I recently bought an LG "smart" TV and was impressed by how big and cheap TVs have become. But once I set it up, I was immediately hit with ads and subscription prompts. Something felt off. So I did some digging—and what I found was unsettling.
Just know that your TV is watching you
Modern TVs don’t just show you content; they track everything you watch. This is done through Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), a built-in feature that: ✅ Tracks what shows, movies, and games are on your screen
✅ Records how long you watch and whether you finish a program
✅ Notes when you skip ads or switch channels This isn’t limited to streaming services—ACR works on cable TV, Blu-ray players, and even gaming consoles. Your TV continuously analyzes the pixels and audio of what’s playing, matching it against a database to determine what you’re watching.
Where Does Your Data Go? The data collected by ACR doesn’t stay with your TV manufacturer. It’s sold to: 📡 Streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, etc.)—to analyze what’s trending
💰 Advertisers—to target you with hyper-personalized ads
📊 Marketing & data firms—to build detailed profiles on your viewing habits Basically, if someone can make money from knowing what you watch, they have access to this data. The Takeaway You can stop it. Manufacturers make turning off ACR difficult, hiding it under different names in different menus. Here’s how to disable it on most smart TVs: For Samsung TVs: 1) Go to Settings > General & Privacy
2) Select Terms & Privacy
3) Find Viewing Information Services and deselect ‘I agree’
4) Consider turning off Internet-Based Ads for more privacy For LG, Sony, Vizio, and others, ACR settings might be under: * Privacy Settings
* User Agreements
* Viewing Data (Vizio places it under Reset & Admin)
Manufacturers may use vague terms to make this setting harder to find and try to scare you into keeping it on. Ignore the scare tactics and be persistent.
Why This Matters
Some people don’t mind ACR—it can be used to recommend shows and personalize content. But it also creates detailed digital fingerprints of your habits, which can be used to infer:
👥 Your age, gender, and interests
🏡 Your household’s income level
📈 Your political and ideological leanings
ACR doesn’t just serve you better recommendations—it enables more precise targeted advertising and influence over your behavior. Every smart TV does this, and it’s enabled by default. If privacy matters to you, take a few minutes to dig into your settings and turn it off. After all, you wouldn’t let a stranger stand in your living room and take notes on what you watch—so why let your TV do it?
Stay safe out there.
-Attila
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doesn’t that make him the worst spy?
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