A smart TV is a one-time sale; the data it collects can be an ongoing revenue stream. That is the starting point of a ZDNET piece by Taylor Clemons this week on what LG smart TVs record, where it goes and how long it stays. The writer notes that nearly every major TV brand collects data in some form, for advertisers or for its own marketing.
None of this is hidden in the sense of being secret: according to ZDNET, the terms shown when you set up a new LG TV include a notice that LG will collect and send data including search terms, audio recordings, payment information and screenshots. It is hidden in the more ordinary sense: few people read those screens, and nothing on the TV reminds you afterwards.
What the TV keeps, and what it sends
ZDNET distinguishes two things. A data log is a time-stamped record kept on the TV itself: profile logins, voice control, searches, app launches. A data packet is a snapshot sent to the manufacturer’s servers, which can include your IP address and profile information, screen image information, audio, Wi-Fi network settings and possibly precise location. According to the article, LG’s advertising arm says there are 49 million LG smart TVs operating in the US and 216 million worldwide, and the TV can use your home Wi-Fi network to estimate its location to within about 10 metres.
The image and audio “fingerprints” are compared against shows and films to identify what you are watching and to choose recommendations and ads; ZDNET says packets can be sent as often as once every three seconds. As for logs, the short answer to how long they stay is “indefinitely”: usernames, email addresses, passwords and payment details can survive app removal, firmware updates and power cuts, and only a full factory reset removes them.
What ZDNET recommends
- Factory reset the TV before you sell, recycle or throw it away. On LG: Settings › All Settings › General › System › Reset to initial settings › Reset all.
- After a reset, turn off every automatic content recognition (ACR) and data tracking option in the menus.
- Consider devices that block HDMI data from your players and consoles from reaching the TV without affecting picture or sound.
Two more steps sit outside the TV menus. If you watch everything through a separate streaming box or console, the TV itself may not need an internet connection at all; leaving it off the Wi-Fi removes most of the question. And if it must be online, many home routers can put it on a guest network, separate from the computers and phones where your personal files live.
The part you can see from your Mac
Here is the honest limit first: FireAI is a firewall for your Mac. It controls what apps on the Mac send, and it cannot block what a TV sends on its own. For that, the TV’s own privacy settings and your router are the tools, and the steps above are the right place to start.
What FireAI can do is make the TV, and everything else on your network, visible. Who’s online lists the devices your Mac can see on the local network, identified by the manufacturer of their network hardware from a registry built into the app, with no network scan or probing. An LG or other TV shows up with its maker’s name; you can give it a name, and switch on Watch to get a notification whenever it joins or leaves the network. A device you don’t recognise stands out, which is how you notice the gadget nobody remembers plugging in.
And on the Mac itself, where FireAI does decide, you get the same scrutiny the TV deserves: a prompt the first time any app connects, every destination on the world map, and per-app blocking. Download FireAI and try it free for 17 days. FireAI is made by HisnLabs.