LG smart TVs log Wi-Fi, audio, and viewing data — even offline and in standby

An investigation by Gamers Nexus, working with Level1Techs and independent security researchers, found that LG OLED TVs continuously collect and transmit data about their owners and surroundings. Packet captures from retail units showed the sets scanning the local network for nearby devices like phones and smartwatches, logging location and details of surrounding Wi-Fi networks, and sending it all back to LG Ad Solutions. More alarmingly, the TVs recorded microphone audio while in standby and kept doing so after being unplugged from the internet — caching the files locally and uploading them once a connection returned.

The TVs also rely on Automatic Content Recognition, which fingerprints audio and video to identify exactly what is playing across apps and HDMI-connected devices. That practice isn’t unique to LG; a companion report from RTINGS notes ACR is standard across nearly every smart TV brand, making it an industry-wide surveillance mechanism rather than a single-vendor flaw.

This is LG’s second run-in with Gamers Nexus this year. In July, the channel exposed LG monitors auto-installing software that harvested device data and pushed pop-up ads, including promotions for McAfee — pressure that drew in Microsoft and eventually forced LG to disable the ads. The findings reinforce a blunt piece of advice for privacy-conscious buyers: never connect a smart TV to the internet.