cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51856491
Here’s how to opt out.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20251027141201/https://www.theverge.com/report/806797/samsung-family-hub-smart-fridge-ads-opt-out
Worth pointing out that that “Target figured out a girl was pregnant before her father did” story is almost certainly untrue: https://www.predictiveanalyticsworld.com/machinelearningtimes/target-really-predict-teens-pregnancy-inside-story/3566/
I agree with the article that getting ads on a device you’ve already paid for with no hint that there would be ads is intrusive and a sad sign of how tech is going (in the same week that it was announced that Apple are going to be adding ads to Maps, too). But I also can’t help but wonder - who the fuck wants a smart fridge? Like, legitimately, what is the advantage over a normal fridge?
Not a “smart” fridge per se, but I can see the use of a screen on my fridge; something where we can see our family calendar, leave notes for each other, and maybe also be able to access the grocery shopping list. Weather would be nice too, though you can keep the news widget (yikes). Something in a visible location in our house, where we go every day.
I’m not sure what other features they advertise with a smart fridge, but those few would be nice; especially if I could just plug a raspberry pi into it and skip all of the Samsung nonsense entirely.
Normal fridges are dumb. Smart fridge smart.
I’m clinging to my “dumb” fridge for dear life
So, what happens if I use pi-hole or adguard to block DNS for the advertisement TLDs, like I do for all the other gizmos in the house trying to show me ads or obtain telemetry data?
I was ready gawk at what ads on my fridge would look like, and then this. I don’t know what I expected.
Archived link for you.
Repo it please, I will simply use salt to preserve my food
imagine paying 2k for a fridge just because it has a screen and stupid smart shit. basic fridge please and thank you.
Why. Why would anyone buy a fridge with a screen. We have lots of screens. A fridge does not need a screen. It is a fridge.
Screens would get in the way of my many magnets with notes. Not only does it not “need” one, I’m actively anti screen in this case.
You do need to have a display to show you what’s in there /s Yes, that’s an actual selling argument (slap my forehead real hard)
I wouldn’t mind one for playing Jellyfin videos while I’m cooking, having a dedicated screen for the Mealie recipe I’m currently making, looking at a digital family calendar, adding items to the grocery list, etc. A kitchen kiosk with a larger screen that is easy to clean and doesn’t need a login does have some practical uses for self-hosted apps, but…checks list…nope, ads to make some corpo’s number go up didn’t quite make it into my wishlist.
There are tablets with docks available. E.g. I could use Pixel tablet with the hub for that, even with privacy-supporting GrapheneOS.
I was about to say… I have a laptop that can go anywhere in the house, including the kitchen. It’s not tethered to any one location and can do all the things that fridge screen can do, and much more. Laptops also have ad blockers freely available.
True, although the actual big display on the Samsung fridge powered by the fridge itself showing various widgets is pretty nice. The fridge is also a good location for it, and you’d have to otherwise run a wire across your fridge to power your own tablet. The main problem is that your hardware and your data belong to Samsung after you buy it. Other problem is it seems to also be overpriced. 🤷♂️
The fridge is also a good location for it, and you’d have to otherwise run a wire across your fridge to power your own tablet.
What? How is the fridge possibly a good location for it? In what world could that ever be true? And do you not have wall outlets in your kitchen? Put your device on the counter!
I mean… what?
In my case at least, every other part of my kitchen has counters or cabinets, and there isn’t really an empty space on a wall to hang a tablet. The fridge would be a good place for a screen, except if it’s not built-in, there would be a wire. I can see someone with a different layout not following my logic, though.
And here’s how to opt out.
I’m opting out by buying a significantly cheaper non-smart fridge. Which luckily is still an option.
This
Any “ads” that appear on my fridge will be because I was given a $2000 fridge free by the company. Only idiots pay for appliances/services that include ads.
I still wouldn’t buy it, but I agree.
But can it run Linux
It already does. Samsung’s Tizen OS these things run is Linux based, albeit at this point broadly in the same sense that Android is.
No they won’t, because I’m not stupid enough to buy a ridiculously overpriced fridge.
Here’s what they look like on my fridge:
I would not buy appliances with ads,
I would not buy them, Sam-I-Am.I would not buy them here or there. I would not buy them anywhere. I do not like appliances with ads. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.
Not in my house
Not in a flat
Don’t make me grouse
I do not want that!
That’s the main issue here. This fridge didn’t show ads when people bought it.
So buying things that don’t show ads isn’t enough. You need to only buy things that don’t get updates.But… Do you need the LCD panel? Will the box still get cold without it? Cause I do have a hammer…
Yeah, that just makes this so sinister.
What I mean is that my fridge doesn’t have a screen. So if Panasonic decided to show me ads on a fridge where the most complicated feature is the ice maker, that would be a neat trick.
Receives a letter at home from Panasonic containing a message, a color printed sheet and a fridge magnet.
Message reads: “Dear costumer, please use enclosed fridge magnet to hang provided advert sheet on your Panasonic refrigerator”
Funny you say that, in Japan it’s common to get business magnets in your junk mail. Stuff like cleaners, in-home therapy, etc.
Opt out is idiotic. Don’t buy this shit! You to not own it. What fuckwit dumbass rents a fridge someone else controls for $2k. I bet it has a camera inside to sell grocers a list of what to mark up for your custom pricing nonsense because you bought a billboard that screams I’m a gullible moron with more money than sense.
I need my refridgerator to be a box.
A box that gets cold inside.
Thats it. Just a cold box.
I just wish I could buy a cold box, a hot box, a spinny-arm water box and a spinny-drum water box without computer chips in them at all.
So we need a robust, failsafe open source motor controller with minimal firmware or just heavy duty relays and analog timers.
It needs a brain, but only enough to record the cycles from the factory controller and then replay them after replacement.
Guess what they look like on my 250 Dollar dumb fridge.
I can even keep my food chilled with it. Plus I can freeze stuff. Even has a light when I open the door. Super practical. You guys should come see it!
