Yes, within a narrow definition of work. A refrigerator filter is a compact carbon cartridge, and carbon is genuinely good at chlorine taste and odour, which is what most people notice. Whether it handles anything beyond that depends entirely on the certified claim list printed on that specific cartridge, not on the fact that it is a filter.
Carbon does one job well
Activated carbon adsorbs chlorine and many taste and odour compounds, and a carbon block also acts as a fine particle barrier. That is why filtered fridge water tastes noticeably better than the same tap water. The limitation is contact time: a fridge cartridge is small and water passes through it quickly on the way to the dispenser, so it has less opportunity to work than a larger under-sink block operating at a lower flow.
Read the claim list, not the marketing
Manufacturers test cartridges against defined standards for specific substances, and the packaging or product page lists exactly which ones. Some models are certified for lead reduction, some for cysts, some only for chlorine taste and odour. Two cartridges that fit the same fridge can carry very different lists, which is the single most important thing to check before buying. If a listing shows no certified claims at all, treat it as a taste filter and nothing more.
What a fridge filter cannot do
It does not soften water, because hardness is dissolved and passes straight through, so your ice will still be cloudy and your kettle will still scale. It is not a disinfection device and should never be relied on during a boil water notice. And it treats only the dispenser and ice maker, which is a small fraction of household water, so it does nothing for the shower, the laundry or the water heater.
Changing it on time matters more than brand
A carbon cartridge loads up and then stops adsorbing, and unlike a clogged sediment filter it keeps delivering water at full flow while doing less and less. That is why the indicator light is a calendar rather than a measurement. Change on the stated interval even if the water still tastes fine, change sooner on heavily chlorinated or sediment-laden supplies, and flush the new cartridge for the specified volume before drinking from it.
Questions people ask about do fridge water filters work
Do refrigerator filters remove lead?
Only models certified for lead reduction do. Check the certified claim list for that exact cartridge, because it varies between models that fit the same fridge.
Are aftermarket fridge filters as good as the original?
Some are, some are not. Judge them by their published certified claims rather than by price or by the brand name on the housing.
What happens if I never change the filter?
Flow stays roughly normal while the carbon stops adsorbing, so the taste protection quietly disappears without any obvious warning sign.