Another built-in Samsung service is on its way out. Samsung News — the news app preinstalled on Galaxy phones and tablets — will be discontinued on December 21, 2026, according to an official notice now appearing inside the app.
If you read headlines through Samsung News, its widget, or the news feed one swipe from your home screen, here is what changes, who is affected, and what happens to your data.
Key Takeaways
- Samsung News shuts down on December 21, 2026 at 00:00 UTC — the app, the home-screen widget, and the swipe-left news feed all stop getting content.
- The shutdown notice has so far been confirmed for users in India and South Korea; Samsung has not announced a global date.
- Personal information Samsung News collected — profiles and personalisation settings — will be deleted after the service ends.
- Samsung has not given a reason for ending the service.
- The news follows Samsung retiring Samsung Messages in July, another sign of the company trimming its own apps in favour of Google’s.
What Exactly Is Shutting Down?
Samsung News is Samsung’s built-in news service: headlines, sports scores and stock updates delivered through a standalone app, a home-screen widget, and the dedicated feed panel on the left of the Galaxy home screen.
All three surfaces are covered by the shutdown, per the in-app notice first reported by SamMobile:
- The Samsung News app stops working as a news service.
- The widget stops receiving content updates.
- The left home-screen feed is discontinued.
The service ends on December 21, 2026 at 00:00 UTC — so depending on your time zone, the feed may go quiet on December 20 or 21 local time.
Who Is Affected?
So far, the shutdown notice has been spotted by users in India and South Korea. Samsung has not publicly confirmed whether the shutdown is global, and users in other countries may not see the notice yet.
The practical check is simple: open Samsung News on your Galaxy phone or tablet and look for the notice. If it’s there, your region is in the first wave. If it isn’t, nothing changes for you yet — but given Samsung’s pattern of staged shutdowns, a wider end to the service would not be surprising. That last part is expectation, not a Samsung announcement.
What Happens to Your Data?
According to Samsung’s notice, the personal information collected through Samsung News — including your user profile and personalisation settings — will be deleted after the service ends.
There is nothing you need to export: Samsung News personalisation isn’t something you can take with you, and saved reading preferences have no migration path to another app. If there are specific publications you follow inside Samsung News, note them now so you can find them in your next news app.
What Should You Use Instead?
Once the feed goes dark, Galaxy owners have a few straightforward options:
- Google Discover / Google News — already on most Galaxy phones; the Discover feed on the Google app is the closest like-for-like replacement for a swipe-and-scroll headlines habit.
- Your browser’s start page — Samsung Internet and Chrome both surface news on their home screens.
- A dedicated news app — if you follow specific outlets, their own apps or an aggregator you choose yourself will outlast any preinstalled service.
Whichever you pick, set it up before December 21 so your morning routine doesn’t break on shutdown day.
Part of a Bigger Pattern
Samsung News is not the first casualty this year. Samsung discontinued Samsung Messages in July 2026, pointing users to Google Messages instead. The direction is consistent: Samsung is quietly retiring its own duplicate services and letting Google’s equivalents carry the load, keeping its software effort for the parts of One UI it still differentiates on.
Samsung has not said whether the News shutdown frees resources for something else, and it has not explained the decision publicly at all — the in-app notice is, so far, the whole story.
The Bottom Line
If you’re in India or South Korea, Samsung News has a hard end date: December 21, 2026. Check the app for the notice, make a note of the sources you actually read, and line up a replacement feed before the widget goes quiet. Everyone else: check the app once — if the notice isn’t there, you’re not affected yet.
Related Guides
- Android’s ‘SMS of Death’ Bug Can Crash Your Phone With One Invisible Text
- Google Play System Update Shows January 2027? Here’s the Truth
- WhatsApp Profile Cover Photos Are Coming to Personal Accounts
FAQs
When does Samsung News shut down?
Samsung News will be discontinued on December 21, 2026 at 00:00 UTC, according to the notice shown inside the app. The app, its widget and the home-screen news feed all stop receiving content.
Which countries are affected by the Samsung News shutdown?
The notice has been confirmed for users in India and South Korea so far. Samsung has not announced whether the shutdown is global or when other regions would be included.
What happens to my Samsung News data?
Samsung says the personal information collected through Samsung News — including user profiles and personalisation settings — will be deleted after the service ends. There is nothing you need to back up or export.
Why is Samsung shutting down Samsung News?
Samsung has not given a reason. The move follows a pattern of the company retiring its own duplicate services, including Samsung Messages in July 2026, which pointed users to Google Messages.
