How to Get Your Smart TV to Stop Spying on You

In 2011, Shazam, a company originally known for pioneering the software algorithm that can identify a piece of music after sampling a few bars, demonstrated that it could do the same thing with TV clips. The resulting technology, called automatic content recognition (ACR), was quietly added to smart TVs sometime thereafter, but it didn’t gain national recognition until 2017, when the FTC forced TV manufacturer Vizio to pay a huge fine for using it without customers’ consent.

ACR works by taking audio and visual data of what you’re watching on TV, creating a “fingerprint” or data file, and then comparing that file against a digital database of recorded works. Once it finds a match, it logs the content’s metadata (what show or movie it is, what medium you’re watching it in, information on the cast, release date, and so on), building out a profile of the viewer over time. This data can be used for a variety of purposes, including personalized recommendations, advertising campaigns, and even targeted political or health-related messaging. And sometimes, that data is sold on data-broker markets.

ACR research published in late 2024 suggests that some modern TVs activate ACR as frequently as once every 10 milliseconds, and that they upload the data profile several times per minute. You may be surprised to find that, even when you’re not using the TV’s built-in streaming apps, ACR still captures content from video game consoles, DVD players, or laptops connected via HDMI. Basically, whatever you display on the TV screen is fair game.

You might think that you can prevent the uploading of this data by simply disconnecting your smart TV from the internet. That does work — for a while. But studies show that, unless you disable ACR, many TVs will continue to record and store that data and will then upload it if you ever choose to reconnect (in order to, say, perform a needed firmware update).

If you’re not particularly guarded about your privacy, ACR might initially sound harmless. You’re going to see ads anyway, so what does it matter if they’re ads for products you’re theoretically more likely to buy? The larger concern is that it’s unclear who has access to these detailed, individualized user profiles.

ACR has become a multi-billion-dollar global business. In fact, Vizio reported in 2021 that it had earned more profit from the sale of customer data than from TV sales.

That same year, Telly TV was founded. The company offers a “free” 55-inch 4K TV to people who are willing to answer 120 questions about their habits and preferences. Telly values its ad-forward TV at $1,000, which means an individual data point (such as your favorite pizza chain) could be said to be worth about $8.

Since ACR has become a major profit generator for smart TVs, models from every manufacturer will attempt to turn the function on when you first set up your new smart TV. Many setup procedures fold the opt-in consent into a bulk list of items that you’re likely to agree to without actually reading them, and some even obfuscate the method for turning ACR off by hiding it within a maze of menus. At least, thanks to the settlement between the FTC and Vizio, they’re now expected to gain your consent first.

At this writing, the numbers suggest that the data ACR gathers is potentially worth as much as or even more than the smart TVs themselves, which is one reason 4K TVs have become so affordable. But it’s less clear where your data — which can denote your age, income, marital status, voting habits, and so on — is going, who sees it, who can access or purchase it, and how securely it is anonymized or stored. You can read more about that concern in our larger article about data privacy.

If you find all of this surveillance a little spooky, there’s zero downside to simply disabling ACR on your TV. Here are the most recent guidelines for turning it off in TVs from the major manufacturers. (Because manufacturers introduce new TV lines annually and release software and firmware updates throughout the year, the exact process for disabling ACR may be different on your specific TV.)

Samsung TVs: Press the Home button on your remote control, open the full menu, and enter the Privacy Choices submenu. Within that menu, select Privacy Policy and uncheck the box for Viewing Information Services.

LG TVs: Press the Settings button on your remote, open the General menu, navigate to the bottom to the System submenu, and then select Additional Settings. Uncheck the Live Plus option. Finally, find Advertisement within the same submenu and check the Limit Ad Tracking option.

Sony TVs: Press the Home button on your remote and go to the Settings menu and then the Initial Setup submenu. Find Samba Interactive TV and turn it off.

Hisense or TCL TVs (with Google TV): Press the Home button on your remote and go to the Settings menu. Select System and then Privacy. Uncheck Viewing Information Services.

Roku TVs: Press the Home button on your remote and go to the Settings menu. Find the Privacy submenu and navigate to Smart TV Experience. Uncheck Use Info From TV Inputs.

Amazon/Panasonic Fire TVs: Press the Settings button (gear icon) on your remote, find the Preferences submenu, and then go to Privacy Settings. Turn off Automatic Content Recognition.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.