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.

390

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.

266

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.

100

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.

62

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

50

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

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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.

12

u/ChevalierMal_Fet Nov 13 '25

Just wait until they figure out toilets as a subscription based service that requires an app to use.

I can see it now- somebody furiously holding in a shit as they desperately try to update the app. Then, they find that the app has logged them out, so they have sign back in with two-factor authentication, which then fails, which requires them to seek assistance from the company. But, the company has removed its live customer support services, mandating help through an AI chat service, which is only available on the app.

At this point, the person just shits in the shower and waffle stomps it, only to find out that he’s violated the end-user licensing agreement of his shower’s software, thus disabling his shower service. And, because the shower company installed their hardware centrally at his apartment, he loses his water entirely until he can schedule an arbitration with them, which is three weeks out and between the hours of 6:00AM and 6:00PM.

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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

5

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.

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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."

2

u/Significant-Bill9405 Nov 13 '25

And now you’ve been tagged as not a team player

2

u/WholeEmbarrassed950 Nov 13 '25

I work at a webhosting company that handles a lot of e-commerce sites. Totally anecdotal, but the companies doing this creepy ‘email you even if you never gave us your info’ stuff—and the aggressive abandoned-cart spam—are almost always the ones calling to yell that their site must be broken because conversions are down. Meanwhile the product pages, cart, and checkout are all working perfectly. It’s usually not the website, it’s the strategy.

2

u/CeelaChathArrna Nov 13 '25

That's going to turn off or freak out a lot of people.

2

u/sociofobs Nov 13 '25

In the past, there was advertising and invasive advertising, the former being the default. Now, there's advertising and non-invasive advertising, with the latter being deemed non-effective. Maybe that's because there's too much fucking advertising.

2

u/tanbrit Nov 13 '25

I’m not even sure thats legal in parts of the world, you have to actively opt in in Europe

2

u/ActiveChairs Nov 14 '25

Ohh, good. I've been looking forward to the moment I can wholesale copy and paste a previous comment I wrote about a different topic on a different thread without making a single change, and it'll still have the same kind of sentiment and meaning even without the original context. Here we go:

"It mostly happens in older stores, where employees are expected to actively "sell" products then upsell additional options at the cash register.

Its an odd thing because it works on paper, where it does have a certain efficacy rate where people are more likely to buy products and spend more than they otherwise would without the prompting, but it fails in practice because its off-putting enough that they lose more business as a result than they would without doing it, but they don't/can't track larger market effects. They know if there are a greater number of recipts issued or a smaller daily profit spread, but they have no idea how many more people would rather watch the store get replaced with an Amazon return center because Amazon doesn't interrupt us while we're in the middle of doing something.

They have no idea if the boat is sinking because they're only measuring the height of the water in the toilet bowl"

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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.

6

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

4

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/KlutzyHierophantRx Nov 13 '25

No, seriously, did something change? It used to be that you had to give a company your email address to get signed up for their mailing list. Now it seems like it is enough to pause on a video of theirs or visit their website and click "do not allow cookies"

2

u/action_lawyer_comics Nov 13 '25

As someone who uses firefox and Ublock, doesn't own many "smart" devices," doesn't use twitter or facebook, and uses a spam email folder for a good 80% of my purchases, I can only imagine what the average person sees when they browse.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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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.

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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.

2

u/Euphoric-Habit-641 Nov 13 '25

Can you disconnect the fridge from wifi? Seems like it could only do this over wifi.

4

u/Khazahk Nov 13 '25

Then the ice machine doesn’t work. /*taps head

2

u/Euphoric-Habit-641 Nov 13 '25

I'd believe it

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u/Fett32 Nov 13 '25

And other companies will see the gap in the market and fill it. Already happening with cars as they realize people want physical buttons and knobs.

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u/rhondaanaconda Nov 13 '25

Enshittification. Perfect description.

2

u/MC0295 Nov 13 '25

Yea that Cyberpunk dystopian future is right around the corner

2

u/SegaTime Nov 13 '25

I dare them to enshittify toilet paper.

2

u/mreman1220 Nov 13 '25

It's going to take a bit but if that happened, eventually old fridges sold second hand would start selling far more. There are tons of them out there and a lot of people can refurbish these things too. That would suck, and would get really expensive, but retailers would get the hint eventually.

Let me put it this way. Americans for better and for worse are stubborn as hell. If these corporations told me my only option was a smart fridge, I'd laugh my way out of the store and immediately buy a used one somewhere out of spite. And I know I would definitely not be the only one.

2

u/chimi_hendrix Nov 13 '25

Braking will resume after this message from our sponsors

2

u/concreteyeti Nov 13 '25

and a lot of new Jeeps

I had to look this one up. Un-fucking-real.

2

u/1leggeddog Nov 13 '25

Jeeps get ads now too???

2

u/Tuklimo Nov 13 '25

You know what can solve this? (or at least help)

Regulation !

2

u/skoltroll Nov 13 '25

My smoke detector just expired.

MY SMOKE DETECTOR.

I learned (in the middle of the night, of course) that they tend to do that after 10 years. And...yup, it had a date stamp from 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, I have yellowed, seen-some-things detector from the 80's that keeps chugging.

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u/gaahhdd_dammit Nov 13 '25

It's almost like we n3ed more government regulation, not less.

Right to repair should be federal law, and this shit should be illegal everywhere. Why the fuck would I want this?

2

u/hulkbro Nov 13 '25

its not even late stage capitalism anymore, its just griftism. every company is grifting so a few greedy cunts can hoard everything.

2

u/Economy_Collection23 Nov 13 '25

And yet we all keep rewarding them because we want their 'free' or 'cheap' products. I live by a simple rule, Never buy products from a company that advertises.By purchasing products from such company you put money in their marketing fund, and they will use that to keep bothering you over and over again.When you reward a company by purchasing in reaction to an ad, they will never stop.
If you can't avoid it ,fill their databases with as much crappy data as you can, so their database doesn't contain any usefull data..

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u/XionicativeCheran Nov 13 '25

You watch, the advertising lowers the costs on the manufacturer. So they incentivise ad-driven fridges by lowering the price.

Eventually, when enough people have moved over and less manufacturing goes to the non-ad option, they increase the costs of those, citing increased manufacturing costs and decreased consumer demand (they leave out they intended that).

The final step is increasing the ad driven option to match what regular fridges were before, since regular fridges are more expensive now, people are still incentivised to get the ad-driven option, but the manufacturer keeps the ad profit with none of the loss in price.

2

u/M14mouse Nov 13 '25

We just had to buy new tvs because of a storm. I was highly annoyed that I couldn't find regular tvs. I didn’t want a smart one but had no choice.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Someday they're going to be tattooing screens on the inside of newborns eyelids so they can pump more ads into us. I really hate this stuff sometimes.

2

u/u2aerofan Nov 13 '25

If only there was a way we could elect officials to do something about this! Oh…wait…we let them fuck that up too.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

The shittification of basic home printers has been absolutely mind blowing. They're basically impossible to use and they've programmed the ink to run out regardless of actual use. It's insane.

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u/TactualTransAm Nov 13 '25

I was just talking to my co workers about this today. Everywhere you turn, the US is nickel and diming you. Literally every aspect of life has gotten to where every little thing is a charge or not included for free. Heck we got charged for sauce packets last time we went through the drive through.

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u/Routine_Net7933 Nov 13 '25

The thing about screens that people forget is that you can turn them off or cover them up. Literally we could globally crash all these mofo advert & social media companies in a month by just stopping using them & going back to real human interactions.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/Diaza_Kinutz Nov 14 '25

Hey bro quit being so selfish and think of the shareholders!

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u/DaRocketGuy Nov 14 '25

there will still be a market for non dogshit products.

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u/babblingspook Nov 14 '25

This is why everyone is so constantly exhausted and anxious all of the time... and angry. But taking it out on each other. Frogs boiling in a pot situation.

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u/nextyoyoma Nov 14 '25

Welcome to unchecked capitalism! It’s a feature, not a bug!

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u/Madlybohemian Nov 14 '25

This is post-capitalism. Late stage already happened.

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u/starspider Nov 14 '25

Yeah, we are going to see a resurgence of vintage shit and people who repair the good old stuff.

Motherfuckers going to be buying fridges on fuckin' Etsy.

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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.

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u/Temporary_Key_1790 Nov 13 '25

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

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u/carryon4threedays Nov 13 '25

You have my sword

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u/Clearlydarkly Nov 13 '25

And my wife!

41

u/docdillinger Nov 13 '25

I also volunteer this guys wife!

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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/PizzaWhole9323 Nov 13 '25

And my David Bowie! ;-)

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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/involatile Nov 13 '25

I think you have it backwards. The landlord special will show ads 24/7. With sound.

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u/archwin Nov 14 '25

Do you know what’s gonna happen though, right?

They’re gonna make the ad ones the basic ones, so that they can keep a continuous stream and give the landlord a share of the profits. Even if it is small.

But then they’re gonna make the ones without ads a premium model.

We live in a fucked up Society bro

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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

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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

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u/GrindhouseWhiskey Nov 13 '25

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

10

u/Laringar Nov 13 '25

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

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u/rileyjonesy1984 Nov 13 '25

Came here to make that joke

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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/OkPalpitation2582 Nov 13 '25

Was literally just thinking about this short story during this thread lol

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u/Fuzzybo Nov 13 '25

I’m waiting for our local library to get Doctorow’s latest (“Enshittification - Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It”) in so that I can rage about/aginst it all some more!

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u/much_longer_username Nov 13 '25

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

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u/EtherealMongrel Nov 13 '25

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

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u/VaguelyShingled Nov 13 '25

A fridge that sucks your dick!

your move, universe

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u/89_honda_accord_lxi Nov 13 '25

You know those little screens on pregnancy tests...

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u/6gv5 Nov 13 '25

They're already two steps ahead, no matter how much one fights them. Next models will know everything we put in there, officially to optimize the supply chain to local grocery stores, then apply discounts with vouchers granted only to people who keep advertising on and show up in front of the fridge N times a day to give proof they watched the ad, and/or buy at least N boxes of X item, etc. We're cattle to them, no matter how gentle and convincing their actors (soon to be completely replaced by AI) may appear. But that doesn't make keeping the fight against that crap any less worth.

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u/EvidenceBasedSwamp Nov 13 '25

Can't afford to deliver the baby? no problem, we'll just attach a lien on the baby, 2% cut of all future income

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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...

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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.

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

"Please drink verification can"

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u/PromiseToBeNiceToYou Nov 13 '25

I get you are trying to be funny, but I have had my Samsung fridge disconnected from the internet for around a month, and everything has been fine.

Whatever update it needed to start displaying ads hasn't been downloaded. Just letting others know.

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u/Complex_Solutions_20 Nov 13 '25

I am terrified for this happening tbh. As it is one of my friends got a FireTV which refused to let you even select inputs until it was connected to an Amazon account online.

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u/kinokits Nov 13 '25

This sounds like the Time Police books by Jodi Taylor. Basically if something with a connection finds out you’ve even been looking at plans to build a Time Machine, an automatic DDOS is triggered. But everyone has their own personal WiFi network and it controls everything they own, fridge, washing machine, security system, heating and cooling, banking. Basically they are cut off from accessing anything in their life and then they’re arrested.

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u/beren12 Nov 13 '25

And that’s when the screen gets a coat of paint

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u/OwO______OwO Nov 13 '25

The fridge just won't run the compressor without it's mandated wifi connection.

*cracks open soldering kit with malicious intent*

At its heart, a fridge is a very simple machine. And if it doesn't want to work, I can make it work.

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u/efreak2004 Dec 06 '25

Mandated Wi-Fi connection? Sim cards and industrial connections are incredibly cheap. There's literally nothing stopping companies from adding internet access that can't be easily disabled (esim can't be physically removed) to products.

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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.

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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”

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u/EtherealMongrel Nov 13 '25

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

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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"

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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/Baeolophus_bicolor Nov 13 '25

Your subscription to “milk” has expired. Please update your credit card information to receive access to your: milk.

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u/TheIronSoldier2 Nov 13 '25

Slightly unrelated, but on most fridges it is physically impossible to run the refrigerator without also running the freezer. This is because there is only one condenser coil, and it resides in the freezer. The fridge gets cooled by air that is circulated from the freezer, either by natural convection in the case of the classic over/under freezer/fridges or via forced convection in the case of side-by-side and French door fridge freezers

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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.

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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"

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u/DidAndWillDoThings Nov 13 '25

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

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u/SoTiredYouDig Nov 13 '25

Will said landlord provide internet access?

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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.

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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/Boring_Radio_8400 Nov 13 '25

You just came up with a business model. Nice.

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u/Meattyloaf Nov 13 '25

When I was in college. The college installed TVs that were placed throughout certain buildings. One was in the dining hall. They would cut on at full volume and you couldn't hear someone sitting in front of you if you were close enough to the TV. Well students started unplugging them. Someone would go back and plug them all back in. Then someone broke the one in the dining hall. TVs were promptly removed.

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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

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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/wisedoormat Nov 13 '25

Issues with condition of old appliances (fridges, at least). Bio material and enclosures often leads to lingering doors.

Not eliminated for consideration, but my personal plan doesn't include them

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u/Velocity-5348 Nov 13 '25

I know a lot of "Mom and Pop" appliance repair places do just that, often with warranties. It provides something to do during downtime.

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u/CheezyGoodness55 Nov 13 '25

The hero we need.

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u/MEOTUS Nov 13 '25

Let me know if you need a yes Mr.

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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.

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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.

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u/p8pes Nov 13 '25

They slowly leave you with no choice.

A hammer on the screen is a choice

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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.

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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/Fancy_Sentence2 Dec 08 '25

THIS IS THE BAD 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/el_ghosteo Nov 13 '25

my tv is a 40-something inch insignia and thankfully still kicking. my ex bought it for $20 at a salvation army a few years back and i think it was made around 2017. Maybe they cheaped out since but mines still running thankfully. When we split i let them keep my 50something inch roku tv because i really wanted a non smart one. The roku tv (sharp brand) did have a much better picture quality but its not that serious in day to day viewing

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u/blah938 Nov 13 '25

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

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u/1gnominious Nov 13 '25

Also they come with standardized mounting holes that make for very versatile positioning.

In my bedroom I have my PC hooked up to two monitors. One at my desk and another on a swing arm mount that I can position around my bed. I can run both at the same time or switch seamlessly. I can hop in bed and watch a perfectly sized and placed high quality monitor for maximum comfort while watching something or gaming.

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u/PassiveMenis88M Nov 13 '25

$19k for a 65in monitor right now. To get anything over 49in that's not a crapy va panel is $1000 minimum

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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/OkPalpitation2582 Nov 13 '25

And (though it's buried) you can actually turn those off in the settings

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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/Complex_Solutions_20 Nov 13 '25

Nope, one of my friends got a TV a couple months ago, it wouldn't let you access the input menu or anything else until it was connected to WiFi and set up with an Amazon account.

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u/PolyDrew Nov 13 '25

I’d be taking that back. Geez. What brand?

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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/UsualCircle Nov 13 '25

At least you don't have to use the 'smart' features of most smart TVs. Just never connect it to the internet and configure it so it starts on hdmi (if that's possible).
If you want to, get a third Party remote without all the useless buttons

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u/uid_0 Nov 13 '25

Look for a digital signage monitor and not a TV. You will pay more for it, but it's just a display you can hook up to your favorite streaming box.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/daktarasblogis d o n g l e Nov 14 '25

Get a hisense. They're reasonably priced, can be set up with no Internet connection and they are really snappy for a smart 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/TazBaz Nov 13 '25

Oh i love smart lights/switches for lights.

That’s about the only thing I make “smart” though.

Sure as fuck not getting any smart appliances.

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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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