Owners of LG OLED TVs are getting more than what they bargained for as LG rolls out intrusive screensaver ads to older generations of its TVs.
In September, FlatpanelsHD broke the news that LG had begun showing screensaver ads on its 2024 TVs, including premium OLED models like the G4. These ads appear after the TV has been idle for some time.
Since then, we have sought more details on LG's plans and have confirmed that screensaver ads are being secretly added to older LG models too. This supports our suspicion that LG’s decision to update webOS is at least partially motivated by introducing ads.
Consumers did not have screensaver ads when they originally purchased their LG TVs, and the webOS upgrade notifications have made no mention of this 'feature', leaving them unaware when deciding whether to upgrade.
Going back to 2020, possibly earlier
FlatpanelsHD has confirmed that screensaver ads have been added to LG models dating back to at least the 2020 generation.
The screensaver ads were also enabled by default on the LG GX OLED (2020 generation), LG B1 OLED (2021 generation) and LG B2 OLED (2022 generation) models we examined. They are also showing up on the 2024 C4 so as a result FlatpanelsHD has decided to lower our review scores for C4 (features and user experience).
While you can still manually disable LG’s screensaver ads for now, there are no guarantees that this option will remain in the future. To turn them off, go to Settings -> Additional Settings -> Screen Saver Promotion.
The screensaver ad menu option on a 2020 LG GX OLED. Photo: FlatpanelsHD
Showing up around the world
LG TV owners across different regions are starting to notice LG's screensaver ads, including ads from third-party partners.
Here is an example from a Reddit user, who wrote that "the black screen turned into a giant ad for canadian chicken of all things."
Amazon has also introduced screensaver ads on Fire TV and Google full-screen ads on Google TV. Roku's homescreen is getting video ads. Apple TV 4K does not show ads on its homescreen.
Screensaver ads showing up on LG TVs around the world. Photo: DMHook,
reddit
