home appliance business, told The Verge, 'The ads will include Samsung home appliances and accessories, but future promotions will depend on the feedback and insights we receive.' He added that the ads may also be open to third-party advertisers.
Ads will only be displayed on the Family Hub cover screen for the simple 'Color Theme' and 'Ad Widget' that display weather and news, as well as the newly added 'Daily Board.' Ads will not be displayed for 'Album,' which displays photos from linked smartphone apps on the cover screen, or 'Art,' which displays paintings and artwork. Therefore, if you don't want ads to appear on Family Hub, simply select 'Album' or 'Art' from the settings.
Additionally, at the time of the September 2025 announcement, it was reported that 'ads cannot be hidden from settings,' but after the October 27 update, 'Ads' was added to the 'Settings' page, and a screen where ads can be turned off was reportedly displayed. However, since this also deletes widgets such as weather and calendar, there is no way to delete ads while using the widgets, and the only option is to hide specific ads by clicking 'X,' according to The Verge.
When asked by The Verge, 'Why are we displaying ads on refrigerators?', Higbie explained, 'This experiment explores how connected appliances can provide useful information. The refrigerator is a central part of our daily lives, and we're testing a way that users can control to make this space more convenient.' Higbie said the ad widget is a pilot project, and the goal is to test responsibly, listen carefully to users, and learn what users find truly useful.
Samsung says Family Hub's ads are impersonal and 'contextual,' and that Family Hub does not collect personal information or track consumers.
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