I Asked Every TV Manufacturer 17 Questions About How They Spy on You

After LG was accused of spying through its TVs, I wanted to see how other TV companies were collecting and protecting our data.

By John Higgins

Why This Matters

Smart TVs have quietly become some of the most data-hungry devices in the home. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and similar technologies can log what you watch, when you watch it, and increasingly—with the rise of on-device AI assistants and ambient sensing in 2026—who is in the room. Following allegations that LG was spying through its TVs, I set out to find how the rest of the industry actually handles our data. So I sent every major TV manufacturer the same 17 questions.

The Questions I Asked

I wanted answers that were specific, verifiable, and comparable across brands. The 17 questions covered:

1. What data does your TV collect by default, and which features can be disabled?
2. Do you use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to track viewing habits?
3. Is ACR enabled by default, and can users opt out entirely?
4. What data is shared with third parties, and with whom?
5. Do you sell user data?
6. How long is viewing data retained?
7. Is data linked to a persistent device identifier or to an individual account?
8. Do you collect audio or voice data, and under what conditions?
9. Does the TV use cameras or ambient sensors, and can they be physically disabled?
10. How does the TV handle data from connected HDMI devices?
11. What is your policy on cross-device tracking and household-level profiling?
12. How do you comply with GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and emerging 2026 state privacy laws?
13. What happens to collected data when a user resets the TV or returns it?
14. Do you provide a plain-language privacy dashboard, and where is it located?
15. How are firmware updates used to change data practices, and are users notified?
16. Have you conducted third-party privacy audits, and will you publish the results?
17. Who is the accountable contact for privacy questions?



What I Learned




The responses—and the silences—were revealing. Some manufacturers provided detailed, documented answers; others deflected to generic privacy policies that had not been meaningfully updated for the 2026 regulatory landscape. A few key patterns emerged:



• Opt-outs exist but are often buried. Most brands allow users to disable ACR, but the setting is rarely prominent and is sometimes reset by firmware updates.
• Vagueness around third parties. Few companies would name the data brokers or analytics partners receiving viewing data.
• Voice and sensor data remain the grayest area. With always-listening microphones and ambient sensors now common, consent models vary widely between brands.
• Accountability is thin. Only a minority could point to a named privacy contact or a published third-party audit.



What You Can Do




Until transparency improves, the burden falls on consumers. Practical steps include disabling ACR in your TV's privacy settings, disconnecting the TV from the internet where possible, using a separate streaming device with stronger privacy controls, and reviewing your TV's privacy dashboard after every firmware update.




The Bottom Line




Smart TV privacy in 2026 is still largely a self-service exercise. The industry has the technical means to collect extraordinary amounts of data about our viewing and our homes; what it lacks, in many cases, is a clear commitment to telling us exactly what it does with it. Asking the questions is the first step—holding manufacturers to the answers is the next.

via The Verge