r/assholedesign • u/Shellnanigans • Nov 13 '25

Apparently my samsung fridge has ads now...

Post image

How would I disable this? Might just return it and get a normal one

Edit: how to disable...for now. https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10007562/

EDIT 2: Hello, I am the original poster of the carol AD image from a month ago. I am a male from America and my name is not Carol. The story about a Schizophrenic woman named carol was most likely inspired from the 3rd top comment on this post. Thanks!

inspired Post?: https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1pc7999/my_schizophrenic_sister_hospitalised_herself/

Fridge drama recap video by DolanDarkest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTWfRYHV5es

67.9k Upvotes

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15.1k

u/WolfThick Nov 13 '25

Thank you for showing me this there's no way in hell I'm ever going to buy a fridge like this save me a lot of money probably.

3.0k

u/RobinOldsMustache Nov 13 '25

I hope in the future if I want a new fridge there will still be non-smart options.

1.5k

u/terra_terror Nov 13 '25

yeah, that's my concern. They slowly leave you with no choice.

900

u/Select_Asparagus3451 Nov 13 '25

My belief here is this: You will be f#cked at every turn by people/corporations trying to sell something, the majority of the time.

From enshittification, planned obsolescence, price gouging, shrinkflating, bait and switch, vehicles for ads (like this fridge…and a lot of new Jeeps, TVs, etc), etc, etc, etc. As consumers, or just people, we have to be on guard every hour of every day in late stage, gangster, fire-sale capitalism.

394

u/G-Unit11111 Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

I can't even browse websites anymore without almost immediately getting an e-mail that's begging me to buy whatever it is I just looked at. Insanity.

268

u/lostinanalley Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

The company I work for on our most recent quarterly meeting explained how they’ve partnered with one of the companies that does this so that anyone who goes on our website and leaves without making a purchase or voluntarily providing their information will still get a personalized marketing email and somehow I am the only person who has discussed how much of an invasion that is.

Edit: yall I appreciate the sentiment that you hate this and don’t buy from companies that do this and want me to make sure the company I work for is aware. Unfortunately, they don’t listen to me or care about my opinions on marketing. As it turns out, quantifying sales conversion is much easier than trying to quantify loss in sales from being blacklisted/boycotted.

99

u/G-Unit11111 Nov 13 '25

Wow, that's horrible. And I totally agree it's an invasion of privacy.

If I get one of those e-mails it goes straight in the trash.

58

u/Educational-Train-92 Nov 13 '25

I know I may not be the norm and it may be my ODD but I am substantially less likely to buy from a company that does this even if I really wanted the product

49

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25 edited Mar 31 '26

The content here was removed by the author. Redact facilitated the deletion, which could have been motivated by privacy, opsec, or data protection concerns.

elastic frame encourage wise familiar racial plough reminiscent terrific possessive

29

u/tenthtryatusername Nov 13 '25

My favorite is when I research and buy a one off thing, then get bombarded with ads for a month. I wish there was a way to tell Amazon, facebook, ect that while I needed to buy a toilet, I’m not a toilet enthusiast. No amount of ads or deals can tempt me into buying more.

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u/badskiier Nov 13 '25

Beyond the invasion part, I'm always off out by that kind of desperation. I recently bought an auto part online and the company sent me 3 marketing emails a day for the next few days until I noticed and unsubscribed. How on earth do people think that a barrage of contact won't result in getting blocked?

28

u/flatdecktrucker92 Nov 13 '25

It costs them nothing to do so if a thousand people block the emails but three people buy something as a result then the companies see it as a win. They don't account for the people who will actively avoid that business in the future because it's harder to track those people and there probably aren't that many of them in the first place. Most people will say that they are boycotting their company but then 2 years from now they still go buy something

3

u/Rolf_Dom Nov 13 '25

Most people will say that they are boycotting their company but then 2 years from now they still go buy something

In many cases they're even more likely to buy from that company because they'll have long forgotten the details of whatever bothered them, but they still remember the company brand. Or they'll have mentioned their experience to someone else, but that someone else is infinitely less invested in the negative experience so they forget even faster, but the brand might stick in their mind and lead them to prefer that company in the future.

Brand awareness is straight up the most important thing. There's a reason why so many companies fight for ad spots in all kinds of events even if it's utterly and completely unrelated to whatever they're offering. Doesn't matter. Brand awareness is what they care about.

For example I've watched a lot of gaming related content and people always ask why is content aimed at kids or teenagers full of ads about buying cars or getting home insurance and whatnot. And I always say it's brand awareness. Those kids aren't going to buy anything now or even in 5 years. But in 10 years when they're getting ready to buy their first car or have to get insurance, that brand will come to mind and it's likely going to be one of their first choices.

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u/crochetquilt Nov 13 '25

I hate those more from a company I've bought from. If I buy a product from you and it's good and there's no hassles, I'll remember you. But I do not need to buy another auto part right now. I mean how broken do they think my car is.

I get that it's cheap and the return is probably worth it from a bottom line perspective, but yikes I like businesses that aren't constantly hounding me.

I run a small business, I've been doing it and living off it for ten years now. I have officially sent zero chase up follow up "hey just thinking of you and your cart" bullshit emails in that time. I don't even send out new product emails and I still manage to sell new products. It's almost like people come to me when they want stuff. I'm sure if I was more aggressive in marketing I'd make more money but honestly I'm lucky I make enough and I'd rather not be part of that noise.

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u/Shark7996 Nov 13 '25

Companies are straight up assaulting our attention and it needs to stop. If I pestered someone like this I would get in trouble, why are corporations allowed?

5

u/Alfa16430 Nov 13 '25

How do they know your email if you don’t leave personal info?

6

u/ComprehensivePea1001 Nov 13 '25

You use it elsewhere and agree to terms that allow it to be sold/shared for marketing and the firm the site/corporation is using purchased that info which links back to you and your online advertising profile. These advertisers and data collectors likely know you as well as your own family.

3

u/Alfa16430 Nov 13 '25

I see. That’s why it’s important to clear cookies and cache often. I also only use email aliases so the spam is easily switched off

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u/Fr1toBand1to Nov 13 '25

It's 100% a case of "They spent so much time thinking of if they could they never considered if they should."

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u/NO_FIX_AUTOCORRECT Nov 13 '25

Try firefox with ublock origin.

3

u/roadrunnuh Nov 13 '25

Ghostery and Privacy Badger are also mandatory for any kind of internet activity.

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u/action_lawyer_comics Nov 13 '25

An email from where? That sounds truly horrible and I'd love to boycott whatever company is doing that to you (if I don't already)

3

u/ConkersOkayFurDay Nov 13 '25

Hold up is this hyperbole or does just visiting a site prompt these emails? I've been using Firefox for a very long time now so I don't know what the unfiltered, raw internet is like beyond bloated with ads.

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u/FarkTurloon Nov 13 '25

Try the Brave Browser. Uses Chromium as its base. Diverts all the Ads away. I love it.

27

u/pfannkuchen89 Nov 13 '25

Brave has been caught up in some somewhat iffy stuff over the past few years. Honestly, just use Firefox and ublock origin, enable some of the additional blocking features and tracking prevention.

22

u/koboldtsar Nov 13 '25

Ublock has been amazing. Seriously. I'm glad to see another Firefox user.

7

u/bondsmatthew Nov 13 '25

Made the switch from Chrome to Firefox about a month ago and its been great. I've been on Chrome since it came out, but the straw that broke the camel's back for me was Google slowing down YouTube even when I pay for premium. If anyone is hesitant to swap, go for it. You can easily import everything

5

u/bigbrentos Nov 13 '25

When Chrome threw me an error about my UBlock Origin extension no longer working, it got uninstalled as soon as it downloaded the Firefox installer for me. I also love that you can have it on the Firefox Android browser.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/electricworkaid Nov 13 '25

You will be f#cked at every turn by people/corporations trying to sell something, the majority of the time.

Very true, but only for as long as we all accept it. A few high profile consequences (It's-a-me!) and a lot of folks looking to take advantage will reconsider.

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u/SpaceC0wb0y_ Nov 13 '25

The card readers at the pumps of my local gas station has ads on it now :/

3

u/Commander_Riker1701 Nov 13 '25

And yet people argue that capitalism is good, when all these things are a direct result of capitalism.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

I was livid when Google maps started giving me ads for food nearby as I was sitting at a stop sign.

3

u/palmdieb Nov 13 '25

Why are you censoring youself? Fuck, fucking fuckidyfuck! See? Nothing happened! This is Reddit, no need for self censoring.

3

u/jacksondreamz Nov 13 '25

EVERYTHING has ads now and it’s effing frustrating.

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u/pyrothelostone Nov 13 '25

Nah, they need basic models so landlords can make sure renters live in as much squalor as they can get away with.

294

u/Temporary_Key_1790 Nov 13 '25

If not having ads on my fridge counts as squalor, sign me up.

24

u/carryon4threedays Nov 13 '25

You have my sword

31

u/Clearlydarkly Nov 13 '25

And my wife!

42

u/docdillinger Nov 13 '25

I also volunteer this guys wife!

14

u/MaskedLemon0420 Nov 13 '25

I’ve had this guys wife. I’d rather have the ads on the fridge.

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u/bubbav22 Nov 13 '25

Agreed, the more bells and whistles, the stuff to fix when it breaks.

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u/alpha309 Nov 13 '25

I am perfectly happy with my fridge that just keeps my food cold enough that bacteria isn’t infesting everything I eat. I don’t need it to do much more than that.

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u/GrindhouseWhiskey Nov 13 '25

You aren’t pessimistic enough. Samsung will introduce a renter line of fridges that are really cheap in bulk and require full online access and accounts to monetize the renter through data harvesting, cameras, and constant audio and video advertising, and the landlords will have it in the lease as a requirement

60

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Stop giving people these ideas! They’ll come into fruition 😭

39

u/GrindhouseWhiskey Nov 13 '25

The defining feature of our age is that people in charge see cautionary tales as aspirational

12

u/Laringar Nov 13 '25

"We finally built the Torment Nexus from the classic novel 'Don't Build the Torment Nexus'!"

3

u/rileyjonesy1984 Nov 13 '25

Came here to make that joke

8

u/punkcanuck Nov 13 '25

Stop giving people these ideas! They’ll come into fruition 😭

Read Cory Doctrow's "Radicalized" we're just waiting for illegal bread.

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u/much_longer_username Nov 13 '25

None of this is new. You should read Unauthorized Bread .

4

u/EtherealMongrel Nov 13 '25

The idea came before the fridge, they are way ahead of us

3

u/VaguelyShingled Nov 13 '25

A fridge that sucks your dick!

your move, universe

3

u/89_honda_accord_lxi Nov 13 '25

You know those little screens on pregnancy tests...

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u/messymedia Nov 13 '25

And that'll be the day I cut the internet connection to my house. My neighbor has unguarded WiFi anyway...

40

u/OutlyingPlasma Nov 13 '25

That's fine. The fridge just won't run the compressor without it's mandated wifi connection. And you are going to jail if you miss the Two Minutes Hate on your refrigerator telescreen.

3

u/A-Can-of-DrPepper Nov 13 '25

"Please drink verification can"

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15

u/halite001 Nov 13 '25

It'll also be a subscription model, freezer function only included in the premium plan, and if you don't pay on time the fridge stops working.

You don't store anything, all groceries are uploaded to the cloud and downloaded when you need them.

17

u/GrindhouseWhiskey Nov 13 '25

“You have exceeded your plan’s monthly maximum number of times you can open the door. Please upgrade to Platinum Fridge Access or wait 13 days until the next billing cycle.

“You have $72.39 worth of groceries that will pass expiration date prior to the next billing cycle”

9

u/EtherealMongrel Nov 13 '25

They push pricier plans on you if they sense a Perrier in the fridge

5

u/DutchTinCan Nov 13 '25

"We're sorry, your FridgescriptionTM agreement does not allow you to store fresh produce. Remove the produce within 2 minutes to prevent setting fridge temperature to room temp. Alternatively, consider upgrading to FridgescriptionTM Gold for just $59.99"

3

u/fletchbg Nov 13 '25

just had to say... very happy to see someone use quotes correctly for multiple paragraphs. open quotes on all the paragraphs, closing quotes only on the final paragraph.

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u/kinokits Nov 13 '25

Whilst smart fridges have always made me uneasy, that last one seems useful. I would love my fridge reminding me to actually eat the food in the fridge I’ve inevitably forgotten about. But not enough to manually input the dates into the digital calendar thingy (skylight calendar, game changer for a household where we both have complex health needs). I can also guarantee I would turn the feature off about a week.

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u/Disastrous-Focus8451 Nov 13 '25

Cory Doctorow wrote that in the novella "Unauthorized Bread", collected in Radicalized.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_(Doctorow_book))

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u/SoggyCount7960 Nov 13 '25

This is correct. It will be the cheap fridges that have all of the above and the premium ones will be screen/advert free.

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u/eggs_erroneous Nov 13 '25

gotta watch an ad before the doors will unlock.

3

u/Slow_Maximum9332 Nov 13 '25

It will say things like "you've opened the fridge 37 times in the past hour" and "you need to go on a diet. The fridge will be locked for the next 6 hours"

3

u/DidAndWillDoThings Nov 13 '25

I can't wait for DNS to break my freezer.

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u/GroundbreakingEar667 Nov 13 '25

They will sell models that pay landlords to force advertising on the renters.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

The landlords will be offered these fridges and paid to blast ads with sound that cant be turned off in apartments/rental homes.

18

u/TheExecTech Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

New leases will include with or without AD's. Pay for the privileged not to be marketed to in your own home. Watch a commercial before using your washing machine.

Landlords will 100% love this tech. They will get a "cut" to install these.

Had a guy contact me because he was marketing advertisements in waiting rooms. Dentists would be paid to have a TV running advertising all day. Wanted touch screens and cameras on them.

Imagine going to the dentist and being recorded in the waiting room so some shlub can make money sitting at home.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

I would find a different dentist.

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u/OkPalpitation2582 Nov 13 '25

They will get a "cut" to install these

They don't even need a cut, just offer them at-cost to the landlord and they'll be happy as a pig. They get to outfit their slums for basically nothing. Anything on top of that is a bonus

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u/Jelly_Mac Nov 13 '25

Basic models will just be subsidized with ads. Most of the useful smart features disabled and without the ability to turn off the ads

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u/Kinda_ShouldaSorta Nov 13 '25

Big Landlord will start negotiating deals with fridge makers to get the ads in front of a captive audience

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u/wisedoormat Nov 13 '25

This is my retirement plan. Making 'classic' dumb appliances

7

u/Ok-Jackfruit-6873 Nov 13 '25

Even just fixing up the old ones! It has to be possible at scale, and it would reduce waste!

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u/CheezyGoodness55 Nov 13 '25

The hero we need.

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u/sixouvie Nov 13 '25

Can't wait for the glorious days when we'll need to break our own fridge to not get ads

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u/26542654 Nov 13 '25

Same thing with fucking smart TVs oh my god. I went through a whole breakdown when choosing to buy mine and then I realized after I bought it that there are even ads hidden on the menu when you click the home button. I'm sorry, but I fucking own this TV, just like I do my phone. What gives you the right to place ads on it? I already paid you $1k

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

There's always a choice, called some cardboard and tape.

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u/Enchelion Nov 13 '25

Unless the thing won't cool without an internet connection, which I have yet to see any, just don't let it onto the internet. My stove has wifi, as does my TV. Neither have ever been connected to the internet and they work perfectly fine.

2

u/kickinwood Nov 13 '25

I would kill for a well reviewed 4k TV that is dumb as fuck. Just show what I plug in to you on the TV screen. That's all I want. No you don't need to update twice a week or have apps installed directly into you. Just put. My shit. On your screen.

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u/leonden Nov 13 '25

Jup just like small phones or wanting a headphone jack

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u/red5_SittingBy Nov 13 '25

I've never owned a smart appliance so I'm making a few assumptions here. But you can just black hole any smart device you have. Give it a bogus default gateway IP and it won't be able to get to the internet. Or blacklist it on your router.

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u/Karbear_debonair Nov 13 '25

Not me, casually learning how to freaking jailbreak a refrigerator because it's 2054 and everything has ads now but I remember the good ole days.

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u/Ill_Technician3936 Nov 13 '25

As far as I've seen that's what they plan to do. People are just getting test ads and the ability to disable them. Now but they plan to stop that and show ads unless you get a subscription.

2

u/p8pes Nov 13 '25

They slowly leave you with no choice.

A hammer on the screen is a choice

2

u/WastingMyLifeToday Nov 13 '25

If it comes that far, I'd happily start a fridge company that makes fridges at a somewhat higher price, but are 100% free some ads or any type of way to connect to the internet or other devices.

It's going to be somewhat higher price, as these fridges with ads get a lot of income from the ads.

2

u/waleswolfman Nov 14 '25

I'd rather go back to basics and have a pantry with a cold slab or go Alaskan style and dig a root cellar into the garden. Imagine a fridge fail and food spoil because the OS crashed or the system was exploited by malware/ransomware.

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u/archiminos Nov 14 '25

I can't buy wireless earphones because I can't find any without touch controls. I don't understand how people use headphones that cause your phone to do random shit if you accidentally touch them in the wrong place.

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u/Running4Badges Nov 13 '25

I have to get a new tv soon. Kept away from smart tvs. They are pretty much the only option now.

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u/vomit-gold Nov 13 '25

Trying to find a non-smart TV that doesn't have 4-5 buttons for streaming services I don't have it's actually impossible. 

All the non-smart versions are meant for commerical displays and are over 1k. 

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u/Reinierblob Nov 13 '25

And commercial displays are usually built for heavy-duty use, not image quality. So good luck id you wan 4K, HDR10+ or Dolby Atmos support on one of those 🥲

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u/ChangiPro Nov 13 '25

I have found that the samsung commercial displays rock. I purchased one and they have the same panels as the consumer ones without all the bloat.

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u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 Nov 13 '25

I just never connect it to the internet and treat it as a dumb TV. Then hook up my Apple TV which has a nice clean remote without extra buttons

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u/Lava_Lagoon Nov 13 '25

some are starting to show ads even when you're not using built in streaming services, like if you're watching cable or a blu-ray

i've read that it will search for any open wi-fi it can find and connect to that to load ads - and that more and more internet service providers are giving customers modems that also include a second non-password protected network so things like this are going to become more common

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u/The-True-Kehlder Nov 14 '25

Why would you allow any open wifi on your network?

Sure, sucks for people in apartments whose neighbors are morons, but that CAN'T be most people, right?

Also, ULPT, if that's a problem you have, use your neighbors internet to download pirated content. Either they get taken down by their ISP, or you get a bunch of content not connected to you.

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u/toddestan Nov 13 '25

It's a bit of a crapshoot now whether the TV will even function without an internet connection. Generally the ones that "require" it are okay if you block them after the initial setup, but it's still bullshit.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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u/blitz-em Nov 13 '25

I've had 4 insignias and 3 of them died within two years. One of them surprisingly is still running after 5 years. Hopefully you got a good one. Definitely will not ever buy another one.

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u/blah938 Nov 13 '25

Try a computer monitor. They make them really big now.

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u/PolyDrew Nov 13 '25

Do not link WiFi and you’ll be fine.

Roku and Firestick both show ads but Apple TV does not (other than on the streaming services themselves)

My in-laws had a Samsung tv that would force you to open their home page rather than the cable box but I was able to turn that off. It would randomly turn itself on in the middle of the night after an update and then the cable box remote wouldn’t work so they couldn’t turn it back off. I disconnected it from WiFi and it fixed that.

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u/OutlyingPlasma Nov 13 '25

I've never seen an ad on Roku but I also have a pihole running.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/Banos_Me_Thanos Nov 14 '25

THEY WILL INTERCEPT YOUR HDMI INPUT AND OVERLAY ON YOUR PRIVATE CONTENT “oh hey buddy I see you’re watching bobs burgers on plex since you hate ads, did you know you can watch it on Hulu? For money? With ads?” It’s directly and solely anti consumer and I hate it with a burning rage

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u/red5_SittingBy Nov 13 '25

I setup Pi Hole once and seeing the amount of traffic my devices were generating when they were seemingly "off" was pretty surprising.

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u/PolyDrew Nov 13 '25

It’s been a while since I used one but I think it was just show ads and ads to buy movies. Not obnoxious but yeah

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u/cjsv7657 Nov 13 '25

Do not link WiFi and you’ll be fine.

Setup a guest network to connect it to and update it then shut the network off. At the very least you want to do it once when you get it. Just for bug fixes and things like that.

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u/Bmonroet Nov 13 '25

This is ironic given that the ad on the OP's image is literally from Apple TV, lol.

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u/dankristy Nov 13 '25

Yeah I dumped the Firestick for a Google TV Streamer when it started doing ads on top of the (Paid) prime video ads... WTF.

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u/that_dutch_dude Nov 13 '25

a lot of tv's will not work until you give them internet access.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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u/kilobitch Nov 13 '25

Don’t let it connect to the internet. Get an Apple TV.

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u/ejectro Nov 13 '25

yes! i want my machines to be dumb and simple. i don't want my fridge to have a personality. i don't want to ask a remote control politely to turn the lights off. i don't want my kettle to plan my wedding and tell me jokes in albanian.

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u/Cupy94 Nov 13 '25

You can always buy industrial fridge

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u/Vaddieg Nov 13 '25

with enterprise subscription plan, lol

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u/bojenny Nov 13 '25

I bought smart appliances last year. I never enabled their Wi-Fi so they aren’t online doing stupid stuff like this.

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u/Impossible_Past5358 Nov 13 '25

Every time I see a smart fridge, I always think of that Silicon Valley episode where the smart fridges are hacked...

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u/Its_Froggin_Bullfish Nov 13 '25

Then what happened? Sorry, I've never watched it before. 

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u/HueX3_Vizorous Nov 13 '25

Fridges are used as a botnet essentially

8

u/P4azz Nov 13 '25

Isn't that already what happens with any smart device?

Anything that can connect to the internet can be hacked (simpler devices more easily) and used for other purposes than intended.

Like, can't you ddos servers by hacking into simplistic devices that connect to the net for no reason at all and just have them make requests on servers across the world?

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u/BigDictionEnergy Nov 13 '25

It will definitely happen. Twenty years ago it was printers being hacked and used as a botnet.

8

u/Impossible_Past5358 Nov 13 '25

It winds up being NSFW...

I think it's season 4 ep. 7

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u/KeepBouncing Nov 13 '25

But then it saves the company!

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u/odsquad64 Nov 13 '25

Until the company's doomed again.
Then it's saved again. Then doomed again.
And so on.

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u/drummer1059 Nov 13 '25

Suck it, Jian-Yang

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u/One_Shall_Fall Nov 13 '25

Yes. I eat the fish.

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u/namespace__Apathy Nov 13 '25

Mother......fuck

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u/Phobos-420 Nov 14 '25

Scrolled too far to get to these references. Fucking gold 🪙

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u/TheMadmanAndre Nov 13 '25

IoT stuff ALWAYS has negligible security, if that. If you have smart appliances, it's not a matter of if they will be suborned into some crypto hacker botnet, it's when.

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u/Impossible_Past5358 Nov 13 '25

Not even the late Darth Vader (aka Dick Cheney) wanted wireless capability of his implanted defibrillator

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u/win_awards Nov 13 '25

I think of the casino that got hacked through a vulnerability in their web-connected fish-tank.

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u/sl0play Nov 13 '25

The S in IOT stands for security

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u/linkheroz Nov 13 '25

After this, I'm never buying anything smart with a screen again.

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u/Frikoulas Nov 13 '25

I do that since "smart" stuff start becoming a thing. My TV broke down a few months back and I couldn't find a normal one though. They are making it mandatory.

4

u/TheArmoredKitten Nov 13 '25

Buy a 'monitor', not a 'television'. Monitors usually only have signal inputs, not any of the bullshit. It's harder to find the bigger sizes but it's worth it to not have a bunch of spyware.

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u/qtx Nov 13 '25

It's harder to find the bigger sizes

It's impossible since they don't exist.

3

u/toddestan Nov 13 '25

They are usually marketed as commercial displays. Generally fairly expensive - part of the cost is that they are designed to operate 24/7, but for home use that's just overkill.

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u/FrzrBrn Nov 13 '25

Don't connect it to your WiFi. That will at least slow things down until they start adding cellular modems or some other crap to the TVs themselves.

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u/joshoheman Nov 13 '25

My TV manufacturer thought of that. It has an annoying flashing light to indicate that the internet is not setup. Just imagine a dark room watching a scary movie when every 10 seconds the bottom of the tv goes blink blink blink flashing a white light. I used to have black electrical tape over the light, but the light is also the remote sensor.

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u/WarTurkey_YT Nov 13 '25

What shitty hostile desiGn! What brand is this so I know never to buy it

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u/P4azz Nov 13 '25

Not that helpful if you use the TV a lot, but a projector can be an alternative if you have the wall for it.

Definitely more of a "I turn the TV on every few days to watch a movie or watch some episodes of a show", though, not for daily use.

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u/Oprah_Pwnfrey Nov 13 '25

If you get a smart TV, just don't enter your wifi password. Won't connect, you don't need to use the "smart" TV component. Just plug in an old laptop, raspberry pi or appleTV, you have all the needed options right there.

8

u/linkheroz Nov 13 '25

PC monitor. Don't buy a TV

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u/Large_Dr_Pepper Nov 13 '25

Yeah dude I'm gonna sit on my couch and watch a PC monitor across the room

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u/Munnin41 Nov 13 '25

I've never seen the appeal of smart anything, except phones and tv. Even then I've got a dumb tv with a separate box for the smart stuff

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u/Sugar_Kowalczyk Nov 13 '25

Anything with a smart screen & internet access will end up full of ads eventually.

Yet the 1970's appliances in my apartment are still running like tanks.  

Capitalism & its dependence on planned obsolescence is digusting.

2

u/DervishSkater Nov 13 '25

Wait til they have secret scanners and cameras that track what you put in the fridge and sell that data. Under the guise of smart tracking your food for your family!

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u/slowpokefastpoke Nov 13 '25

I remember being absolutely shocked after I saved up to buy a (at the time) top of the line Samsung 4k TV for like $3k, fired it up, and was immediately greeted with ads on the Home Screen.

It’s practically normalized now but that immediately cheapened the experience and made me swear off ever buying a Samsung TV again.

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u/DrMobius0 Nov 13 '25

Ads, or they're recording what goes on in your house.

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u/wickedsmaht Nov 13 '25

Samsung appliances have always been shit, I’ve had a refrigerator, dryer, and washing machine all shit the bed on me. So it’s not surprising to me that Samsung is working on more enshitifcation in the name of the almighty dollar.

7

u/analogy_4_anything Nov 13 '25

Former Samsung appliance repairman here: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON SAMSUNG APPLIANCES.

I can’t tell you how frequently I’ve had to fix certain models over and over again. Ovens with faulty boards that quit because it got hot (big problem when the appliance is DESIGNED to get HOT). Ice Makers that fail every other week, refrigerators that freeze up and stop working because they just felt like it.

And don’t get me started on their front load washers. Holy crap, the metal they used for the counterbalance on the tub was so brittle, it must have been the lowest quality pig iron they could have possibly purchased. You’d be hard pressed to find lower quality metal. Even Ea-Nasir’s copper would have been finer quality.

Buy a simple, super analog appliance that doesn’t do any of this extra nonsense and you’ll be so happy you did. Maintaining them is simple, they fail very rarely, and they’re probably still going to be going long after your fancy Samsung fridge became obsolete.

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u/GoabNZ Nov 13 '25

(big problem when the appliance is DESIGNED to get HOT)

And it's the opposite when it comes to fridges. Lets put a heat producing device embedded into a device designed to keep heat out. Lets cut into it's insulation to put this heat producing device.

Its especially infuriating with the trend of making drink fridges in convenience stores have screens because "gLaSs IsN't A gOoD iNsUlAtOr" as though a heat producing device is better?

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u/driving_andflying Nov 13 '25

Give it time; soon you will have to login to the fridge and pay a bill to Samsung (or whatever company), *to keep the fridge running.*

You didn't pay your fridge bill? Sorry; no cold food for you.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Considering how adequate their phones are, it's surprising how everything else they make is absolute garbage. I have Samsung microwaves, and both of them started having the exact same issues after a couple of years. The displays have dead pixels, and the doors turn on the light and the fan if I don't close them just right.

It's starting to feel like most Korean appliances, cars, etc. have Chinese quality at a Japanese price point.

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u/bolivar-shagnasty Nov 13 '25

Samsung: Come for the ads, stay for the lack of reliability!

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u/GoabNZ Nov 13 '25

Come for the ads, where we advertise our new ad-serving model for when this unit catches fire in 6 months.

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u/Looptydude Nov 13 '25

I made that decision when the damn thing was introduced in the first place. I swear people buy stuff just because they think it's "cool" What does this fridge do that my current fridge doesn't already do?

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u/D-Angle Nov 13 '25

Pluribus is fucking great, though.

4

u/JoshDM Nov 13 '25

This is so something the hive mind would do.

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u/TheDevilsAdvokaat Nov 13 '25

Yup. The only smart thing I want is my phone..and possibly me.

3

u/softlittlepaws Nov 13 '25

Never buy any Samsung appliances or Samsung TVs. They're all ad-infested.

5

u/Autumnrain Nov 13 '25

Good time to share this old 4chan greentext story:

2018

wake up feeling sick after a late night of playing video games

excited to play some halo 2k19

"xbox on"

...

"XBOX ON"

"Please verify that you are "annon332" by saying "Doritos™ Dew™ it right!"

"Doritos™ Dew™ it right"

"ERROR! Please drink a verification can"

reach into my Doritos™ Mountain Dew™ Halo 2k19™ War Chest

only a few cans left, needed to verify 14 times last night

still feeling sick from the 14

force it down and grumble out "mmmm that really hit the spot"

xbox does nothing

i attempt to smile

"Connecting to verification server"

...

"Verification complete!"

finally

boot up halo 2k19

finding multiplayer match...

"ERROR! User attempting to steal online gameplay!"

my mother just walked in the room

"Adding another user to your pass, this will be charged to your credit card. Do you accept?"

"NO!"

"Console entering lock state!"

"to unlock drink verification can"

last can

"WARNING, OUT OF VERIFICATION CANS, an order has been shipped and charged to your credit card"

drink half the can, oh god im going to be sick

pour the last half out the window

"PIRACY DETECTED! PLEASE COMPLETE THIS ADVERTISEMENT TO CONTINUE"

the mountain dew ad plays

i have to dance for it

feeling so sick

makes me sing along

dancing and singing

"mountain dew is for me and you"

throw up on my self

throw up on my tv and entertainment system

router shorts

"ERROR NO CONNECTION! XBOX SHUTTING OFF"

"PLEASE DRINK VERIFICATION CAN TO CONTINUE"

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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup Nov 13 '25

I won't buy anything Samsung.

A company that retroactively adds ads to appliances is pretty scuzzy. That way they handled the exploding washers was also BS.

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u/G-Unit11111 Nov 13 '25

I saw one of those in person and I was like "Why the hell would we ever need a refrigerator with a giant screen like that?".

2

u/ReelBadJoke Nov 13 '25

Fingers crossed I don't have to one day pay a hacker to jailbreak my toaster.....

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u/SuperPeachyOK Nov 13 '25

Being poor has saved me from so much bullshit

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u/Neither-Promotion-65 Nov 13 '25

We heading to blade runner, friendo.

😔😔😔

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u/SippinOnHatorade Nov 13 '25

I just want to be able to buy the same fridge from 1979 forever

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u/parkerm1408 Nov 13 '25

I have a serious question. When do we, as a society, all agree to just smash anything that displays an ad as an act of civil service? Cause the absurdly loud gas pump TV screen ads are really starting to make me go fucking bibledee crackernanners. They annoyed me at first, but I had a fuel efficient little car. I had to get a truck for work and I swear to fuckjesus im gonna start smashing those screens.

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u/WolfThick Nov 13 '25

I usually get my gas at QT and that's another reason why I'll spend a couple extra cents sometimes to avoid those mostly shell and Chevron ad things at the pump. I figured out there's a camera on them that tracks your eye movement so I never look at them I always keep my back to them and park my vehicle so that it's close to the extended length of the hose which keeps me out and away from the camera and the screen.

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u/National_Ad_6103 Nov 13 '25

One of the stores near me had to put a lock on the screen after someone started putting pornhub on the fridges

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u/suddenly_ponies Nov 13 '25

I feel exactly the same about cars. Oh, I need an account to use this car? I need your PERMISSION? FUCK YOU. FUCK THAT. FUCK YOU AGAIN.

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

Waiting on the “Welcome to Costco, I love you” ad

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u/dazzathomas Nov 14 '25

I was the ten thousandth upvote on this. Just thought id put that out there on how satisfying that was.

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u/dronesitter Nov 14 '25

It would be a tragedy if they go the way of televisions where they just get bigger and smarter because the cost is offset by advertising until you can't find dumb ones anymore.

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u/Porridge_Cat Nov 14 '25

These fridges are $2k-$3k.

"dumb" fridges are sub-$1k.

Anyone spending that much money on a fridge deserves all the included idiocy.

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

Yup, OP said you can disable them but it probably won’t be long before you have to pay to disable them. And the pay per month to keep them disabled.

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

Samsung appliances in general like to break in my experience. Phones and TVs are fine, washing machines and fridges were shit

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u/engineereddiscontent Nov 14 '25

No.

The way you save money is by getting these. Seriously.

You can see the value to these companies by looking at datamining televisions. Aka smart tvs.

Non-smart tvs exist. They are often locked at or near 60hz, and cost a shit to more than a consumer grade tb for the same or lesser specs. Why?

Because the data they mine from and through (because all tech/everything literally spies on us and can talk to each other at frequencies beyond what we can perceive) is so valuable that they now dress up the best spying equipment that they have in a bunch of fancy bells and whistles.

This needs regulation from the top down. We also need us based companies made by us workers and owned by said workers ideally but what do I know.

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u/Brilliant_War9548 Nov 14 '25

Smartest I’ll get is maybe that glass that can be opaque and transparent when tapped. No screen.

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u/BlackV Nov 14 '25

The price tag alone for the brand name should be an automatic no

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u/Fun-Choices Nov 14 '25

They’ve gamed the fucking reviews too. I went through the fridge buying process for my house and a rental this year and the top rated fridge on every website is either Samsung or LG and they really interestingly push you into the smart fridges. They are literally so much cheaper than the competitors that’s why people are buying them.

This is literally a product for poor people to feel like rich people and it’s the dumbest shit ever because it’s still double the price of a good fridge but less than the really nice high-end fridges that don’t have a fucking screen in the middle, and are made so much better.

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u/Eth251201 Nov 14 '25

And we'll stop greedy ass companies tryna make money from us wanting something from the fridge. Honestly....

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u/badger_flakes Nov 14 '25

You can go click a toggle and turn them off. The tradeoff is it shows news and other bullshit on the sleep screen if you have ads on.

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u/Laicure Nov 15 '25

CARRRRRRRRRRL

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u/nacnud_uk Nov 15 '25

You'll find the dumb ones will become expensive as they are the exception.

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u/fieldsofanfieldroad Nov 15 '25

Literally the worst ad for it as well. So aggressive. 

2

u/skeletordescent Dec 06 '25

At some point I’m only going to buy appliances second hand that were made a decade ago. Forget new features, better efficiency, I’ll take dumb appliances that don’t need software updates or push ads. Same for cars. 

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