Samsung is discontinuing its Samsung News app later this year, ending a service that has given Galaxy phone and tablet users an alternative to Google Discover.
According to Android Authority, Samsung News will officially be discontinued on Dec. 21, 2026. The service will stop delivering content on that date, and the Samsung News widget will no longer receive updates.
The shutdown was first spotted through an in-app notice in certain markets. SamMobile reports that Samsung users in India and South Korea have received the notice, which states that Samsung News will shut down at 12:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 21.
Samsung News Is Going Away in December
Samsung launched Samsung News in 2023 as the successor to Samsung Free, continuing the company’s long-running effort to provide its own content feed on Galaxy devices. Samsung Free itself had replaced Samsung Daily, which previously replaced Bixby Home.
The service offers news and other content through both its dedicated app and a widget. Samsung has now told users that the widget will no longer receive content updates following the shutdown and recommends removing it from the home screen.
Samsung has not provided a detailed explanation for why it is discontinuing the service.
There also isn’t a confirmed replacement from Samsung at this point. However, Google Discover is already available as an alternative on supported Galaxy phones and tablets, and Android Authority reports that the leftmost panel on the One UI home screen will likely default to Google Discover instead.
Galaxy Users Have Mixed Feelings About the Shutdown
The reaction from Samsung users has been anything but unanimous.
In a discussion on Reddit’s r/samsunggalaxy about the shutdown, some users said they were genuinely disappointed. One user described Samsung News as one of the rare pre-installed services that didn’t feel like unnecessary bloat, while another said it was useful because it provided news without the number of ads they encountered elsewhere.
Others had a very different reaction.
Some Reddit users said they never used Samsung News, while another echoed that it was “useless.” Others said they already switched to Google or planned to use an RSS reader instead.
That split may explain why Samsung is moving away from the service. For some Galaxy owners, Samsung News was a convenient alternative to Google’s news feed. For others, it was simply another pre-installed app they never touched.
What Happens to Your Samsung News Data?
Samsung says personal information collected through Samsung News will be deleted after the service ends, including user profiles and personalization information.
There is an exception for information that Samsung is legally required to retain. In those cases, the company says the data will be kept only for the period required by applicable regulations before being deleted.
For now, Samsung News continues to work for users who still have access to it. But that won’t last much longer.
The Dec. 21 shutdown will mark the end of another Samsung-branded news feed, leaving Galaxy owners with Google Discover or other third-party options if they want a personalized news feed on their home screen.
And considering Samsung has already cycled through Bixby Home, Samsung Daily, Samsung Free, and Samsung News, this latest shutdown could be the company’s clearest indication yet that it no longer wants to maintain its own news aggregation service.
