LG TVs Reportedly Eavesdrop on Users Even When the Screen Is Off
An investigation by Gamers Nexus alleges that LG smart TVs collect private user data, including conversations, even when the screen is powered off. The report suggests the company tracks network devices and location data beyond standard viewing habits.
Why it matters
This raises significant privacy and security concerns regarding the extent of data collection by smart home appliances.
<p>TV brands tracking user activity to serve targeted ads isn't a new phenomenon, but the extent of private information they allegedly collect may worry some TV owners.</p><p>In an investigative <a href="https://youtu.be/6IFVTcM28KA?si=vzQWjUQGjmQUu6ee" target="_blank" title="(Opens in a new tab)">video</a> published on Monday, Gamers Nexus claims that TVs from one of the world's most popular brands, LG, can eavesdrop on users' conversations even with the screens turned off. The investigation was carried out with Level1Techs and other independent researchers, and the resulting video is nearly 135 minutes.</p><p>In the video, Gamers Nexus says that while most TV brands collect your viewing data for their Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) systems, LG goes beyond the basics to collect valuable pieces of information, such as your location, IP address, names of nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the names of all devices connected to the same network as your TV.</p><div class="mb-0 rounded-md bg-gray-100 p-3 md:p-5" id="related-video">
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