216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#301

Post by pessimizer » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:07 PM UTC

givinguflac wrote: post #200

rickdeckard wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, unfortunately the investigative video is implying (or explicitly stating) malice on every detail they discovered, which is harming the overall message IMO. They hacked the TV OS, then used the TV UI to do a web search with voice-input and observed (still on the UI!) that the voice input didn't stop immediately on silence but kept extending the search prompt with everything said [0]. The OS-hack was irrelevant fo…

| but this conspiracy theory that everything is made to spy on you is not helping... Have you actually looked at what is being discussed? There is no conspiracy theory, these are simple facts. Just about every electronic device is made to spy on you in 2026. Thinking otherwise is naive, at best.

You don't understand - it's not meant to spy on you, it's only meant to spy on you.

It's only meant to spy on you in the way that won't get really bad viral press right now. If it spies on you in the way that people notice and object, it was clearly a honest mistake.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#302

Post by patrakov » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:09 PM UTC

JoshTriplett wrote: post #184

prmph wrote: post #88

Just don't buy a smart TV. Buy a good "dumb" TV (or just get a good large monitor), then hook it up to a set top box (with TV capabilities as needed).

That would be lovely. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, nobody sells (for instance) high-quality 65"+ OLED non-"smart" TVs. "dumb TV" options are limited to older display technology.

Try https://www.aorus.com/monitors/AORUS-FO48U/Key-Features - yes, it's a bit too small for you.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#303

Post by jgrahamc » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

korzinka wrote: post #107

I've bought an LG Smart TV 5 years ago, read t&c where I was supposed to grant them any data they wanted, decided to disagree and kept all network functions disabled. I was ridiculed by my friends for that. At some point, I thought - maybe I'm really crazy to do so? Who am I, a caveman, a luddite? Oh well, I'm not. Not a bad tv though, many HDMI ports!

Yeah. I own an LG TV also of about the same vintage. It doesn't get to talk to the Internet.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#304

Post by BLKNSLVR » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

p0lychromatic wrote: post #245

motbus3 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that. If shows that it does capture lots of ambiance conversations and switching microphone recording to be easily. Also there is a scare bit that they show an almost silent stream of audio actually contains audible conversation. Why was it even recording? The "own the glass" thing is the most consumer disrespect I have heard in a while. They claim they own the TV and YOUR LIVING ROOM. They know they are inv…

But weren't most recordings manually started in the video? Either through the UI, or via the root access they have? I might be missing something here, but I did not see the TV automatically recording stuff by itself (or them showing it is transmitted somewhere) without a visible UI element showing that the microphone is active. It seems that they turned the TV into a wiretap via root. That is a concern and might give…

My takeaway was just that the root access gave them the ability to find out what was being recorded, and they were able to play back recordings that it made.

It didn't appear to me that they were initiating anything.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#305

Post by robk3 » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:11 PM UTC

Cool when having 3 LG tvs in our office

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#306

Post by afarah1 » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:14 PM UTC

spockz wrote: post #172

Okay. This is insane. First the monitor that uses a windows feature to automatically install a small helper tool with root permissions and then starts showing adds in certain regions. Now a tv that is actually actively snooping around on top of the known fingerprinting. What else is next? In the previous topic I got ridiculed for not wanting to buy LG anymore because I could use an agent to modify to strip out the of…

I think the insane part is that this is not criminal and the executives are not jailed for it.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#307

Post by testaccount121 » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

has anyone tried to pwn an lg smart tv using a coding agent? would love to turn mine into a dumb tv.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#308

Post by trueno » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

Dan_- wrote: post #284

jangxx wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use the built-in AirPlay receiver on my Sony TV quite a bit and that requires network access

LG’s AirPlay requires internet access.

christ we need to start rooting tvs and start up a open and secure tv os. i never give my tv os internet access i rely on the appletv for the "smart tv" but if what another poster says is true about lg devices looking for public wifi to exfiltrate data then lol time to start pulling tvs apart and shielding their network components from getting a signal

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#309

Post by INTPenis » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:17 PM UTC

I've been using a big monitor as a TV for 8 years now. That's all it takes, a big monitor.

I just didn't want to buy any TV that was available 8 years ago because they all seemed invasive to me.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#310

Post by nnevatie » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 1:19 PM UTC

It's unfortunate LG screens are still the best in image quality, even though competition is getting closer. That said, the best way to use LG TVs is to immediately disconnect them from the internet and use an Apple TV 4K for streaming applications.