Samsung has just announced a key change regarding the Galaxy Store. It will soon require Galaxy users to log in with a Samsung account to access the store. You cannot download or update apps and games on your Galaxy phone without signing in. The new policy, part of Samsung’s efforts to enhance user security, will be effective later this month.
Galaxy Store mandates a Samsung account for downloading apps
Earlier today, Samsung published a notice on the Galaxy Store, announcing a new requirement that mandates a Samsung account for using the platform. “You must be logged in to your Samsung account to use the Galaxy Store app and service,” the company said. “When you launched [the] Galaxy Store, if you are not logged in to your Samsung account, you will be prompted to log in.”
Samsung says this policy is effecting starting September 25, 2024. Since most Galaxy users tend to set up a Samsung account during the device setup process, this change shouldn’t affect many. However, if you are one of the few people who hasn’t signed into a Samsung account on their Galaxy phone, you’d want to do that soon. You can create a new Samsung account here for free.
Samsung’s notice adds that users will be unable to install or update apps from the Store without signing into an active Samsung Account. Even auto-updates won’t work, barring a few pre-installed ones. According to the company, some preloaded apps support automatic updates even if you have logged out of your Samsung account. All downloaded apps likely require a sign-in.
“Check the pre-installed app’s policies to determine if it will be updated automatically, regardless of your Samsung account login status,” Samsung says. However, the safest practice would be to just create an account and sign in. After all, you need a Samsung account in other Samsung apps too, including Samsung Members, Samsung Pass, and Samsung Find. You have two weeks before the new policy kicks in.
