This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
If you are going to have smart devices, put them on their own VLAN. They should not have access to the rest of your network. TVs shouldn't be connected at all. Use a PC or android box if you want to stream stuff.
The issue in this case is that they apparently use text to speech locally, store that information on the device itself, and then if at any point in the future gets connected to the internet for any meaningful length of time (be it by a subsequent owner) it will then be sent on to LG.. for safekeeping of course /s
The deep-dive by GamersNexus is pretty in depth.
Really makes one wonder...How many fucking data points do these assholes need telling them we're too fucking broke for their game and want their heads on pikes?
Enough that they can tell with a decent amount of certainty whose social credit score should be lowered, once that gets inevitably introduced /s
(I don't think that conspiratorially.. It's probably just data harvesting and extreme greed.)
My LG TV is blocked from my network and always has been. However, the andriod tv connected to it is a different thing, so it's more or less lost cause anyways and I haven't had enough incentive to block the android box from the rest of network since it'd need some tweaking so that casting and other occasionally used features still work. And even if I'd block the android tv box there's still our cellphones gathering all the data, so I'm pretty much just running things on hopium that EU offers at least some protection on my data.
Well, if you watch the Gamer Nexus video, you'll see that even if you don't connect your tv to the internet, you're still not safe.
I haven't watched the video, but how can an offline TV transmit its data to the mothership?
If I understood correctly, the tv can connect to open networks it finds and transmit data even if you disable wifi.
Mine is several years old by now, I doubt that the firmware on that has all the options enabled. And also I live in a pretty rural area, there's no open networks around.
But something LG has achieved with this, I'm going to look for other brands when I'm on a market for new TV. Which I hope will be many years in the future, maybe there's a change on products while waiting and something better is available by then.
It'll scan for open networks and use them, regardless of whether you enabled wifi or not.
Don't connect TVs to your network.
This is the only correct answer. Discussion over.
And according to the article the data collection runs even if it's disconnected. So, don't ever connect it to the network. As soon as you do everything gets uploaded.
how is it collecting and sending data if not connected to a network?
i read the article, it still needs a connection
This would've worked just a few years back but due to shitty "age verification" laws, even TV manufacturers willl force users to create an account the very least for the TV to even start up. They may also implement an always-online model and they'll justify that it's necessary to monitor users for "age verification purposes". ATP better to get a good monitor and use it as TV cuz cable or satellite boxes are either way gonna be provided by the network companies so that's there
This would’ve worked just a few years back but due to shitty “age verification” laws, even TV manufacturers willl force users to create an account the very least for the TV to even start up.
Surely only for "smart" features but without enabling any of that shit, you shouldn't get any age verification prompt.
I could see them doing it anyway as OTA broadcasts include rating data.
That said, if it's a family TV, you're never going to put everyone on it, just the oldest one anyway.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
I was at my parent’s house, trying to add some items to the smart TV. They started listening to these awful AI interpersonal dramas read by AI, on YouTube.
My thought was to add some podcasts and their Audible account, for more selections. Maybe they’ll still only listen to that, even so. You can’t add much to a smart tv. No podcasts. No podcast app. A pretty spartan selection of apps. Even something as large and mainstream as Audible. No go. Libby? Yeah, right.
I don’t get it. What’s the point? Just buy a monitor, jack it into a PC for media, and have everything you want minus this telemetry.
jack it into a PC for media
Even a proprietary streaming stick like FireTV would be an improvement because it only collects telemetry from the stick itself and not devices connected to other HDMI ports.
Just buy a monitor, jack it into a PC for media, and have everything you want minus this telemetry.
I have some bad news for you:
Ah doesn't matter. Dont use windows. Use a pi and something like LibreELEC or even you can run debloated android on it with the TV interface and a remote. Just get a BT remote or an IR receiver plug into the usb port. Either of them are pretty cheap
My TV has no Internet connection, but does connect to my gaming desktop. I agree with you. There’s no reason TVs should not just be dumb displays. I do also have the Apple TV, but it never ever shows ads and is a one-time purchase. The day it starts showing me ads is the day it meets the bin.
Fingers crossed the new Apple TV box is announced this week, I am waiting to finally switch over
There’s no reason TVs should not just be dumb displays.
At least, no reason that benefits the consumer. There are strong monetary incentives to spy on customers and sell the data that's collected.
Bosch fucking dishwashers do this, once connected there is no way to disconnect them so I sink all its outgoing traffick at the router level
Complete garbage
Yeah, what kind of idiot wants an internet-connected dishwasher?
How about an AI-powered pair of chopsticks?
In a perfect world?
I'd love access to diagnostic data. Is the filter starting to clog? Is any part not working as intended? I'm a big fan of preventative maintenance, but also really bad at sticking to an arbitrary recurring schedule (e.g., clean the filter every 6 months). This could also be accomplished with Bluetooth and an offline-only app on the phone.
In the real world? Nobody provides this, and the privacy risks aren't worth it.
I do have my dishwasher on a ZigBee power meter to 1) track energy use and 2) give me a good-enough estimate of time remaining by starting a 2h timer after it starts.
You CAN do this with a few products of diff companies with the help of home assistant and plugins BUT many companies are pulling off support OR restricting features to its own app and giving free access to the bare minimum voa protocols like matter and all. I read somewhere on reddit that a robovac company had matter access technically but only the vac on off switch access was there and none of the other basic functions. For that you need their app. But again, still some companies do support all it's features on home assistant. Many light fixtures, switches, ACs and much more support it. So yes you can run them locally BUT it all depends on the manufacturer how much control they are willing to provide openly
This could also be accomplished with Bluetooth and an offline-only app on the phone.
But WHY! If those diags are important, then just put them in the local display of the machine itself.
Why would you connect a dishwasher to the internet? Setting a timer can tell you just as well if the dishes are clean.
I need to get my network and vlans setup sooner rather than later.
