Samsung is shutting down Samsung News on 21 December 2026 at 00:00 UTC. The app, its home screen widget and its feed all stop delivering content, and Samsung will delete user profiles and personalization settings. The company has named no replacement and published no list of affected countries.
Does the Shutdown Affect Your Country?
Samsung News officially runs in only three markets: the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. If you are outside those countries, you almost certainly never had the app.
Samsung has published no list of countries covered by the closure. SamMobile, which reported it, said the in-app notice appeared in India and South Korea, which is where the service is not officially offered. A worldwide cutoff is the likely reading, but Samsung has not confirmed it.
Users elsewhere were served by Samsung Free, the predecessor product, which Samsung discontinued on 16 December 2025.
What Exactly Stops Working on 21 December?
Three things stop at once: the Samsung News app, the home screen widget and the feed panel on Galaxy phones and tablets. The in-app notice sets the cutoff at 00:00 UTC on 21 December 2026.
That timing is worth pinning down, because the date has been reported inconsistently. At least one outlet carried 31 December in its headline while giving 21 December in the article text. The notice itself says 21 December.
Samsung also advises removing Samsung News widgets from the home screen before the service ends, rather than leaving a dead widget in place.
What Happens to Your Saved Topics and Data?
Samsung deletes it. All Samsung News user data, profiles and personalization settings are removed after the service ends, except where local regulations require Samsung to hold some of it for a set period, after which it is deleted.
There is no export tool for the publications, topics and sports or stock trackers you follow. Recording that list by hand before the cutoff is the only way to keep it, so a screenshot of each followed item is the practical answer.
Samsung Built an Editorial Operation Around It
Samsung News was not an automated aggregator. When Samsung announced the UK launch on 16 April 2025, it presented a staffed, paywall-free news product with its own editor-in-chief, Andrew Bailey, and an editorial committee that set guidelines and tracked publishers’ political leanings to keep the app balanced.
Bailey said at the time that there was a strong need for “accurate, verified, and balanced news that doesn’t live behind a paywall”. Launch partners included Sky News, Sky Sports, Reuters, the Daily Mail, The Independent, The Standard, the Mirror, Metro and Business Insider. Readers picked topics and up to three of 12 UK regions.
The closure ends that operation 20 months after it launched in Britain.
This Is the Second Samsung Feed to Close in 12 Months
Samsung already retired one news feed and moved its users to this one. Samsung Free closed on 16 December 2025, with Samsung directing remaining users to Samsung News; that replacement now closes a year and five days later.
- 2023: Samsung launches Samsung News as a separate app, replacing Samsung Free in the United States and Canada.
- 31 March 2025: UK users see the Samsung Free icon change to Samsung News in an app update.
- 16 April 2025: Samsung announces the UK launch of Samsung News, its first in that market.
- 16 December 2025: Samsung discontinues Samsung Free and directs users to Samsung News.
- 21 December 2026: Samsung News stops delivering content at 00:00 UTC.
When Samsung Free shut, its Watch and Play tabs were not carried across to Samsung News but moved out to other Samsung apps instead.
What to Use Instead of Samsung News
Google Discover is the practical substitute on a Galaxy device. It already ships on Galaxy phones and tablets, so nothing needs installing.
Discover can occupy the leftmost home screen panel through Home screen settings, or be reached by swiping right, depending on which version of One UI the phone is running.
Discover does not reproduce a follow list, though. For tracking specific publications or a stock and sports watchlist, a dedicated news app or an RSS reader covers what the Samsung News follow list did.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Samsung Free the Same Thing as Samsung News?
No, but they are connected. Samsung Free was the earlier content hub, and Samsung News replaced it in the United States and Canada in 2023 and in the United Kingdom in 2025. Samsung Free itself closed on 16 December 2025.
Why Is Samsung Shutting Down Samsung News?
Samsung has not given a reason. The in-app notice states the closing date without explaining the decision, and Samsung has made no public statement about it.
Does Google Discover Officially Replace Samsung News?
No. Samsung has announced no successor. Discover is an existing Google feed that Galaxy owners can switch to themselves, not a replacement Samsung has named.
What Happened to the Watch and Play Tabs?
They moved out when Samsung Free closed. Samsung directed that content to Samsung TV Plus and Gaming Hub instead of folding it into Samsung News.
