Consumentenbond wants TV manufacturers to compensate consumers if they are dealing with disappearing Apps on relatively new smart TVs. The organization says that it will call on manufacturers to draw attention to this problem.

The Consumers’ Association wants manufacturers to promise that important apps will remain available on smart TVs for at least six years, otherwise an alternative solution or compensation will have to be made. The consumer organization also wants compensation for consumers who now have to deal with missing apps on relatively new TVs. The Consumers Association thinks of providing a free media player.

According to the Consumers’ Association, slightly less than 300 reports have been received in six months about apps that have disappeared on smart TVs, while the devices are less than five years old. The organization reports that many complaints relate to relatively new televisions with an age of three to five years. The consumer organization has had a special hotline for this problem since March.

Nearly half of the reports are about missing the NPO app. This is due to the fact that the NPO announced earlier that it no longer offers support for smart TVs that are older than 2014. Twenty percent of the cases complained about the disappearance of the YouTube app. 63 percent of the complaints involved Samsung TVs, followed by 21 percent for Philips, 6 percent for Sony and 5 percent for LG TVs.

The Consumers’ Association does not just want to think about compensation. The organization also wants manufacturers to take measures to keep apps and software on smart TVs operational for the duration of use, whether or not by making agreements with app developers.

Update, 11:27 AM : Samsung Netherlands lets a spokesperson say the following in a comment: “Unfortunately, we have no influence on which apps the app providers make available on Samsung’s smart TVs. – making providers, we can not change that.