this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51634640

A new Gamers Nexus investigation found a retail LG TV actively scanning the local network for phones, laptops, smartwatches and other connected devices, while also capturing microphone audio when the screen appeared to be in standby. The investigation found voice data being stored locally even after the TV was disconnected from the network, with the queued data uploaded once connectivity returned. Researchers also uncovered webOS vulnerabilities that could potentially turn the television into a remotely controlled surveillance device. The really unsettling part isn't just the advertising angle. It's the fact that a consumer television can sit inside your trusted network, enumerate other devices, access a microphone, store collected data locally and communicate with external infrastructure. Put that same device in a corporate office, hospital, hotel or conference room and the security implications become considerably more serious. I went through the investigation in detail, including the network scanning, microphone behavior, ACR, webOS attack surface, offline data collection and practical mitigations

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[–] kaitco@lemmy.world 38 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

It’s not just LG. It’s all of them.

And, the cheaper the TV, the more often and intrusive these settings are.

It’s honestly better to just have a bare wall and a projector.

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 26 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

It’s honestly better to just have a bare wall and a projector.

Consumer projectors come with the same "smart" shit as TVs these days. Just don't connect either to WiFi. Problem solved.

[–] undrwater@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Apparently not solved. They can connect to open (and hidden) networks without your consent.

Per the marketing chief at LG; (paraphrased, from memory) "we own the glass, and we know everything beyond the glass."

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

They can connect to open (and hidden) networks without your consent.

That's a wild claim and either I accidentally skipped a paragraph in the article or you should cite a source. Quick googling doesn't show up anything of that sort for me.

[–] undrwater@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

I'm looking for a source as well. The "apparently" I used was supposed to cover the whole comment, but I can see how it didn't.

The video goes into detail, and could be staged, but comments seem to support the idea anyway.

Amazon devices are known to do this with other Amazon products to create a mesh.

It's not outside the realm of possibility.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

It’s honestly better to just have a bare wall and a projector.

From a privacy point of view: yes. From every other: not so much.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 6 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Projectors have become amazing.

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago

Projectors have become amazing.

Yeah and consumer oriented ones have their own apps and Google TV integration and the like, so no idea how a different image displaying tech would be a solution to privacy invasive TVs.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

But they require dark room. Where I live in summer it gets dark at 23:00 so you need great curtains or you can't see anything most of the day. If you have curtains you have to watch everything in complete darkness. This is fine for a movie night but people like to watch news or watch a game with their friends over some food. You also need extra device to handle apps like Jellyfin. Things like BT can be more complicated to set up (my TV handles multiple BT devices nicely).

Projectors are basically great for one or two things (home theater and gaming) but are bad for everything else.