LG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standby

LG 电视被曝即使在离线或待机状态下也会进行监控

Gamers Nexus gives you another reason to never connect your smart TV to the internet. Gamers Nexus 为你提供了另一个永远不要将智能电视连接到互联网的理由。

LG smart TVs are almost constantly logging and uploading data about owners and their homes, even when offline or on standby mode, according to a new report from YouTube channel Gamers Nexus. The company’s TV sets scan Wi-Fi networks for nearby devices, record audio logs through their microphones, and use audio and video sampling to recognize exactly what you’re watching from across the TV inputs. 根据 YouTube 频道 Gamers Nexus 的一份最新报告，LG 智能电视几乎在持续记录并上传有关用户及其家庭的数据，即使在离线或待机模式下也是如此。该公司的电视机会扫描 Wi-Fi 网络以查找附近的设备，通过麦克风记录音频日志，并利用音视频采样来识别用户在不同电视输入源下观看的具体内容。

Gamers Nexus partnered with fellow YouTubers Level1Techs and independent security researchers for the investigation, which involved testing retail LG OLEDs. Packet captures showed the TVs scanning the local area network for nearby hardware like phones or smartwatches, as well as logging location data and details of nearby Wi-Fi networks, and feeding the information back to LG Ad Solutions. Perhaps more concerningly, the TVs were capable of recording microphone audio when in standby; this continued even after the TV was disconnected from the internet, with audio files stored offline and uploaded once a connection was restored. Gamers Nexus 联合 YouTube 频道 Level1Techs 以及独立安全研究人员进行了这项调查，测试对象包括零售版的 LG OLED 电视。数据包捕获显示，这些电视会扫描局域网以查找手机或智能手表等附近硬件，记录位置数据和附近 Wi-Fi 网络的详细信息，并将这些信息反馈给 LG Ad Solutions。更令人担忧的是，电视在待机状态下仍能通过麦克风录音；即使电视断开网络连接，这种录音行为依然持续，音频文件会被离线存储，并在恢复连接后上传。

The final piece of the puzzle is Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), tech that uses audio and video data to figure out what you’re actually watching, examining the apps you use through the TV’s own smart interface and the content you connect via HDMI and other ports. ACR isn’t just an LG issue though: A new video from RTINGS digs into how ACR is used by almost every smart TV manufacturer to figure out what you watch. 最后一块拼图是“自动内容识别”（ACR）技术，它利用音视频数据来分析你正在观看的内容，通过电视自带的智能界面检查你使用的应用程序，以及通过 HDMI 和其他端口连接的内容。不过，ACR 不仅仅是 LG 的问题：RTINGS 的一段新视频深入探讨了几乎所有智能电视制造商是如何利用 ACR 来追踪用户观看内容的。

This isn’t LG’s first brush with Gamers Nexus. In July this year, the channel flagged that some LG monitors were automatically installing an app that collected device data and ran pop-up ads for LG’s other apps and even McAfee antivirus. The public pressure from that video prompted an intervention from Microsoft, and ultimately led to LG disabling the pop-up ads. 这并非 LG 第一次与 Gamers Nexus 产生交集。今年 7 月，该频道曾指出，部分 LG 显示器会自动安装一款应用程序，该程序会收集设备数据，并为 LG 的其他应用甚至 McAfee 杀毒软件推送弹窗广告。那段视频引发的舆论压力促使微软介入，最终导致 LG 取消了这些弹窗广告。