According to a report by YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, LG smart televisions can record and upload data about users and their homes even when they have no internet connection or are in standby mode. Gamers Nexus tested retail LG OLED models in an investigation conducted with Level1Techs and independent security researchers. Network traffic logs showed that the televisions scan Wi-Fi networks to identify nearby phones and smartwatches, and send location data and information about surrounding wireless networks to LG Ad Solutions. It was also reported that the televisions can record audio in standby mode, store audio files offline when the internet connection is interrupted, and upload them when the connection is restored. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, meanwhile, identifies content watched on apps, HDMI and other inputs using audio and video samples. RTINGS reported that ACR is used by nearly all smart TV manufacturers. Gamers Nexus also reported in July that some LG monitors automatically installed an app that collected data and displayed ads for LG apps and McAfee. Following Microsoft’s intervention, LG disabled the pop-up ads.
Why it matters
These findings indicate that data collection on smart televisions may not be limited solely to the choices users actively make on screen. The inclusion of wireless devices and networks in the home broadens the issue beyond a single television’s viewing history, making it significant from the perspective of household privacy as well. The use of ACR by nearly all smart TV manufacturers suggests that the debate is not about a practice specific to LG, but a broader issue related to the industry’s content recognition and advertising infrastructures. At the same time, the conditions under which users can disable these functions and how the collected audio, video and network data are processed stand out as questions awaiting answers in light of the existing findings.