A few months ago, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won a major agreement with Samsung Electronics America, Inc. to stop collecting data without prior consent. Many consumers are unaware that their smart TVs and streaming devices are essentially spying on them.
Automatic Content Recognition
Manufacturers use a form of data collection called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). This technology is placed on smart TVs, streaming devices, and even smart speakers. ACR identifies, tracks, and logs everything viewed, including streaming apps, live TV, and HDMI-connected devices. Manufacturers state that ACR technology is beneficial to consumers by promising a more tailored and enhanced viewing experience. However, it is spying! ACR identifies content on the screen every 10 to 500 milliseconds to build detailed viewer profiles for targeted ads. This data is then used or sold to third parties.
ACR Goes By Many Names
Common brand names for this technology include:
Samsung: Viewing Information Services, SyncPlus, or Marketing
LG: Live Plus
Vizio: Viewing Data or Smart Interactivity
Roku TV (TCL, Hisense, etc.): Smart TV Experience
Sony (Google TV/Android): Samba Interactive TV
Amazon Fire TV: Device Usage Data, Collect App & Over-the-Air Usage
Why?
Manufacturers increasingly prioritize ACR and advertising as their primary profit drivers, earning more from selling this consumer data than from the physical sale of the device. The sale of the device is essentially subsidized. The profit margin is so low on devices that the device is sometimes sold as a loss leader. To compete, manufacturers rely on software and services to turn a profit later.
This revenue is not broken out by the device manufacturers, but it is a lot. It is estimated that smart TV manufacturers earn $5 per user, per quarter. And, ad revenue is estimated to be growing at roughly 20% annually.
John, I Don’t Want To Be Spied On!
I hear you! To limit or disable ACR monitoring, you can shut it off in the menus. I will show you how. All my TVs are Samsung, and all my streaming devices are Amazon. I can confirm that these are the general directions to follow for those manufacturers. I looked up the other manufacturers on the internet. Also, note that menu names will vary slightly depending on the model and year of the device. And, newer devices will have more tracking to turn off. Basically, turn off anything being tracked.
Smart TVs
Hisense/TCL(Roku): Home | Settings | Privacy | Smart TV Experience. Uncheck the “Use ACR” box. Also, check off everything under Advertising. Note, Jim Hillier checked a Hisense in Australia and had the following path (thanks Jim). Settings | System | Advanced Settings | Enhanced Viewing Settings. Disable all privacy settings.
LG: Settings | All Settings | General | System | Additional Settings. Turn off the “Live Plus” setting.
Samsung: Home | Settings | Support | Terms & Privacy | Privacy Choices. Turn off “Viewing Information Services” settings. Also, turn off Internet-Based Advertising & Voice Recognition.
Sony (& Google TV): Home | Settings | Device Preferences | Usage & Diagnostics. Turn off all options.
Vizio: Menu | System | Reset & Admin. Turn off “Viewing Data.”
Streaming Devices
Amazon: Settings | Preferences | Privacy Settings. Turn off Device Usage Data, Collect App Usage Data, and Interest-Based Ads.
Apple TV: Settings | Privacy | Limit Ad Tracking | On. Note, Jim Hillier checked an Apple TV in Australia and had the following path (thanks again, Jim). Settings | Privacy & Security | Share Apple TV Analytics.
Google Android TV/Chromecast: Settings | Device Preferences | Usage & Diagnostics | Off. Also, disable “Ad Personalization” in a linked Google account.
Roku: (1st Step) Settings | Privacy | Advertising | enable “Limit AdTracking”. (2nd Step) Settings | Privacy | Smart TV Experience | uncheck “Use ACR” box or “Use Info from TV Inputs”. On the remote, disable microphone access.
You Can Do Even More
Shutting off ACR in the menu is a good start, but what if the manufacturers do not honor the settings? You can do more if you have the equipment, services, and knowledge.
First, to isolate these devices from the rest of your network, place all your devices on a separate subnet of your network. I plan to set up a guest network on my router.
Second, set up a firewall or a service to limit ACR uploads and downloads to these devices. This can be done in multiple ways. Setting firewall filters, using a DNS filtering service (Control D, NextDNS), or through a VPN. My VPN offers multiple VPN configurations and DNS filtering. I plan to set up a second configuration (see this article), assign DNS filtering that will block the ACR (it is better to let a company keep track of what should be allowed and blocked), and apply that to the above guest network.
Bottom Line
Smart TV and streaming device manufacturers are spying on your viewing habits through a data collection technology called ACR. And, they are getting rich doing it. You can turn this technology off through the device menu. However, there is no guarantee that the manufacturer will follow your wishes. As further steps, you should isolate these devices on a network subnet and filter any ACR network traffic.
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