Google Reassures There Are No Plans To Put Ads In Nest Thermostats

Google is quickly walking back on language used in an SEC filing in which the company wrote it foresees a time when “we and other companies could be serving ads and other content on refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities.”

The inclusion of “thermostats” in that list struck a chord and has likely ruffled the feathers of Nest owners (and possibly the Nest product team) fearing ads will start showing in thermostats imminently.

In a statement issued to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the SEC filing, Google said that there is currently no advertising model for Nest.

We are in contact with the SEC to clarify the language in this 2013 filing, which does not reflect Google’s product roadmap. Nest, which we acquired after this filing was made, does not have an ads-based model and has never had any such plans.

Google publicly announced plans to acquire the smart thermostat company Nest a few weeks after this filing in mid-January 2013.

Initial reporting on the SEC filing has spawned headlines such as Google to Begin Serving ads on Nest Thermostats  Soon and Your Google Nest Thermostat may Show Ads Soon.

Jokes about ads showing on Nest thermostats started rolling out as soon as Google announced plans to buy the company. The company is now aiming to calm fears that those jokes will soon become a reality.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin was formerly Third Door Media’s Editor-in-Chief, running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin writes about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.