Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

tomshardware.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

381–390 of 513 posts

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#381

Post by Namidairo »

brianaker wrote: post #343
gnomesteel wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t give your TV internet access, and use an Apple TV.

Create an open Xfinity Wi-Fi network, as well as an AT&T one. See if the TV connects to them. This is probably obvious to most people, but I will mention just the same: do not install the antenna that the TV comes with.

> This is probably obvious to most people, but I will mention just the same: do not install the antenna that the TV comes with.

Wifi antennas would typically be internal and unrelated to the one F-Type coaxial connector one would typically think of as the "antenna" input.

Can't really stop the internal module from scanning and connecting to open access points unless you control the software.

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#382

Post by judge2020 »

runjake wrote: post #52

> "LG also said that its features like “Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), voice recognition, and interest-based advertising are optional,” and “not enabled by default.” I am absolutely certain that ACR was enabled on our new TV by default, back some years ago. I am nearly certain their voice recognition, and advertising spying were enabled on our TV by default. If none of this is truly "enabled by default" then th…

It is not enabled by default, but conveniently it's toggled on if you accept the ACR terms of service - including if you select "agree to all" - during TV setup and/or when downloading or updating any apps.

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#383

Post by ssl-3 »

llm_nerd wrote: post #161
sgc wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you giving a shady company with shady terms and shady history the benefit of the doubt?

Because when people cry wolf, and then there is no wolf, it actually harms the consumer by lowering everyone's guard. Have people not learned this yet? Gamers Nexus discovered recently, through their "AMD blacklisting" bit (when some relatively minor mid-lifecycle refresh of a product they didn't get a demo unit, so it turned into some "we are the truthsayers!" bit), that doing the Louis Rossmann routine earns them l…

[dead]

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#385

Post by taneq »

cogman10 wrote: post #62
rpdillon wrote: post #18

LG's statement: > ACR uses audio fingerprinting technology using the TV’s internal audio processor (not a speaker) to identify content and does not collect screenshots, screen recordings, video recordings, voice recordings, or other audio recordings from the TV. So they are claiming that ACR is done entirely through audio processing, and no visual data from the screen itself is used? That...doesn't seem plausible. Th…

> So they are claiming that ACR is done entirely through audio processing, and no visual data from the screen itself is used? That...doesn't seem plausible. It's probably easier to do and every bit as accurate as just using a screenshot. And it's still exactly what I don't want them doing. There's literally zero reason for LG to be building an advertising profile on me because I was foolish enough to buy one of their…

> It's why youtube still hasn't figured out piracy, but they'll knock you immediately if you play 5 seconds of copyrighted music.

Unless the piracy is silent, surely audio fingerprinting would catch it?

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#386

Post by lazide »

cogman10 wrote: post #358
lazide wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lowest common denominator? They have to round trip due to various NAT/router/firewall/App BS. Your average ‘idiot’ can barely get a managed App to work, and that typically requires some kind of cloud endpoint to co-ordinate. Other stuff is the land of prosumer.

You only need an external server if you want to make it so the end user can access their device remotely. Otherwise, an app can very easily just scan the network for the device. Heck, the app itself could be the thing that sets up the device on the network in the first place.

users sometimes end up with some combination of the above:

1) multiple wifi networks 2) ‘guest mode’ wifi networks (you can’t communicate to other devices on the same network) 3) various airplane mode type scenarios where they have cellular but not wifi connections semi-randomly, even on the same property/area.

these all happen with out of the box ISP setups pretty regularly, btw.

and they’ll just blame you for the flakiness.

also, for most of them, they love remote access anyway and don’t want to consider the security implications.

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#387

Post by nullc »

drnick1 wrote: post #205

If you have one of those TVs, disassemble it and unplug or remove the microphone, camera and the wireless adapter. Use it as a (rather nice) 4K monitor for a Linux box with Plasma in Bigscreen mode. Pair that with an airmouse remote and you get the most private and user-centric streaming/gaming platform that you can build. Put a decent GPU in the box, add an Xbox controller and Steam and you also built the world's be…

Has someone qualified that removing the wireless hardware leaves the device functional?

This would be a nice public service for gamers nexus that happened to buy a lot of these devices. :P

I can say from experience in several devices (but not an LG TV) that removing dedicated bluetooth chipsets so far has left devices functional. ... but some things implement their bluetooth as part of the ESP32 that is the whole kit and kaboodle, so you can't remove it.

As to why someone would remove these components -- in addition to the explicit spying LG is doing, there are companies dragnet collecting BTLE device identifiers gps collecting, including collecting them via phone apps. This means that if you have any BTLE devices that are frequently with you or otherwise connected to your identity it may be possible for a threat actor to determine your location(s) from largely unregulated commercial databases.

I don't use BTLE at all, so this 'functionality' is a pure risk to me.

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#388

Post by silisili »

pcardoso wrote: post #238
zephyreon wrote: post #232

> Features such as Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), voice recognition, and interest-based advertising are optional. These features are not enabled by default. Users can choose to enable these features and can manage or withdraw consent through TV settings. They may be optional features but I’m pretty sure when I set up my tv and got to the screen where you are required to agree to the various terms and privacy le…

Even some updates will trigger the acceptance screen from time to time, with a second scare confirmation shown when I reject. If my wife or kids were shown that screen when I’m not around they would accept it.

Nearly every notification (new privacy statement, new update, etc) defaults you to clicking accept all, even showing you that you hadn't previously checked them. You have to be vigilant with LG TVs, sadly.

Re: LG denies TV spying claims, says tracking and snooping concerns 'not true'

#390

Post by dakolli »

RiverCrochet wrote: post #170
firefoxd wrote: post #110

"We own the glass" that's what really stood out to me. I can still disconnect my TV from wifi. But what scares me is when every device comes with their own esim and cellular radio.

You shouldn't be really scared until all devices follow the pattern of the iPhone (and maybe new flagship Android phones too, I'm not in that camp). New iPhones are expensive, more than $1000. Yet most people who get them finance it through their cellular carrier, usually 2 year plans, so it's just $30-$50 tacked on to the monthly cellphone bill. So ... no one cares unless it's going to double their bill. Let's say t…

Tldr: you shouldnt be concerned because its only 36 months away lol
Post reply on HN