Every TV maker is spying on you — and most won't say how
I asked every TV manufacturer 17 questions about how they spy on you
After LG was accused of spying through its TVs, The Verge's John Higgins sent 11 companies — including Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, Roku, and TCL — a set of 17 yes-or-no questions about what their TVs record, store, and share, designed to cut through dense privacy policies. Amazon, Apple, Google, LG, Roku, Samsung, and TCL answered; others declined. The responses reveal how much data each company collects and how little customers can control.
I put together 17 yes-or-no questions, like "Do your TVs store any recorded audio, or transcripts based on audio, captured in the home?" so that companies couldn't just link to a confusing and legalese-ridden privacy policy.
- throwa356262
LG: No. ACR in LG TVs does not collect or store screenshots, screen images, screen recordings...
Hold on, we already know this is not true. There is even an option in the settings to disable this (which is usually automatically reverted by LG within a week).
The setting has the obvious name of "Live Plus".
- bita_nidir
Remember, "no answer" is still a data point.
- ale42
- PinkaDunka
Interesting that in the beginning it says 'We know that many TVs use automatic content recognition (ACR)' but according to answers none of those manufacturers do.
So which TVs do the ACRs, and why Verge did not send those questions to them? Hisense?
- ourmandave
Did any of them confirm the myth that the TV attempts to auto connect to any public wifi it can find or comes with a built in 5G modem?
- swframe2
I think it is better to use AI to root the devices, get them to run linux and run an open source media app. The TV manufacturer's default OS is low value.
- cael450
Is there any TV I can buy that doesn't spy on me?
- MBCook
I was impressed LG answered every question and quite directly, assuming they’re telling the truth.
I was quite disappointed in Apple for dodging so many of them and giving non-answers. They need to tone down the corporate speak and take a lesson from LG.
When asked if a user can erase everything the correct answer is not a thesis on privacy, it’s saying “Choosing Erase all settings and data will remove everything on the device back to factory fresh state”. They already have the perfect answer.
Apple has good answers for many of the questions they skipped too. But they look bad by not even trying to answer.