this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2025
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Samsung brings ads to US fridges (i.redd.it)
submitted 2 days ago by Pro@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world
309 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/37646129

Source: Reddit post— Private front-end.

Samsung Statement to Android Authority:

Samsung is committed to innovation and enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen that value, we are conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. market.

As a part of this pilot program, Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S. will receive an over-the-network (OTN) software update with Terms of Service (T&C) and Privacy Notice (PN). Advertising will appear on certain Family Hub refrigerator Cover Screens. The Cover Screen appears when a Family Hub screen is idle. Ad design format may change depending on Family Hub personalization options for the Cover Screen, and advertising will not appear when Cover Screen displays Art Mode or picture albums.

Advertisements can be dismissed on the Cover Screens where ads are shown, meaning that specific ads will not appear again during the campaign period.

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[–] mechoman444@lemmy.world 36 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

The easiest thing in the world is not to connect your fridge to the internet.

Also don't buy Samsung refrigerators they are truly truly horrific.

I'm an appliance repairman.

[–] Kurroth@aussie.zone 5 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

What is their issue? Their warranty often out competes other manufacturers here.

[–] mechoman444@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Two primary issues with Samsung refrigerators:

  1. On the French door models, the drainage system for the ice maker is poorly designed. Instead of water draining down into the pan underneath the refrigerator to evaporate, it backs up into the ice maker compartment. This causes a heavy buildup of ice. Eventually, the ice can get so bad inside the compartment that it prevents the refrigerator section from cooling properly.

  2. On almost all Samsung refrigerators, the drain holes for the freezer evaporator coil are too narrow. This leads to water and ice backing up into the freezer, creating widespread issues across the unit.

As a result, these refrigerators break down frequently. More than 50% of our work orders are Samsung ice maker problems. The root cause of these service calls is simply poor engineering and design deficiencies by the manufacturer.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 5 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

They're low-quality. My family just got rid of one partly because the condenser line kept freezing over and spilling water everywhere but mainly because the electronic touchscreen controls also froze and never worked again so the temp could never be adjusted even after a thaw and reboot. Their microwaves also suck.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 12 hours ago

Seems like a gimmick fridge

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 8 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

The refrigerator I have is a cheap one purchased by a landlord. The house was then sold about 20 years ago and it entered private ownership, that owner sold the house again, the next owner died of old age, the next owner entered a care home, the next owner got married and moved out and then I bought the house. Through it all the refrigerator has endured.

I have no idea what make it is because the label has worn off, to my knowledge no one has ever done anything to it because when I was redoing the floor I found a snickers wrapper underneath it, dated 2005

I swear everything is crap now and made to last all of 5 years and 1 day so that it breaks down just outside of the warranty window.

[–] phx@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago

In that case the easiest thing is not to buy a Samsung or any other "smart" fridge

[–] SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Don't ever buy any fridge with internet connectivity. This also extends other home appliances. Just buy those classic white boxes or, if you fancy yourself the Gordon Ramsey type and have money/credit score to buy one, get a Viking fridge.

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Love my dumb fridge. No screens, no water dispenser. I own a pitcher and a facuet. Don't need to change filters every six months or check the weather on my fridge. I never want a screen on my fridge.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 18 hours ago

My fridge is in a little room off the kitchen, so there'd be literally no point there being a screen on it anyway, has the only time I ever go in there is to get something out of the fridge.

[–] 2910000@lemmy.world 8 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I'd love a fridge with network connectivity and 'smart' features, but I'd need control over the firmware it runs

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 8 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

why. It's a fridge.

[–] 2910000@lemmy.world 7 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

As someone who's into home automation:

  1. Some of the features are cool, like seeing what's in your fridge remotely. That'd be nice to have while I'm out shopping
  2. I currently have an old NUC hooked up to a little interface and some speakers in my kitchen. It's a bit janky, and it would be nice to run that through some hardware that's actually intended for kitchen use

Admittedly I'm not sure I could justify the price for "would be nice" features like that

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Ok I've been wondering this about the "see the contents of your fridge" thing.

Where does the camera go? What part of the fridge is firing of away from the food storing part that you could get a good angle with a camera. The only place you could put it is on the door, but then it's just right up against the milk and you wouldn't be able to see anything.

[–] 2910000@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

I imagined something like this (youtube video L7iROzIKm1M ) but idk if it's still a thing

It's moot for me anyway because there's no chance of appliance makers opening up their hardware

EDIT: can't post a link to YT for some reason

[–] queueBenSis@sh.itjust.works 2 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

inventory management is helpful

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

I live in England and own a small (by US standards) fridge. That last head of cabbage has nowhere to hide. You can see everything in a glimpse.

Which ties in to two broader considerations: we don't overheat our homes, so you can leave things like butter on the kitchen counter that would be refrigerated in most of the US, and we live in a small, compact city, so anything we need is no more than a 10-minute walk away. So there's no reason to stock up a huge fridge (though we do have a separate freezer).

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Can't you just look. That's how I do it, I look at it. I open the door and I look at what I've got in the fridge, and that's how I know what I've got in the fridge.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 2 points 21 hours ago

ah. We ended up using Paprika for His Lordship's ADHD. Bonus is he could noodle through it on the train home and snag anything he wanted at the supermarket on the way past.

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Given how many times Samsung’s been caught spying on customer mics, and throwing ads into everything with an internet connection, I don’t understand why anyone is still putting wifi credentials into a Samsung device.

[–] TomAwsm@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't understand why people even buy their products. Shouldn't trust them farther than you can throw your fridge.

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Agreed. They’re not even good products without the spying. Bad on top of bad.

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 32 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

If you have gone out of your way and intentionally purchased a fridge with an internet connection and a screen frankly you deserve this. What did you expect? Screens have advertisements on them, why else would they put a screen on there.

[–] BanMe@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)

There was a time when WiFi was actually useful in smart appliances, I have an LG washer/dryer about 7-8 years old, no touchscreens, but by WiFi you can get cycle done alerts, time checks, even remote start it. My matching fridge gives me energy conservation information, and allows me to choose a lower duty winter cycle

I like these features. IDK why the fuck I would want a fridge with a touchscreen. All the smart appliances I've seen in the last 5 years are just there to serve you ads and steal your data.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 hours ago

Yeah, if I wanted to monitor and control my appliance online (which I don't), just give me wifi connectivity and a REST API.

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[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago

Guess I'll be keeping my frigidaire a few more years then

[–] RalphWolf@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 day ago

The other crime here is Bixby.

[–] NoodlePoint@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I'd still take a dumb fridge and magnets at any time of the day.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago

Magnets is science...too liberal.

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[–] lmuel@sopuli.xyz 32 points 1 day ago

I hate the enshittification going on everywhere but I'd say the whole smart fridge thing was pretty shitty to begin with...

[–] Octavio@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I need my fridge to maintain a cold temperature on the inside. That’s it. That’s 100% of what I need from a fridge. The last one I bought was $300 and there’s no place to put an ad. I have no idea why y’all were hooking your appliances up to the internet in the first place, but I’m sorry you’re having a bad time.

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[–] Rooty@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Meanwhile my fridge made in communist Yugoslavia is still going strong.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 23 points 1 day ago (4 children)

if people are buying 1800$ fridges, its on them if they get ads from samsung.

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[–] jmsy@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

is this punishment for expelling hyundai workers?

[–] modus@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

They should just push a ton of anti-Trump graphics.

[–] handsoffmydata@lemmy.zip 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Next model will come with a latch that won’t unlock the fridge door until you’ve watched a 30 second ad or are subscribed to SnackPass+ for 29.99$ a month.

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[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago (3 children)

👏 You 👏 Don't 👏 Need 👏 A 👏 TV 👏 On 👏 Your 👏 Fridge 👏

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[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 187 points 2 days ago (33 children)

Tfw u set up Pihole so ur fridge stops spamming you with ads.

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[–] Wispy2891@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

Enhance the product by making it shittier

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