Samsung is starting a pilot that will see curated advertisements displayed on the cover screens of its Family Hub refrigerators in the US. The rollout, aimed at 21.5- and 32-inch models, is a rather simple one, with the ads being enabled by default, but there’s an easy way that you can turn these off before they start showing up in the first place.
What’s Changing on Family Hub with the New Update
The new software update includes a new cover screen widget that is meant to show weather, news, and calendar info when the fridge is not in use. There’s also a redesigned Daily Board that contains six tiles, and an improved Bixby with Voice ID to identify who is talking to the fridge so it can respond accordingly.
It will use that new widget and the Daily Board tiles to run promotions and curated advertisements, Samsung said. The ads will be displayed only when the screen is turned off and are not included in either the Art or Album Cover themes. Samsung says the first campaigns will run with products and services from Samsung itself, but it is leaving open the door to third-party placements after assessing feedback from this early test.
How to Stop the Ads on Family Hub Before They Begin
If you want absolutely no ads, consider enabling one of the options below. On your Family Hub refrigerator, go to Settings and choose the Advertisements tab. Turn off the ads there, and the widget will be gone, meaning you won’t see all of its weather, headlines, and calendar snippets on your cover screen.
Like the mini widget’s info? You have two alternatives:
- First and easiest: dismiss any ad as soon as you see it; a dismissed ad won’t show again during that campaign period, Samsung says.
- Second: change your cover screen theme to Art or Album (both display no ads).
Both solutions maintain a “clean” look without having to completely strip out other parts.
Practical note: If you depend on glanceable weather and schedule information, the dismiss option or an ad-free theme offers the best trade-off. The complete toggle eliminates the whole widget experience.
Which Family Hub Fridges Are Affected by the Pilot
The update is now heading to Family Hub models with 21.5-inch and 32-inch displays. The software was first spotted by owners, who said they saw the ads scheduled to appear in the near future. (Update: Samsung’s US home appliance leadership tells several outlets that smaller 9-inch screens and below are not included in the pilot.)
Samsung also does not have plans to expand it to other similarly 9- or 7-inch AI Home-enabled appliances, such as select ovens, washers, and dryers, the company added. That line is important for households that have committed to a larger SmartThings ecosystem and are on the lookout for advertising creep all over their home.
Why Samsung Is Testing Ads on Its Appliances
Advertisement: Smart TVs set the precedent for home-screen ads years ago, and manufacturers have more commonly begun to view connected interfaces as real estate for promotions. Now Samsung is testing whether that playbook applies to a kitchen screen people look at dozens of times a day. The company classifies this as curated content that underwrites ongoing software development, beginning with its own product promos and reading sentiment before any wider expansion.
An appliance has higher stakes than a TV. The refrigerator is a vital utility; you don’t want something obtrusive and interruptive on a status screen. Consumer advocates have raised similar worries about ads on connected TVs, and a refrigerator is even more embedded in daily life. It’s probably for that reason Samsung included an off switch and made some themes exempt from day-one ads.
Bottom Line and Best Practices for Managing Fridge Ads
If you have a Family Hub with that larger display, the new widget and ad framework will likely come to those first before any form of ad campaign follows.
You can circumvent them altogether by turning off ads in Settings under Advertisements, or diminish their interruptiveness with Art or Album themes, as well as dismissing individual placements.
At the moment, ads are limited to idle screens and do not appear in certain themes in addition to being focused on Samsung’s own promotions. That might change based upon pilot feedback, so it’s probably a good idea to pop into your Settings once the update is in the air just to make sure your fridge is looking and acting how you’d like.
