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Your TV is Watching You Back

Your TV Is Watching You Back

Most people now accept that their phone and laptop track them. Fewer realize the TV in the living room does the same thing, and often with less protection and less oversight.

In March 2017, WikiLeaks published leaked CIA documents describing a tool called “Weeping Angel.” According to the documents, the CIA, working with Britain’s MI5, developed a way to put certain 2012 and 2013 Samsung smart TVs into a “Fake Off” mode. The screen looked switched off while the microphone kept recording conversations in the room (BBC News).

The attack required someone to plug a USB drive into the TV, and the CIA never confirmed the documents were real. It still proved the point: a TV with a microphone and an internet connection can be turned into a listening device.

You Don’t Need a Spy Agency for This to Matter

2017: Vizio paid $2.2 million to settle charges from the FTC and the State of New Jersey. The government said Vizio collected second-by-second viewing data from about 11 million TVs without telling owners, then sold it.

2018: Consumer Reports found security flaws in Samsung TVs and TVs running Roku. If an owner clicked a bad link or installed a bad app, a hacker far away could change channels, blast the volume, play offensive videos, or knock the TV offline. Samsung later fixed its flaw. Roku disputed the finding.

2019: The FBI’s Portland field office warned that hackers could take over unsecured smart TVs. In the worst case, the FBI said, they could “turn on your bedroom TV’s camera and microphone and silently cyberstalk you.” A hacked TV could also be a backdoor into your home router and every other device on your network (Washington Post).

2025: The FBI warned that millions of cheap, off-brand TV streaming boxes and other gadgets were infected with malware called BadBox 2.0. Some came infected from the factory. Others were infected during setup. Criminals then secretly routed fraud through the owners’ home internet connections.

2025 to 2026: Texas sued Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, and TCL, alleging their TVs captured what was on screen as often as every half second, without real consent, and sold the data to advertisers. Texas said the opt-out took more than 15 clicks across four or more menus. Samsung and LG settled in 2026 and agreed to ask for clear, opt-in consent. They admitted no wrongdoing.

September 2026: An investigation by Gamers Nexus and security researchers found that ordinary, unmodified LG TVs scan the home network for phones and other devices and log the names of neighbors’ Wi-Fi networks, feeding LG’s ad business. The researchers also used security flaws in LG’s software to take over a TV and make it record the room while it looked switched off. LG denies the claims.

November 2026: Police in Japan and a group of security firms took down a botnet of 1.3 million infected Android TV streaming boxes in more than 200 countries. Google’s security team said it believes the manufacturer built the backdoor on purpose, for profit.

Nine years after Weeping Angel, the same trick still works on a hacked TV.

The lesson is simple. A smart TV is a computer with a big screen, a microphone, often a camera, and a business model built on knowing what you watch. This post explains what your TV collects, how to check your own model, what you can do about it, and when the right answer is a different TV.

How a Smart TV Collects Your Data

The biggest privacy problem with smart TVs is a feature most owners have never heard of: automatic content recognition, or ACR.

ACR works like song recognition apps, but for everything on your screen. Several times a second, the TV takes a small sample of what is being shown, turns it into a digital fingerprint, and sends it to a company server to identify it. It can do this whether you are using a built-in app, cable, an antenna, a game console, or a DVD player plugged into the TV. The result is a detailed record of what your household watches and when.

That record is valuable. TV makers and their data partners use it to:

  • Build a profile of your household’s viewing habits
  • Show you targeted ads on the TV’s home screen
  • Match your TV to your phone and other devices on the same home network, so ads follow you across devices
  • Sell or share audience data with advertisers and data brokers

This is why smart TVs are often cheap. Many manufacturers make more money from your data and ads over the life of the TV than they make selling the hardware.

ACR is not the only concern:

  • Microphones and voice assistants. A TV or remote with voice control has a microphone. It is meant to listen only after you press a button or say a wake word, but you are trusting the manufacturer on that.
  • Cameras. Some models have built-in or add-on cameras for video calls.
  • Home screen tracking. The TV records which apps you open, what you search for, and which ads you look at.
  • Security holes. TVs often get fewer security updates than phones and laptops, and many stop getting updates after a few years. An old TV that is still connected to the internet is an easy target.

Most of this is switched on by default. When you set up a new TV, you click through a series of agreements, and that click is usually what gives the company permission.

Who Is Behind Your TV: The Platforms

What matters most is not the brand on the front of your TV but the software running it. That software, the “platform,” decides what is collected and where it goes. Many brands share the same platform, so a TCL and a Hisense can behave the same way if both run Roku.

Platform Found on What to know
Tizen Samsung Samsung runs its own ad business and uses ACR. In 2015, Samsung’s privacy policy warned owners that sensitive things they said could be sent to a third party through voice recognition. After a public backlash, Samsung rewrote the policy and said voice data is collected only when you press the remote’s voice button.
webOS LG LG runs its own ad business. Its ACR feature is called “Live Plus” on many models. In 2026, researchers reported that unmodified LG TVs scan home networks for other devices and log nearby Wi-Fi networks. LG disputes the findings.
SmartCast Vizio Vizio settled with the FTC in 2017 over collecting viewing data without consent. Viewing data is still central to its business. Walmart bought Vizio in December 2024, largely for its TV ad business, which now feeds Walmart’s own advertising arm. Since early 2026, Vizio TVs are sold only at Walmart and Sam’s Club, and new owners are told to sign in with a Walmart account, which links the TV to their Walmart shopping account.
Roku TV TCL, Hisense, Sharp, onn, and other budget brands Roku makes much of its money from ads and data. Roku-powered TVs can collect viewing data from inputs like cable and antenna, not just Roku apps.
Google TV / Android TV Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips, and others Ties into your Google account. The TV maker may run its own ACR on top of what Google collects.
Fire TV Amazon, Insignia, Toshiba, Pioneer, and others Ties into your Amazon account and Alexa. Amazon uses viewing and app data for its ad business.
VIDAA Hisense (some models) Hisense’s own platform. Like TCL, Hisense is a Chinese company. Texas’s 2025 lawsuits against both companies allege the Chinese government could access their viewing data. Both companies are still fighting those suits.

Two cautions apply to every row. First, settings and data practices change with software updates, so a TV that was set up privately can change after an update. Second, the same brand may use different platforms in different years or price ranges, so check what your specific TV runs.

How to Check Your Own TV

Start by finding your model number. It is on a sticker on the back of the TV, and usually in the menu under Settings, then Support or About. Search with the full model number, not just the brand.

These free resources already exist:

Resource What it is good for
Your TV maker’s privacy policy and support site The official list of what is collected and the exact names of the settings to turn off. Search “[brand] TV privacy settings.”
Consumer Reports Plain-language testing and step-by-step guides for turning off tracking on major brands.
Mozilla’s Nothing Personal magazine Hands-on privacy reviews of popular tech, written for regular people. It replaced Mozilla’s “Privacy Not Included” guide, which ended in August 2026. Older reviews survive on the Internet Archive.
National Vulnerability Database The U.S. government’s list of known security flaws. Search your brand name to see reported problems. This one is more technical.
FTC and state attorney general press releases Enforcement actions and lawsuits against TV makers over data collection.

What to look for when you search:

  • Does your TV use ACR, and what is the setting called?
  • Does it have a microphone or camera?
  • Is the TV still getting software updates? If the maker has stopped supporting it, treat it as unsafe to connect to the internet.
  • Has the brand been sued, fined, or warned over data practices?

What You Can Do About It

The options below run from most effective to least. You can combine them. None of them makes a smart TV perfectly private, but each one cuts down what leaves your home.

  1. Disconnect the TV from the internet. Forget the Wi-Fi network in the TV’s settings and unplug any network cable. A TV that can’t reach the internet can’t send your data anywhere. Plug in a separate streaming device for your apps instead. Some TVs will nag you, show a reminder screen, or lose features when offline, and a few won’t finish setup without a connection.
  2. Use a more private streaming device. If you disconnect the TV, the streaming box becomes the device that sees what you watch, so choose carefully. Devices from companies whose main business is advertising collect more. No streaming device is fully private, so apply the same steps below to the box too. Avoid off-brand boxes sold as “unlocked” or with “free content,” and any device that asks you to turn off Google Play Protect. The FBI says these are signs of malware.
  3. Turn off ACR and ad tracking. If the TV stays online, go through every privacy setting. Turn off ad personalization and reset your advertising ID. Check again after each software update, because updates can switch settings back on. The table below lists the setting for each major brand.
  4. Turn off the microphone and camera. Disable voice assistants in the settings. Cover or remove any camera. If your remote has a voice button, don’t use it.
  5. Say no during setup. When setting up a new TV or after a factory reset, read each screen and decline the optional viewing-data and ad agreements. Many TVs still work with only the required terms accepted.
  6. Block tracking at your router. A router with tracker blocking can stop the TV from reaching known data-collection servers while still letting streaming work. This is where MARK37 is focused, and the limits are covered at the end of this post.
  7. Put the TV on its own network. Use a guest network so the TV can’t see your phones, laptops, and other devices. This makes it harder for ad companies to link your TV to the rest of your household, and harder for a hacked TV to reach your other devices.

Turning Off ACR, Brand by Brand

Menu paths change between models and software versions. If you can’t find the setting, search your TV’s settings for “Viewing” or “Privacy.”

Platform Setting to turn off Where to find it
Samsung Viewing Information Services Settings, All Settings, General & Privacy, Terms & Privacy (or Privacy Choices)
LG Live Plus Newer: Settings, General, System, Additional Settings. Older: All Settings, General, Additional Settings
Vizio Viewing Data Newer: All Settings, Privacy & Legal. Older: All Settings, Admin & Privacy. Before 2020: System, Reset & Admin
Roku TV (TCL, Insignia, onn, Philips, Sharp, some Hisense) Use Info from TV Inputs Settings, Privacy, Smart TV Experience
Google TV on Sony Samba Interactive TV Settings, System Preferences, Samba Interactive TV, then Disable
Google TV on TCL or Hisense Viewing Information Services Settings, System, Privacy
Amazon Fire TV Automatic Content Recognition, plus Device Usage Data and Collect App & Over-the-Air Usage Data Settings, Preferences, Privacy Settings
Hisense VIDAA Automatic Content Recognition (Hisense says it is off by default) Home, Settings, System

Fire TV and LG settings have been reported to turn themselves back on after updates. Recheck them every time your TV updates.

The “Dumb TV” Option

The surest way to stop a TV from spying is to own one that can’t. A “dumb TV” is simply a screen: no apps, no internet connection, no microphone. You add streaming with a separate device you control.

The catch is that dumb TVs are now hard to find, especially in large sizes and good picture quality. Manufacturers make money from smart features, so they have mostly stopped making TVs without them. Here are the realistic paths:

Option Pros Cons
Commercial or business displays Built for offices, stores, and hotels. No consumer ad business behind them. Often very durable. Cost more. Many still run a basic operating system, so check each model. Some lack a TV tuner or have a home-use warranty limit.
Budget non-smart TVs Cheap and simple. A few smaller brands still sell them. Limited sizes and picture quality. Models come and go quickly.
Computer monitors or projectors Many have no smart features at all. Monitors top out at smaller sizes. Projectors need a dark room and often a separate speaker.
A smart TV kept permanently offline Best picture quality for the price. Easy to buy. Requires discipline. The TV may nag you, and one accidental Wi-Fi connection undoes the protection.

Our honest recommendation for most families: if you are buying a new TV, start with a commercial display. It gives you a large, quality screen without a consumer ad business behind it. Pair it with a carefully chosen streaming device, and check that the model you pick has no built-in tracking.

If you already own a smart TV, you don’t need to replace it. Most families have real money hanging on the wall, and that investment deserves to be protected, not thrown out. Disconnect it from the internet and use a separate streaming device, or follow the steps earlier in this post to cut down what it collects. That gets you most of the protection without buying anything new.

A caution on specific models: availability changes month to month, and some products sold as “basic” still include smart features. Before you buy, confirm in the manual or product listing that the TV has no Wi-Fi, no network port, and no built-in apps. MARK37 intends to publish a tested list of recommended models, with the date each one was checked.

What MARK37 Is Building

MARK37 intends to help families secure the TVs they already own through Ghost Router, our upcoming home network appliance. Two of its features are built for exactly this problem:

  • Ghost Shield blocks known ad, tracking, and harmful sites for every device in your home, including your TV. You choose a filtering level, allow sites you trust, and pause it when something needs troubleshooting.
  • Ghost Zones puts smart-home gear like your TV on its own separate network. You decide what it can reach, so it can’t see your phones and laptops, and a hacked TV can’t reach them either. The TV must be connected to that zone’s Wi-Fi network to be protected.

The goal is simple: let your TV stream what you want, cut off as much of its reporting as possible, and keep it walled off from the rest of your home.

We will not overpromise. Network-level blocking reduces what your TV sends out. It does not guarantee your TV sends nothing. Here is why:

  • Some TVs are built to get around blocking. A router usually blocks trackers by refusing to look up the addresses of known data-collection servers. Some devices ignore your router’s address lookup and use their own hidden lookup service, or connect to servers directly by number. Ghost Shield can’t stop a device that does this.
  • Tracking and streaming can share the same servers. When a company sends your viewing data through the same servers it uses to deliver shows or updates, blocking one can break the other.
  • TVs can store data and wait. A TV that can’t reach its servers may save data and try again later, including on a different network.
  • Updates change the rules. Manufacturers can change where data is sent at any time, so block lists need constant upkeep.

That is why Ghost Router works best as one layer, alongside turning off ACR, saying no during setup, and choosing a private streaming device. Ghost Zones still protects the rest of your home even when blocking can’t catch everything. For the strongest protection, the TV stays offline entirely.

We also plan to build a free lookup tool on MARK37.com: enter your TV’s make and model, and see its known privacy and security issues and the steps to fix them.

You own your home. You should own what your TV says about it.

Sources

Incidents and Investigations

Government and Legal Actions

Companies and Platforms

Manufacturer Privacy Settings Guides

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