# What LG smart TVs log and send, and how to at least see the device on your network > ZDNET details what LG smart TVs record and send to LG AdSolutions, and how to factory reset one. How to spot every device on your Wi-Fi from your Mac. HisnLabs Security & Research Team (HisnLabs) · Published 2026-09-26 Canonical: https://hisnlabs.com/en/news/lg-smart-tv-data-collection-home-network A smart TV is a one-time sale; the data it collects can be an ongoing source of revenue. That is the starting point of [a ZDNET piece by Taylor Clemons](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/), published 25 September 2026, on what LG smart TVs record, where it goes and how long it stays. The article follows a YouTube video from the channel Gamers Nexus that examined LG's data collection in detail, and notes that nearly every major TV brand collects data in some form, for advertisers or for its own marketing. ## Background None of this is hidden in the sense of being secret. According to ZDNET, the terms shown when setting up a new LG TV disclose that LG will collect and send data, including search terms, audio recordings, payment information and screenshots, to Alfonso Inc., also known as LG AdSolutions. It is hidden in a more ordinary sense: few people read those screens in full, and nothing on the TV reminds anyone afterwards what was agreed to [[1]](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/). ## Findings ZDNET distinguishes two things an LG TV keeps. A data log is a time-stamped record kept on the TV itself: profile logins, voice-control activation, searches and app launches, normally used for diagnostics. A data packet is a snapshot sent to LG's servers, which can include the TV's IP address, profile information, screen-image information, audio, Wi-Fi network settings and, in some cases, precise location; LG AdSolutions' own website states there are 49 million LG smart TVs operating in the US and 216 million worldwide, and that a TV can use a home Wi-Fi network to estimate its location to within about 10 metres [[1]](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/). Image and audio "fingerprints" are compared against a database of shows and films to identify what is being watched, informing recommendations and ads; ZDNET reports that data packets can be sent as often as once every three seconds. Data logs, by contrast, can persist indefinitely: usernames, email addresses, passwords and payment details can survive an app removal, a firmware update or a power cut, and only a full factory reset clears them [[1]](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/). > Start with the device you control: try FireAI free for 17 days and see everything your Mac sends across your home network. [Download FireAI for Mac](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/download) ## Implications for Mac users A Mac itself is not affected by anything an LG TV logs or sends; the exposure here belongs to whoever owns the television, and to the home network it shares with other devices. Where it touches a Mac user is indirect: a TV sending data packets from the same Wi-Fi network is one more device whose behaviour is worth being aware of, particularly before the TV is sold, given away or recycled, since its stored data does not disappear with the box on its own [[1]](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/). ## Recommendations 1. Factory reset the TV before selling, recycling or discarding it. On LG: Settings › All Settings › General › System › Reset to initial settings › Reset all. 2. After a reset, turn off every automatic content recognition (ACR) and data-tracking option in the menus. 3. If a separate streaming box or console handles all viewing, consider leaving the TV itself off the Wi-Fi network entirely. 4. If the TV must stay online, put it on a router’s guest network, separate from the computers and phones that hold personal files. ## Relevance to FireAI FireAI is a firewall for the 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 the router are the right tools, and the steps above are the place to start. What FireAI can do is make the TV, and everything else on the network, visible from the Mac. [Who's online](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/whos-online) lists the devices a 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 involved. An LG or other TV shows up under its maker's name; a user can rename it and switch on Watch to get a notification whenever it joins or leaves the network, which is how an unrecognised device stands out. On the Mac itself, where FireAI does decide, the same scrutiny applies: a prompt the first time any app connects, every destination on the world map, and per-app blocking. > See every device on your home network, and every connection your Mac makes. Try FireAI free for 17 days. [Download FireAI for Mac](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/download) ## Limitations ZDNET's figures for LG's installed base and how precisely it can locate a TV come from LG AdSolutions' own website rather than from independent measurement, and the article does not say whether other TV brands collect comparable data by the same methods or in similar volume, only that "nearly every major TV brand" does so to some degree. It also does not report how many users have opted out of ACR or how effective a factory reset is against data LG may already hold on its own servers. Try [FireAI, by HisnLabs](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/download) free for 17 days. ## Sources - [ZDNET (Taylor Clemons), 25 September 2026: Your LG TV is constantly collecting your data – here’s how to stop it](https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/lg-tv-data-collection-how-to-factory-reset-and-why-you-need-to/)