It’s not just LG. Every TV company is spying on you

It’s not just LG. Every TV company is spying on you. Every TV company is spying on youNot every smart TV is as easily hackable as Gamers Nexus says LG’s are, but they’re all tracking what you watch unless you opt out.

What happened

The TV world has been a pot of controversy thanks to a two-hour-and-15-minute video from Gamers Nexus claiming LG TVs are nefariously spying on everything you do. They can record and store audio even when they seem to be off, track everything you watch, and could even be hacked remotely and turned into covert surveillance […] While LG was the focus of the video, every TV company is tracking what you do, collecting that data, and sharing it with its partners.

Automatic content recognition (ACR) systems are built into just about every modern TV and can identify the content playing through built-in streaming apps and over the TV’s ports by grabbing snippets of audio or video, converting them into digital fingerprints, and sending them to a database for identification. RelatedLG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standbyLG responds to TV spying allegationsAs a TV reviewer, I have to deal with end-user license agreements (EULA) and privacy policies on every product I review.

Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting ClubPROLivestreamMenuEvery weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Not every smart TV is as easily hackable as Gamers Nexus says LG’s are, but they’re all tracking what you watch unless you opt out. by John HigginsSep 19, 2026, 1:00 PM UTCIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

They can record and store audio even when they seem to be off, track everything you watch, and could even be hacked remotely and turned into covert surveillance devices.

The wider picture

There’s a lot going on in the Gamers Nexus video, but we’ll start with the part pretty much everyone making TVs is doing: tracking what you watch, when you watch, where you watch, and how you watch to sell you things about it all. I recommend the same for everyone with a smart TV. Keep in mind that every streaming service does track your usage within its own app and tie it to your login; many streaming boxes do too.

The analysts said any potential impact from the war in the Middle East "appears manageable," with the region representing about 4% of total sales and the company working to offset oil and gas inflation through higher pricing. Last week, another AI company employee publicly resigned, warning the technology “could kill us all by the end of the decade”. Despite these dire warnings, AI companies have seen “otherworldly” surges in revenue and driven the US stock markets to new highs as they continue to push AI tools into everything from public school classrooms to law enforcement agencies, as well as rushing to put up new datacenters across the country.

Your Face Belongs to Us – Kashmir HillA bestselling book on the rise of Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that has provided sweeping surveillance powers to law enforcement, businesses and billionaires, by building a massive database of online images. These two tech critic academics argue that this kind of rhetoric is “AI hype” – lies and exaggerations that are helping rich people make more money “by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity”.

What has been reported

Flawed books on AI (that still might be worth reading)If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies – Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate SoaresIf you want to understand the perspective of the people panicking that AI will destroy humanity, this book is a good place to start. It’s a “doomer classic” that has been described as a book-length version of the tweet that made everyone freak out this past week. More Everything Forever – Adam BeckerWritten by a science journalist, this book provides a good overview of the ideological origins of our current tech leaders.

Modern AI has supercharged these same capabilities and is getting integrated into every critical system, making the book’s insights into the harms of automated inequality even more important. Now, just as twentysomethings are catching up, it’s overIn the 2025 hit Netflix show Adolescence, DI Luke Bascombe’s 13-year-old son, Adam, has to explain to his father the way his generation use heart emojis. Everything has a meaning. ”And those meanings are constantly evolving. The TV in your living room knows more about you than you realize.

Photo by John Higgins / The VergeJohn Higgins is a senior reviewer covering TVs and audio.

What happens next

He has over 20 years experience in AV, and has previously been on staff at Digital Trends and Reviewed. LG TV owners, and tech enthusiasts in general, are furious, and a hurried response from LG has done little to calm the situation. Some of the claims in the video may be based on speculation and assumptions, but many of the core concerns are real and pervasive. And we agree to it — even if we don’t realize it.

TV prices have come down significantly over the years, to the point where some companies are selling them at a loss. But they make up that shortfall selling user behavior data they collect from the OS. It’s what allows a TV to make content recommendations, as well as feed you ads based on your viewing habits.

The report has been compiled by Press Orb using information reported across theverge.com, cnbc.com, theguardian.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.