Ads are the worst, but we see them everywhere. They finance the content we consume daily for free. It’s one thing to get free ads on a website, but it’s quite another when an OEM struggles to force an app on your phone to run more ads. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Samsung did with its new Samsung Visit In update through the Galaxy Store.
On December 15, Samsung in the United States updated a system application called “IPS Geofencing” with the new Samsung Visit In application. This offers and coupons app has been launched in other countries and regions in the last year, but has just arrived in the United States. IPS Geofencing has not been used before or at least has not been accessible to the user, and its function has been unknown. During Visit In, it will be used to track your location, to see when you’re in a store that sells Samsung products or services, and then to run your ads. Although you need to sign up for this service, the feature-enabled update was automatically installed in the background of your devices through the Galaxy Store.
Yesterday morning, I received a push notification for the $ 2,000 Galaxy Z Fold2 Presentation Visit. My incredibly expensive phone wants to track my location to run ads so I can sell even more products. I’ve called Samsung for its dubious advertising practices before, but installing a background app without user consent and sending a push notification to help you use it is downright offensive. No doubt some unsuspecting users will be absent. I hope that Samsung will quickly change its song with the launch of the Galaxy S21 series, because broadcasting ads on extremely expensive flagships is not really a good thing.
