LG Smart TVs - invasion of privacy?

[Xenoous]

We have all known Smart TVs have been capturing your data, but there's a hell of a lot more to it. From voice capture, questionable encryption of data, network touch and reach and so much more. The fact someone could hack into your TV and listen to you whether or not you have disabled the microphone is quite frankly insane. It even records it in plain text! What about public screens, boardroom screens, Hotel TVs?

I really really hope this blows up. It needs to stop.

https://youtu.be/6IFVTcM28KA?si=5mNNDgAYZYaXoUSt

[Funk]

Watched that the day it came out - my jaw was on the floor. It's a very long video but WELL worth watching - incredible that it's had over 3m views so far in just 2 days.

"We own the glass. We own the living room." - LG

It wasn't just that they're recording (sometimes picking up voices from 70ft away!) but that they're also scanning and recording what other devices are on your network as well as scanning neighbouring wifi SSIDs etc. And then to make matters worse they bury everything behind 50,000+ words of legalese and hiding opt-out toggles by scattering them throughout various menus where they're pretty much impossible to find.

And the ACR (Auto Content Recognition) is active all the time - logging even if you disconnect the TV from the internet. If you EVER connect it again (eg. for a firmware update) it then uploads all that information anyway. Shocking.

As it happens I'm in the market for a new TV and happened to see the G6 OLED in-store - it looked stunning. However, having watched that exposé there is NO chance I'll buy an LG TV now. Not only that but I'll be looking VERY carefully at what other manufacturers are doing with regard to snooping and privacy!

Edited by Funk on Wednesday 9th September 14:27

[No-More-Nights]

Gulp !
OMG.
I didn't know they could listen to so much, that's a proper intrusion of privacy

[phil4]

It's not just LG, they're all at it, as are the likes of firesticks, Roku's and Apple TVs.

https://youtu.be/IvFu343KNek?si=siMlQfES2PGSbtmq

[Xenoous]

It's genuinely scary. I'm looking forward to what's going to come of this. Steve (Gamers Nexus) really doesn't seem to be the type of guy to just lie down and take threats of legal action. This could be huge. I'm hoping for a deep dive on other manufacturers too. I suspect any Smart TV will be doing siimlar sketchy stuff.

I suppose this is the cost of going digital... Who would have thought it

"We know who is in the LG TV house hold, we own the glass, we own the TV"... Literally an LG spokesperson.

phil4 said:

It's not just LG, they're all at it, as are the likes of firesticks, Roku's and Apple TVs.

https://youtu.be/IvFu343KNek?si=siMlQfES2PGSbtmq

You are absolutely correct. I love that the level of this invasion of privacy is now coming to light. Remember, all of these TVs are likely using the same Linux kernel with OS on top. They can do and program anything they like. You are the product now, the TV is their gateway to you.

Edited by Xenoous on Wednesday 9th September 14:33

[RizzoTheRat]

I had naively thought my pihole would be able stop this sort of thing being able to report back, but apparently they can bypass DNS server too. Apparently blocking port 53 on your router should block it, but there are suggestions that they might be able to use any free wifi they come in to contact with, which sounds like a massive security risk to me if they're able to bridge between networks.

General consensus on other sites I've seen it reported seems to be that should be illegal in Europe so now it's known about might get turned off, but there are no laws in the US that would prevent this kind of thing which is shocking.

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 9th September 14:38

[soad]

Read about this a while ago, so not exactly new? Last LG telly wasn’t smart as such, made it so by connecting a PS3 console (~2017 or so). Didn’t get replaced by the same make.

[camel_landy]

Further reading here:

https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/09/08/lg...

(For those not familiar with The Register, it's always worth reading the comments sections. )

M

[bmwmike]

Pretty shocking. I have two tv's, a samsung and a newer LG. The samsung i always had sat behing a proxy and explicitly allowed destinations for netflix etc. For some reason I never got round to doing the same with the LG. Will do so shortly, but also going to epoxy the microphones.

[captain_cynic]

Not all of us own smart TVs.

But most of you do, not realising that you've willingly gone and bought your own Telescreens. It's not the government that you need to be worried about, it's the corporations holding their leash.

Been saying this for ages, it's not your phone spying on you, it's your smart fridge, smart TV, smart Air Fryer...

It's also a massive security hole, only a matter of time before there's malware for it, spying on you and sending Spam.

Don't think you're safe because "you've" never connected it to the internet... they've been caught seeking out open WiFi connections before.

[CT05 Nose Cone]

Very concerning, especially as I have two of them. I've switched on every privacy setting but still not sure if that will be enough. If you put a recorder in your neighbour's house you would quite rightly be in a lot of bother, but somehow it's fine for companies to do so.