Dominic Preston is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor. LG smart TVs are constantly logging and uploading data about owners and their homes, even when offline or on standby mode, according to a report from YouTube channel Gamers Nexus.
The company’s TVs scan Wi-Fi networks for nearby devices, record audio logs through their microphones, and use audio and video sampling to recognize what you’re watching from across TV inputs. Gamers Nexus partnered with Level1Techs and independent security researchers to investigate retail LG OLEDs. Packet captures revealed the TVs scan the local area network for nearby hardware like phones or smartwatches, log location data and nearby Wi-Fi network details, and feed this information to LG Ad Solutions.
More concerning, the TVs recorded microphone audio even in standby mode, storing audio files offline and uploading them once a connection was restored. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, used by LG and other smart TV manufacturers, analyzes audio and video data to determine what content you’re watching, examining apps through the TV’s smart interface and connected HDMI inputs. This isn’t LG’s first issue with Gamers Nexus; in July, the channel reported LG monitors automatically installing apps collecting device data and running pop-up ads for LG’s other apps and McAfee antivirus.
Public pressure led Microsoft to intervene, and LG disabled the pop-up ads. The investigation highlights ongoing privacy concerns with smart TV data collection practices.
Source: The Verge
