Samsung News app shuts down on December 21 on Galaxy devices

Samsung is shutting down Samsung News, the news and sports app preinstalled on Galaxy phones and tablets. A discontinuation notice has begun appearing in the app in some countries, and it says the service will stop working on December 21.

When that date arrives, the app, its home screen widget and the Google Discover-style page that opens when you swipe right from the left edge of the main home screen will all go away. They will no longer receive new content, and Samsung is asking users to remove the widget themselves once the shutdown happens.

Data will be deleted

According to the notice, the information collected to run the app will be deleted immediately. The exception is countries where data retention rules require it to be kept for a set period.

The official announcement does not explain why Samsung is ending the service. The company has reworked its news platform several times, so it could return under a different name. It is also plausible that Google Discover, which already puts content one swipe away on many Android phones, played a part in the decision.

A short life, and a fourth rebrand

Samsung News launched in April 2023 and was the fourth iteration of Samsung's news platform. The first, Bixby Home, arrived in 2017 and became Samsung Daily in 2019. A year later it was renamed Samsung Free.

The shutdown means future Galaxy devices will not ship with the app preinstalled, which should please people who want less bloatware. For now, Samsung has not said whether it plans to relaunch the service under a new name.