Samsung Smart TVs Are Forcing Pop-Up Ads on People

We all know how annoying pop-up ads can be even when they are restricted to the designated commercial breaks during movies (assuming those even exist depending on where you live). They can get even worse though.

Owners of Samsung smart TVs probably know what we are talking about if they like to play movies through third-party apps.

For example, Plex is an app that streams videos from a computer, or a media player or even other sources. Clearly, not something that would have anything to do with or allow for the showing of advertisements.

And yet Samsung smart TVs force them to pop into view regardless. Not exactly the best way to avoid annoyance and frustration.

The bug

Since a Plex spokesperson has already told relevant parties that Plex is not behind the ads, Samsung itself is the only source left.

Fortunately, the company has recognized the issue, so at least we know that something is being done, even if it's just an investigation.

For the moment, Samsung has attributed this problem to a bug regarding how its Smart TVs recognize (or fail to recognize) third-party apps.

Meanwhile, users of Australia’s Foxtel streaming TV service are having the same problem. Not exactly a great thing, since the ads are pretty blatant. Every 15 minutes or so the screen goes blank and a 16:9 advert shows up (Pepsi seems to be really popular) and takes up half the screen, stopping Foxtel from playing.

For the moment, it is believed that a recent deal between Samsung and Yahoo is responsible, for creating adverts and other so-called interactive experiences. They were supposed to be optional, but the latest update to the software has enabled them by default.

How to fix the problem

Declining the Yahoo privacy policy within the Samsung Smart Hub terms and policy section could work as a temporary fix.

Meanwhile, Samsung is investigating the matter and looking for a proper way to resolve the issue. All in all, the problem isn't as big as the alleged attempt to let Smart TVs record peoples' conversations and send them to third parties.