Nearly a year ago, I bought a brand-new LG C5 TV. At the time, I had no regrets. It’s got a beautiful OLED screen, a 120Hz refresh rate, Nvidia G-SYNC support, and even four HDMI 2.1 ports. For streaming, gaming, and watching 4K Blu-rays, it’s been everything I wanted.
But one aspect of the TV has always bothered me: its smart capabilities and the privacy implications that come along with that.
By default, not only is the home screen on LG TVs and on all other smart TVs nowadays covered in ads and recommendations, but most TVs also have some form of ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) enabled by default, spying on what you’re watching. It does so not only through the apps you’re using on your TV, but also through devices you may have connected to it, such as an Apple TV or PS5, and uses that data to sell targeted advertising. Something that LG, in particular, has been in the hot seat over lately.
While you can turn off ACR, and some smart TVs let you turn off ads on the home screen, I’ve simply reached the point where I don’t want my TV to be smart at all anymore. I just want it to be a TV. No ads. No ACR. No content recommendations. No apps. Just a TV. Just a screen.
The issue is that buying a good TV with no smart capabilities is practically impossible these days, so if you want a so-called ” dumb TV,” you have to turn your TV into one yourself, and fortunately it’s easy to do.
How I turned my TV into a dumb TV
Disconnecting your TV from Wi-Fi makes a significant difference
There are a couple of ways to limit your TV’s smart features. The first thing I’d recommend is turning off ACR, and if your TV gives you the option, disable as many ads and recommendations as possible. LG, for example, lets you turn off home-screen and screensaver ads, although other TV platforms, including Samsung, Roku, and Fire TV, don’t give you the same level of control.
But if you really want to turn your smart TV into a dumb TV, the easiest way is to cut off its internet connection entirely. Turn off Wi-Fi or unplug the Ethernet cable, and your TV can no longer load ads or recommendations, transmit ACR data over the internet, or receive automatic software and app updates. In other words, turning off Wi-Fi can instantly make your TV’s home screen go from cluttered to nearly empty while eliminating many unnecessary background processes to help improve performance. Most importantly, it turns your TV into a device focused on just one thing: being a screen.
I turned off Wi-Fi on my LG TV, and I think it’s made a huge difference in usability. It’s more responsive, switching inputs is faster and easier, and it’s made me question why I bothered connecting it to the internet in the first place, especially since I’ve always used my TV with devices connected to it, including my PC, Switch 2, PS5, and Google TV Streamer. Since I don’t use the built-in apps, my TV really had no reason to be connected to the internet in the first place. It was collecting and using data in the background for features I didn’t need and ads I didn’t want to see, and turning off Wi-Fi stopped that.
To turn off Wi-Fi on your TV, you can typically find the option in the Settings menu under Network options. For example, on my LG TV, I did it by going to Settings > General > Network and toggling off Wi-Fi.
That said, the big caveat here is that if you rely on your TV’s built-in apps for streaming, turning off Wi-Fi isn’t really an option because you won’t be able to use those apps anymore. In that case, I’d recommend going through your TV’s settings and disabling as many smart features as possible, such as ACR and ads, as I mentioned earlier. If you can, I’d highly recommend picking up a dedicated streaming device like a Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Apple TV 4K, or Google TV Streamer. That way, your TV can focus on being a TV. Plus, streaming sticks and set-top boxes typically offer a much smoother streaming experience than your TV’s built-in streaming apps, since they run faster and have more storage for apps.
Quiz
TV spyware and smart TV privacy
Trivia challenge
Think your TV is just watching shows? Test how much you really know about smart TV tracking and staying safe.
PrivacySecuritySmart TVsBest PracticesSurveillance
What is the term used to describe the technology built into smart TVs that automatically identifies and reports what content you are watching?
Correct! Automatic content recognition, or ACR, is software embedded in most modern smart TVs that silently identifies the content on screen by matching snippets against a database. It works regardless of whether you are streaming, watching cable, or playing a Blu-ray.
Not quite — the correct term is automatic content recognition, or ACR. This technology is built into TVs from brands like Samsung, LG, and Vizio, and it operates quietly in the background, sending viewing data back to manufacturers and their advertising partners.
Which major smart TV manufacturer was fined $2.2 million by the FTC in 2017 for collecting viewing data without proper user consent?
Correct! Vizio was fined $2.2 million by the FTC after it was found to have collected detailed viewing data from 11 million TVs without adequately disclosing this to customers. The settlement required Vizio to make its data collection practices much more transparent going forward.
The correct answer is Vizio. In 2017, the FTC fined Vizio $2.2 million for tracking viewing habits on around 11 million smart TVs and selling that data to third parties — all without obtaining proper informed consent from users.
What is generally considered the most effective first step to reduce smart TV data collection when setting up a new device?
Correct! Most smart TVs present data-sharing options during the initial setup wizard, and opting out at this stage is the most direct and effective way to limit collection. Many users skip through these screens quickly, unknowingly agreeing to extensive data sharing.
The best first step is to opt out of ACR and data collection during the initial setup. Manufacturers are now required to present these options, but they are often buried in long terms and conditions or pre-ticked by default, so reading carefully before tapping ‘agree’ really matters.
Smart TV ACR technology can track viewing data even when you are watching content from which of the following sources?
Correct! ACR works by analysing the actual pixels on the TV screen, which means it can identify content regardless of how it gets there — streaming apps, a connected Blu-ray player, a games console, or a cable box are all fair game.
The correct answer is that ACR can track content from any source displayed on screen. Because the technology samples what is visually on the display rather than intercepting a data stream, it captures content from external HDMI devices just as easily as from built-in apps.
In 2019, the FBI issued a public warning about smart TV security. What was the primary vulnerability they highlighted?
Correct! The FBI’s Portland field office warned consumers that bad actors — as well as TV manufacturers themselves — could potentially exploit built-in cameras and microphones on smart TVs to spy on users in their own homes. They recommended covering cameras with black tape as a precaution.
The FBI’s 2019 warning focused on the risk that hackers and even TV manufacturers could gain access to built-in cameras and microphones on smart TVs. The bureau specifically recommended placing black tape over any camera lens and checking TV settings for microphone controls.
Which network security practice is recommended to help isolate a smart TV from more sensitive devices like laptops and smartphones on your home network?
Correct! Placing your smart TV on a separate guest or dedicated IoT Wi-Fi network means that even if the TV is compromised, attackers cannot easily pivot to your laptop, phone, or NAS drive. Most modern routers support this network segmentation feature.
The recommended practice is to put your smart TV on a separate guest or IoT network. This isolates it from your more sensitive devices, so a compromised TV cannot be used as a stepping stone to access your personal data on other gadgets sharing the same network.
What does the privacy setting often labelled ‘Samba Interactive TV’ or ‘Nielsen Measurement’ refer to on many smart TVs?
Correct! Labels like ‘Samba Interactive TV’ and ‘Nielsen Measurement’ refer to third-party data analytics companies that partner with TV manufacturers to collect and monetise your viewing habits. These can often be disabled in the TV’s privacy or account settings.
These labels actually refer to third-party audience measurement and ACR services embedded by TV manufacturers as part of commercial data-sharing agreements. Companies like Samba TV pay manufacturers to include their software, and the collected viewing data is then sold to advertisers and media companies.
If you want to keep using smart TV streaming apps but minimise tracking, which combination of steps offers the strongest privacy protection?
Correct! Disabling ACR removes the most pervasive layer of passive tracking, turning off personalised ads cuts down on data being used to profile you, and reviewing app permissions ensures no individual app is quietly accessing your microphone or location without good reason.
The strongest practical approach is to disable ACR, opt out of personalised advertising, and regularly audit app permissions. A PIN or screen lock does nothing to stop background data collection, and factory resets only offer a temporary fix before the same data collection resumes once you log back in.
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Change your TV’s Power On Screen
Jump into streaming and gaming faster
Another crucial way I helped turn my TV into a dumb TV was by making sure I never had to see the home screen again. By default, most TVs power on straight to the home screen. Even with all the ads and recommendations gone since I turned off Wi-Fi, the home screen is still a nuisance. I’d rather my TV not bother loading it all and instead just immediately show me the last-used input, or a black screen where I can switch to the HDMI input I need.
Fortunately, most smart TVs let you customize what you see when you power them on, typically allowing you to choose to immediately display your last-used input rather than the home screen.
I changed my LG TV’s Power On Screen setting to Recent Input, and now when I power on my TV, it immediately displays my PC’s desktop, since I have my gaming PC connected via HDMI, and it’s typically the device I use with my TV the most. But when my PC isn’t on, my TV powers on to a black screen, and I can press and hold the input button to quickly switch to whatever input I want.
If you want to do the same thing on your TV, the exact steps vary slightly by brand. For example, on my LG TV, I found it under Settings > General > System > Additional Settings > Home Settings > Power On Screen.
On Samsung TVs, you’ll find the option in Settings > General & Privacy > Start Screen Options. On Roku TVs, it’s Settings > System > Power. On Fire TVs, it’s Settings > Display & Sound > Power Controls > Power On. And on Google TVs, it’s Settings > System > Power & Energy > Power on behavior.
Your TV is at its best when it’s just being a screen
I’ve been using my TV with Wi-Fi turned off and the power-on screen set to my most recent input for a couple of months now, and it’s been a great experience. I love no longer seeing the home screen at all, and with my TV disconnected from the internet, I don’t have to worry about what it might be doing in the background. My TV is simply focused on being a screen, while I let the other devices connected to it, like my PC and Google TV Streamer, handle things like streaming.
If you’re in a similar boat and have reached the point where you don’t want your TV to be smart anymore and just want it to be a TV, I highly recommend disconnecting it from Wi-Fi and changing its power-on screen setting, too. Your TV should feel more responsive, your privacy will be better protected, and you’ll be able to jump into using your favorite devices much faster and more easily. Both are simple changes, but they can have a lasting positive impact on how you use your TV.
