Samsung has apparently been flooding some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners with ads served as push notifications, according to user reports.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are among the hottest smartphones currently available on the market, boasting sleek designs and top-notch specs for a premium experience.
Flagship smartphones don't come cheap, however, and paying a small fortune for a handset only to have unwanted ads shoved down your throat is understandably frustrating.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Ads
Some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners took to Reddit to question Samsung's business practices, as they keep getting ads as push notifications. The frustrating ads apparently hit the handsets via Samsung's Game Launcher app, which aims to serve as a tool for game management and optimization. The app can also send notifications, however, and it's apparently abusing this feature to bombard Galaxy S8 users with gaming-related ads.
One such ad is for a mobile game called Load Runner Classic, available on Samsung's Galaxy Apps marketplace and on Google Play.
"I've had an advertisement for Lode (Load) Runner Classic pushed to my Galaxy S8+ twice in the past week or so," one Reddit user reports. "I can't see any clear way to disable these type of notifications or notifications for Game Optimizing Service. It doesn't look like you can disable or uninstall the app either."
"I've been getting the same ad for Runner Classic. Seriously ... I didn't pay $1000 just to get ads on my phone," adds another.
Samsung has yet to issue a statement regarding these unwarranted ads served as push notifications, but frustrated users already managed to work around this and disable the ads from the Game Launcher.
How To Disable Galaxy S8 Game Ads
For those looking to get rid of these gaming-related ads, the process is quite simple and straightforward. Open the Game Launcher app, access the main menu listing the playable titles you have on your smartphone, then tap the three-dot icon and access the settings. Next up, untick the option that says "Receive Marketing Information" to stop getting these ads.
Disabling this option will prevent Game Launcher from spamming you with push notifications related to mobile game ads and promotions.
For those who can't find Game Launcher in their apps list, but would like to enable it for game optimization and management, just head over to Settings > Advanced Features > Games > Enable Game Launcher. From here, you can go through the same steps listed above to prevent the app from giving you additional marketing information.
Samsung's Game Launcher comes preinstalled on a number of other Samsung smartphones and tablets. To get rid of the app's push notification ads on other Galaxy devices, the same steps apply.
This is not the first time that Samsung device owners have received unwanted ads. Late last year, for instance, Samsung Smart TVs started displaying annoying ads with no real option to opt out, stirring a great deal of controversy and frustration among users.
At least in the case of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ it's not that difficult to block those ads, but this practice is still frustrating.
