Korean electronics giant LG is taking heat over intrusive settings on its TVs and computer monitors — and the backlash may just be getting started.
It all began on July 17, when an LG gaming monitor customer noticed a pop-up ad for McAfee antivirus software on their screen. The user took to X to vent their frustration.
“PSA: Do NOT buy an LG monitor, it automatically downloaded an app that gives me pop ups for their own apps and McAfee,” wrote the customer identified as wexos.
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The YouTube channel Gamers Nexus looked into the report, finding that LG UltraGear monitors were installing a program called LG Monitor App Install after users connected them to Windows PCs.
As our colleagues at PCMag reported, “The program advises customers to install other apps, and shows a pop-up ad for McAfee’s Scam Detector software.” (Disclosure: PCMag and Mashable are owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.)
The situation escalated quickly from there. Microsoft EVP for Windows and Devices, Pavan Davuluri, replied to wexos’ complaint directly. Later he announced Microsoft had intervened, and that LG had agreed to disable the pop-up ads.
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LG offered this statement to Windows Latest: “LG Electronics reiterates that McAfee is not installed automatically and is never installed without the user’s explicit consent.”
But that was not, as it turned out, the only case of intrusive ads on LG screens. Tom Warren at The Verge also took to X to criticize LG for serving ads on his TV homescreen. He didn’t mince words.
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There may be many such complaints to come. In March at the advertiser event IAB NewFronts, LG’s Ad Solutions division boasted that its home screen was the ideal place to serve video ads from the moment users turn on their TVs.
As Adweek reported at the time, “LG revealed a new, seamless home screen experience, which integrates immersive, full-frame video directly into the LG TV interface, putting brands at the first moment of viewer interaction.”
LG is hardly the only brand to serve ads in internet-connected products. Amazon Echo Show devices are notorious for showing ads that can’t be deactivated, and Samsung faced backlash recently for <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/12/17/viral-account-of-pluribus-fridge-ad-causing-mental-health-hospitalization-was-a-lie” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>serving ads for the Apple TV Show Pluribus on the doors of smart refrigerators, of all places.
But pop-up ads, universally loathed on the internet, seem to stir a special kind of outrage. The speed of the LG backlash and response is notable. Whether it’s enough to stop brands like LG from serving intrusive ads “at the first moment of viewer interaction” remains to be seen.
Mashable contacted LG with questions about its advertising strategy, and we’ll update this story if we receive more information.
Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men’s grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men’s product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he’s also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl.
Tim studied print journalism at the University of Southern California. He currently splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Charleston, SC. He’s currently working on his second novel, a science-fiction book.
