Users of Amazon’s Echo Show smart displays have reported a recent increase in full-screen, sponsored advertisements appearing on their devices. The ads are being displayed intermittently between other content, including personal photos when the device is in “Photo Frame” mode, as well as between news and recipe widgets.
The appearance of these ads follows the introduction of a new “Home Screen Display ad program” by Amazon this summer, which was rolled out alongside the Alexa Plus service. This program is an expansion of the “Alexa Native ads” initiative that began in November 2023. In recent months, users on forums like Reddit have posted complaints about the intrusive nature of the ads, with some reporting they have unplugged their devices or sought refunds from the company.
In response to inquiries, an Amazon spokesperson described the advertising as a “small part of the experience” intended to help customers discover new products. At a hardware event last month, Amazon’s head of Devices & Services, Panos Panay, stated that a relevant ad can be a positive “add-on” for customers, but conceded that some of the “randomness” of the current ad implementation needs improvement.
According to the company’s statements and user reports, the full-screen ads cannot be permanently disabled. Amazon’s spokesperson advised that users can swipe to skip an ad or provide feedback by long-pressing the screen. However, users report that providing feedback only “pauses” a specific ad temporarily before other advertisements appear.
