Proton unveils how smart TVs monitor your activities, and the circumstances for escaping are quite bleak.

      Modern smart TVs track the content displayed on their screens at the chipset level.

      Your smart TV might have more insight into your viewing habits than you think, even if you seldom utilize its smart features. In a recent privacy overview, Proton highlights that many contemporary TVs discreetly collect data on everything shown on the screen and share this information with manufacturers, advertisers, and analytics firms.

      The concerning aspect is that avoiding this tracking is becoming more challenging, as numerous privacy options are hidden deep within the settings or are enabled by default. Proton argues that purchasing a smart TV today often entails accepting a level of surveillance that most individuals did not consciously agree to.

      How do smart TVs monitor your viewing?

      Smart TVs employ a technology known as Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). Rather than only monitoring what you stream through their built-in applications, ACR recognizes nearly everything displayed on your screen. This includes films from streaming services, live television, games played on a console, and even content from external devices connected via HDMI.

      The system generates a digital fingerprint of what is being watched and correlates it with large databases to ascertain the content. This information can then be shared with TV manufacturers, advertisers, and data brokers to create detailed profiles of your viewing patterns. ACR operates at the chipset level and is generally activated by default, meaning it functions even if you have never used your TV’s smart features.

      Is it possible to prevent your TV from tracking you?

      This is where the situation becomes particularly grim. Proton states that the most straightforward solution is to keep your TV offline entirely and connect content through a device you control, such as a media box or home server using HDMI. If you prefer internet access without tracking, tools like Pi-hole can obstruct your TV’s telemetry and ad domains while allowing everything else to function normally.

      You can also deactivate ACR and other tracking features within your TV’s settings, but the options vary by brand and may not halt all forms of data collection. Although privacy settings are available on many TVs, they are often difficult to locate, use ambiguous terminology, or are pre-activated by default, making them easy to overlook during setup.

      The takeaway is that maintaining privacy has become increasingly challenging with connected devices. Smart TVs are designed to remain online, and data collection has become integrated into the business model. If you desire the convenience of built-in apps, you may need to accept a certain degree of tracking. If privacy is your main concern, consider using your smart TV solely as a display and let another device manage the streaming.

      Manisha Priyadarshini is a tech and entertainment writer with over nine years of editorial experience.

      LG is taking action against smart TV apps that secretly use your TV as a proxy.

      If you have an LG smart TV, there may be an unsuspecting app that has been using your TV to relay internet traffic for others. According to a report from KrebsOnSecurity, LG has announced plans to intervene and put a stop to this issue. This week, the company confirmed it intends to suspend any webOS app that turns a TV into what is known as a residential proxy node. This decision follows a report from the security firm Spur, which indicated that over 42 percent of apps on LG's webOS store include SDKs that quietly reroute internet traffic through your TV indefinitely. Samsung is also affected, with more than a quarter of Tizen apps containing similar code.

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