Think of it as Yoga for the brain, we are going to stretch a bit.
THIS IS NOT 1984 — BUT YES, YOUR TV IS SPYING ON YOU!
There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. — George Orwell, 1984
Shame on you, LG. And shame on the rest of the industry if this is where “smart” is taking us. I think it is class action suit time.
George Orwell made one small mistake in 1984.
He imagined the government would have to install the telescreen in your house.
Turns out we would happily drive to Best Buy, pay $2,000 for one, carry it into the living room ourselves, connect it to the Internet, agree to 40 pages of legal gibberish, and then complain that the remote has too many buttons.
Progress!
We were promised Smart TVs. What we apparently got were televisions with side hustles.
They show movies during the evening and moonlight as advertising intelligence officers the rest of the day.
A recent investigation into LG televisions found something considerably more disturbing than the usual “your television knows you watched three episodes of Star Trek.”
The TVs can use something called Automatic Content Recognition — ACR.
That means the television can identify what is appearing on the screen and turn it into data.
You bought the television. You bought Netflix.
You bought the computer plugged into HDMI.
You bought the electricity.
But apparently somebody else is still very interested in knowing what you’re watching.
LG advertising executives have even used the phrase: “We own the glass.”
That is an extraordinary statement.
I have always operated under the quaint capitalist notion that when I hand somebody $2,400 for a television, I own the glass.
Silly me. Apparently I purchased visitation rights.
And the television may be interested in considerably more than television.
According to the investigation, tested LG TVs scanned the local network and identified other devices: phones, computers, smartwatches, printers, network equipment, thermostats and nearby Wi-Fi networks.
Think about that for a moment.
You invited a television into your house.
The television started meeting the neighbors.
“Hello, Mr. iPhone.”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Thermostat.”
“I see we have a NAS server in the basement.”
“Nice printer.”
“What do you folks like to buy?”
And this is where the story stops being merely ridiculous and starts becoming troubling.
Researchers also demonstrated vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker who compromises the television to use microphones and attached webcams as surveillance devices.
They demonstrated recording conversations.
They demonstrated retrieving voice transcripts.
They demonstrated recording when the television appeared to be turned off.
They even demonstrated audio being recorded while the TV was disconnected from the network, with the recording available after connectivity returned.
Now, an important distinction: That does not mean LG employees are sitting somewhere listening to your conversations.
The demonstrations involving secret microphone and webcam capture depended on exploiting security vulnerabilities and obtaining control of the television.
But that distinction does not make me feel particularly comfortable.
Because the more fundamental question is: WHY DOES MY TELEVISION NEED THIS CAPABILITY IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Why does a device whose principal purpose is displaying Gilligan’s Island require enough microphones, advertising telemetry, network discovery and computing horsepower to qualify for an intelligence internship?
We have spent twenty years committing a very strange technological mistake.
Soon I expect my toaster will require an account, a privacy policy and permission to share my bagel preferences with “selected marketing partners.”
Technology companies have quietly convinced us that ownership now includes surveillance.
You buy the hardware.
Then the manufacturer continues making money from your behavior.
That is a wonderful business model.
For them.
Imagine Ford saying: “Congratulations on your new truck. Incidentally, we will be watching where you drive, what stores you visit, what radio station you’re listening to and what other vehicles happen to be parked in your driveway. This allows us to improve your driving experience.”
You would tell Ford precisely where they could park that idea.
Yet put the same technology inside a shiny 65-inch OLED display and suddenly we’re supposed to click: ACCEPT ALL.
Nobody reads the agreement.
Of course nobody reads it.
That is why the agreement is 40,000 words long.
If corporations genuinely wanted consumers to understand these arrangements, the television would display:
WE WOULD LIKE TO MONITOR WHAT YOU WATCH AND USE THE INFORMATION TO SELL ADVERTISING. YES OR NO?
That would fit on one screen.
Curiously, lawyers rarely write it that way.
And there is another problem. A television today isn’t really a television.
It is a Linux computer with a gigantic monitor attached to it.
It sits permanently inside your home network.
Often for ten years. Frequently receiving fewer meaningful security updates as it ages.
Sometimes containing microphones. Sometimes connected to cameras.
Sometimes sitting in bedrooms, conference rooms, doctors’ offices, hotels, schools and corporate boardrooms.
That should concern every IT department in America.
A compromised television isn’t merely somebody watching you watch television.
It can potentially become a foothold inside a network.
We spent decades teaching people not to plug mysterious USB sticks into their computers.
Meanwhile we bolted a 75-inch Internet-connected computer onto the conference-room wall and forgot to ask what it was doing.
There is a larger lesson here. Privacy should not be a premium feature.
Turning off advertising surveillance should not require an expedition through twelve menus with a flashlight, compass and attorney.
A television should display pictures.
A refrigerator should keep food cold.
A thermostat should control temperature.
And unless I specifically request otherwise, none of them needs to know who I am.
There is nothing wrong with smart technology.
I love technology. I have spent most of my life believing technology makes the world better. But technology without restraint eventually becomes surveillance with prettier icons. Orwell imagined a frightening future where:
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.
He underestimated capitalism.
Big Brother doesn’t need to watch you.
He can simply sell the television.
And apparently charge you $2,400 for the privilege.
Shame on you, LG.
And to every other manufacturer tempted to turn appliances we purchase into surveillance and advertising platforms:
We bought the glass. We should own the damn glass.
———–
Can I disconnect all this crap. Some of it. If your goal is maximum privacy while still using the TV normally, I would make these changes. LG’s menus vary somewhat by webOS version, but the basic controls are similar. LG itself says the menu paths can differ by model/year. (LG)
🔒 LG TV — Privacy Settings Checklist
1. Turn OFF Viewing Information / ACR
This is the most important setting.
Look under:
Settings → All Settings → Privacy & Terms → User Agreements
Look for anything referring to:
Viewing Information
Viewing Information Agreement
Content Recognition
Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)
Personalized Recommendations
Turn these OFF / decline the optional agreement.
LG specifically says agreements concerning viewing information are optional and are not required for basic smart-TV services such as Netflix and YouTube. (LG)
2. Turn OFF Personalized Advertising
Look for:
Settings → All Settings → General → System → Additional Settings → Advertisement
Depending on the model, you may see:
Personalized Advertising
Allow Personalized Ads
Limit Ad Tracking
Ad Customization
Turn personalization OFF.
This doesn’t necessarily eliminate advertisements—it prevents LG from using as much information to personalize them.
LG acknowledges that its services can involve interest-based advertising and advertising partners. (LG Privacy)
3. Turn OFF Content Recommendations
Go to:
Settings → All Settings → General → System → Additional Settings → Home Settings
Turn:
Content Recommendation → OFF
LG specifically provides this option in its current support documentation. (LG)
4. Turn OFF Voice Recognition
This is another one I’d definitely disable if privacy is your priority.
Try:
Settings → All Settings → General → AI Service → Voice Recognition Settings
Turn OFF:
Voice Recognition
Hands-free Voice Control
Voice Response
Wake-up Word
“Hi LG” / “Hi TV”
The exact choices vary by model.
This is particularly important because hands-free voice recognition can operate while you’re not actively pressing the microphone button. LG documents that compatible TVs can recognize a wake word while the TV is off. (LG)
5. Turn OFF “Always Ready”
If your TV has it:
Settings → All Settings → General → Always Ready → OFF
This is worth doing because LG says that in Always Ready mode, voice recognition can remain available after you turn the television off. (LG)
For older models, look for:
Quick Start+ → OFF
6. Don’t accept optional User Agreements
This is an important one that many people miss.
Go to:
Settings → All Settings → Support → Privacy & Terms → User Agreements
On some older TVs:
Settings → All Settings → General → User Agreements
You will see several agreements.
Don’t blindly select “Agree to All.”
LG currently says that the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy are required for smart services, but agreements concerning viewing information, voice features and personalized advertising are optional. (LG)
So you can retain Netflix/YouTube while declining some of the additional data-collection features.
7. Don’t sign into an LG account unless you need it
If you don’t need an LG account, don’t sign into one.
LG says signing in provides additional functionality for apps and services. (LG)
If you don’t use those features, there is little reason to give the TV another persistent account identifier.
8. Delete apps you don’t use
Go through:
Home → Apps
Delete applications you don’t use.
This reduces the number of services communicating with outside servers.
LG provides an option to delete installed apps by selecting the app and entering Edit App List mode. (LG)
🛡️ The strongest option: Don’t connect the TV to the Internet
If you really want to minimize data collection, this is the biggest step.
You can use the LG as a television/display without giving webOS an Internet connection.
Go to:
Settings → All Settings → Network → Wi-Fi Connection
and disconnect Wi-Fi.
Or, if you’re using Ethernet, unplug the Ethernet cable.
LG’s own documentation confirms that Internet connectivity is what enables its network-based Smart TV services. (LG)
Then use:
Roku / Apple TV / Fire TV / cable box / satellite receiver / Blu-ray player
as your streaming source.
My recommended “maximum privacy” setup
Setting
Recommendation
Viewing Information / ACR
OFF
Personalized Advertising
OFF
Content Recommendations
OFF
Voice Recognition
OFF
Hands-Free Voice Control
OFF
Always Ready
OFF
Quick Start+
OFF
Optional User Agreements
DECLINE
LG Account
Don’t sign in
Unused Apps
DELETE
Internet connection
Disconnect if maximum privacy is desired
One important distinction
This doesn’t mean LG is a Chinese surveillance operation. The privacy concern is much broader: a connected smart TV is a networked computer with advertising, analytics, content-recognition and voice capabilities.
And this isn’t unique to LG. Samsung, Roku, Amazon, Google/Android TV and others have their own forms of data collection.
LG is a South Korean company, not a Chinese company.
Company: LG Electronics
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea
Founded: 1958, originally as GoldStar
Parent group: LG Corporation, one of South Korea’s major conglomerates
Products: TVs, appliances, smartphones (formerly), monitors, automotive components, etc.
However, LG does manufacture some products and components in China, along with factories in South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, and elsewhere. Manufacturing location is not the same as company ownership.
What your LG Smart TV can actually collect
LG’s current privacy policy says its services can collect things including:
What you watch and how you interact with content
Device identifiers such as IP address, MAC address and UUID
Information about connected devices
Network/router information
Location information in some circumstances
Audio/visual information in certain services
Information about websites and services you use through LG’s platform
Information about how you interact with advertising and other content (LG)
LG also operates Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) on its smart TVs. ACR is essentially a fingerprinting system that can identify television content being viewed and use that information for advertising and audience measurement. LG announced that its newer ACR technology was being deployed globally, including in the United States. (LG)
Does that mean LG is spying on you?
The TV can collect information about your viewing habits and send information to LG’s services and, depending on the service/settings, third-party partners. LG’s own policies explicitly acknowledge data collection and sharing. (LG)
There is also historical evidence that LG had a significant privacy problem. In 2013, LG acknowledged that certain Smart TVs were transmitting viewing information even after users had disabled the relevant feature. LG said it would correct the problem through a firmware update. (LG)
But here’s the important part about China
I don’t see evidence that China controls this data simply because LG manufactures products in China.
LG Electronics is a South Korean company, and LG’s corporate filings show that LG Electronics owns its Chinese subsidiary, LG Electronics (China) Co., Ltd. (LG)
So the chain is essentially:
You → LG TV → LG’s software/services → LG and its service/advertising partners
—not:
You → Chinese government
There could theoretically be risks associated with any company operating in China or using Chinese suppliers, but that is a different claim and would require specific evidence.
One thing I would pay particular attention to
LG’s current U.S. support documentation says that the Privacy Policy is required if you want to use smart services such as Netflix and YouTube, while agreements concerning viewing information, voice features and personalized advertising are optional. (LG)
So if you’re concerned about privacy, you don’t necessarily have to throw the TV away. You can make it considerably less “smart.”
If you want, I can give you a step-by-step list of the LG TV settings to turn OFF so the TV collects the minimum amount of information possible.
I WOULD START BY LOOKING FOR A DUMBER TV – I also have two firewalls, the TV is on the outside one. If you understand you know what I mean.
