Smart TVs should never be connected to the internet, period
this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
41 points (91.8% liked)
Privacy
4315 readers
156 users here now
Icon base by Lorc under CC BY 3.0 with modifications to add a gradient
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
all 27 comments
sorted by:
hot
top
controversial
new
old
TV advertising uses sound frequencies that we cannot hear but to which smartphones react. So tracking is not only done on smart TVs and even without the internet.
This sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear from someone who smokes things off tin foil in their car.
Man, I hate this community more and more... because you deal with such topics but know what is portrayed by others...
Some companies: Listnr, Sonic Notify or Silverpush
Yeah, I know it was touted.
But this one never really seemed to take off. The idea was they'd embed their listening tech into other apps, but as far as I can tell no other apps really wanted it because TV was already dying a death.
Plus if you're going to record everything, why not voices. And on Android it tells you if an app access the microphone.
This is just one of those things that bigger tech killed.
Your answer shows me that you understand what this is all about. That's worth a lot when I look at the other answers.
Yeah, I vaguely remember it from when it was originally reported on, and all the articles about it seem to be from 10 years ago.
Apparently the tech is still in use, but it's very niche. They can embed it into e.g. sports TV intended for broadcast in bars, and physically go to the bar with a phone app to check to see if they're using the expensive public broadcast version, or the cheaper home version and then fine the venue for non compliance.
In the UK, they just broadcast with a pint glass in the corner of the screen instead.
It kind of relies on the belief that phones are always listening, while the truth is much worse IMO. They don't need to. They're tracking enough about you already.
Just think of the preinstalled installers, etc., which you can't even see without root access. It's crazy how many different types of tracking there are (generally).
https://cybernews.com/security/phone-listening-your-tv/
https://cybersnowden.com/ultrasound-tracking-beacons-in-mobile-ads/
https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-8336-talking_behind_your_back#t=2
https://intellisec.de/pubs/2017a-eurosp.pdf
https://byte-sized.de/privacy/uxdt-was-ist-ultrasonic-cross-device-tracking/
And its still in use.
[deleted]
Except if you have an android phone with assistant enabled, it will hear ‘OK, Google’ even when mic is not on. Things they mention are not impossible to implement, but those will require to fiddle a lot with the hard- and software of the phone, something a manufacturer can totally do
Right, so it requires an ad first. Which my TVs never load, because:
Smart TVs should never ever get internet, period.
Has nothing to do with the internet. Rofl
Please explain to me how my TV - which has never had nor will never have internet - play an advertisement embedded with ultrasonic sounds? The advertisement has to get loaded from somewhere at the start of this process, no?
Please help me understand your magical thinking
Wtf. Cable tv?!?
Yuck, not a chance
The article you reference discusses advertisements which use said frequencies. My TV has literally never been connected to the internet, so therefore it’s impossible that a “frequency embedded ad” has ever played on it ever, period.
It’s a non-issue if you never give a smart TV internet
I hope what you wrote is a joke.
Why is that your hope?
Its about tv ads... Nothing about Internet. Maybe you just watch (local)streams and dont remember tv ads..
Watch local streams? I literally do not see advertisements. Ever, period.
My TV literally doesn’t know what a “commercial” nor “advertisement” is. But now I understand the confusion - thanks.
I would love to spoof one of these TVs and just constantly send in pornographic "screenshots" to their collection service
Hmm, or somehow send content that was illicit in a way that implicates LG in a crime... Hmmmmmm
Live Plus before, it's a feature on LG smart TVs that uses ACR (automatic content recognition) to analyze what's displayed on your screen (via The Markup). LG then uses that data to offer "personalized services," including content recommendations and advertisements.