January 26, 2024, 5:12 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
If you’re streaming your content, you probably don’t want to be bombarded with ads. However, more and more smart TVs are confronting their customers with sponsor banners right on the home screen and during TV programs. TECHBOOK reveals how to turn off this advertising on Samsung TVs.
Overview
Smart TV users have access to a variety of private free TV channels, offering a vast selection of content. These devices have a so-called computer add-on function and are internet-capable. This comes with numerous possibilities that traditional TVs lack. However, the fact that smart TVs, such as Samsung TVs, show ads during programming can slightly dampen the viewing experience.
You can also learn how to generally disable ads on smart TVs in the video:
Also of interest: How the Bildschirmtext BTX Brought the Internet to Germany
Why Smart TVs Show Ads
Digital TV advertising is becoming increasingly attractive to companies. They can reach a targeted, typically affluent audience and thus have to account for less scatter loss than with traditional nationwide TV advertising. The ads are tailored to the user, such as their location, streaming behavior, and general preferences determined by cookies. Manufacturers profit from this–they are understandably not interested in users disabling these ads. On the contrary, with additional features like the Red Button or HbbTV, they provide additional information about advertised products and services in seconds, making it easy for users to make purchases.
From a user’s perspective, ads on smart TVs like Samsung TVs are rather annoying. TECHBOOK explains how to turn them off.
How to Turn Off Ads on LG TV
You’ll See More Ads on These TVs in the Future
Disable Ads on Samsung TVs
Select the “Settings” menu using the Home button on the remote control. This opens a window where you can access the “Terms & Privacy” submenu. Here, the option “I agree to the display information services on this TV” is preselected. You can disable it by removing the checkmark. It’s also recommended to reset the preselection “I agree to ads based on my interests”–simply uncheck this box as well.
In the same menu, you can reset your PSID. This deletes your advertising ID on the Samsung TV.
Also Turn Off the “HbbTV” Function
You’re probably already familiar with the TV’s “HbbTV” function. It’s a kind of modern teletext that can do much more than its outdated predecessor. The aforementioned downside: In addition to information about the content being played, HbbTV sometimes displays ads. You can unsubscribe from this service. To manage the “HbbTV settings,” access the so-called “Expert Settings” in the “Broadcasting” menu area of the Samsung TV. Remove the preselected checkmark here as well.
Also of interest: Why Do You Get Personalized Ads on Websites?
Disable Samsung TV Ads via Router
An alternative way to disable ads on Samsung TVs is through the router. As TECHBOOK explained in a previous article, you can, for example, filter websites via the Fritzbox to protect children from inappropriate content when using the home internet.
In the same way, you can block the Samsung ad server and thus prevent ads from appearing. This is done by adding the web addresses https://ads.samsungads.com and https://config.samsungads.com to the list of blocked sites (the so-called blacklist). To do this, log into the router via an internet browser. To activate the settings, a new access profile must be created and set as the default. For the new profile, simply select the settings “Filter websites” and “Block websites”–and you’re done.