It’s not just LG. Every TV company is spying on you

不仅仅是 LG，每一家电视厂商都在监视你

Not every smart TV is as easily hackable as Gamers Nexus says LG’s are, but they’re all tracking what you watch unless you opt out. 并非每一台智能电视都像 Gamers Nexus 所说的那样容易被黑客入侵，但除非你选择退出，否则它们都在追踪你的观看内容。

The TV world has been a pot of controversy thanks to a two-hour-and-15-minute video from Gamers Nexus claiming LG TVs are nefariously spying on everything you do. They can record and store audio even when they seem to be off, track everything you watch, and could even be hacked remotely and turned into covert surveillance devices. LG TV owners, and tech enthusiasts in general, are furious, and a hurried response from LG has done little to calm the situation. 由于 Gamers Nexus 发布的一段长达两小时十五分钟的视频，电视行业陷入了争议。视频声称 LG 电视在恶意监视用户的一举一动。即使在电视看似关闭的情况下，它们也能录制并存储音频、追踪用户观看的所有内容，甚至可能被远程入侵并变成隐蔽的监控设备。LG 电视用户和广大科技爱好者对此感到愤怒，而 LG 匆忙做出的回应也未能平息事态。

Some of the claims in the video may be based on speculation and assumptions, but many of the core concerns are real and pervasive. While LG was the focus of the video, every TV company is tracking what you do, collecting that data, and sharing it with its partners. And we agree to it — even if we don’t realize it. 视频中的一些说法可能基于推测和假设，但许多核心担忧是真实且普遍存在的。虽然视频的焦点是 LG，但每一家电视厂商都在追踪你的行为，收集数据并与合作伙伴共享。而我们对此表示了同意——即使我们自己并没有意识到这一点。

TV prices have come down significantly over the years, to the point where some companies are selling them at a loss. But they make up that shortfall selling user behavior data they collect from the OS. It’s why Walmart bought Vizio in 2024. 多年来，电视价格大幅下降，以至于一些公司甚至在亏本销售。但他们通过出售从操作系统中收集的用户行为数据来弥补这一缺口。这就是为什么沃尔玛在 2024 年收购了 Vizio 的原因。

There’s a lot going on in the Gamers Nexus video, but we’ll start with the part pretty much everyone making TVs is doing: tracking what you watch, when you watch, where you watch, and how you watch to sell you things about it all. Automatic content recognition (ACR) systems are built into just about every modern TV and can identify the content playing through built-in streaming apps and over the TV’s ports by grabbing snippets of audio or video, converting them into digital fingerprints, and sending them to a database for identification. It’s what allows a TV to make content recommendations, as well as feed you ads based on your viewing habits. It’s also one way companies like Nielsen can track viewership across platforms and services. Gamers Nexus 的视频内容丰富，但我们先从几乎所有电视厂商都在做的事情说起：追踪你观看的内容、时间、地点和方式，从而向你推销相关产品。自动内容识别（ACR）系统几乎内置于每一台现代电视中，它可以通过抓取音频或视频片段、将其转换为数字指纹并发送到数据库进行识别，从而识别通过内置流媒体应用和电视接口播放的内容。这正是电视能够提供内容推荐以及根据你的观看习惯推送广告的原因。这也是尼尔森（Nielsen）等公司跨平台和跨服务追踪收视率的一种方式。

In order for TVs to capture this information, you need to agree to it. One of Gamers Nexus’ complaints in the video is that this consent is often buried in confusing and lengthy agreements that you need to accept in order to use the TV, and that companies often use dark patterns or deceptive designs to get users to agree to things without realizing they didn’t have to. For example, the Gamers Nexus video showed an LG TV displaying six different user agreements, including one consenting to ACR, and automatically putting the cursor on “Select All” when only two agreements are required to continue. 为了让电视获取这些信息，你需要表示同意。Gamers Nexus 在视频中抱怨的一点是，这种同意条款通常隐藏在令人困惑且冗长的协议中，而你必须接受这些协议才能使用电视。公司经常使用“黑暗模式”或欺骗性设计，诱导用户在不知情的情况下同意本不必同意的条款。例如，Gamers Nexus 的视频显示，一台 LG 电视展示了六份不同的用户协议（包括一份同意 ACR 的协议），并且在只需两份协议即可继续的情况下，自动将光标置于“全选”上。

As a TV reviewer, I have to deal with end-user license agreements (EULA) and privacy policies on every product I review. And while it might be a losing battle because of the sheer number of TVs and other smart devices that come through my apartment, I take steps to try and protect my privacy. I have a burner Gmail account that is used solely for signing into apps and the TV’s operating system. Initially, I only accept the legally required documents for the TV to work properly so I can run my picture quality tests — both Calman and test discs. I never agree to automatic content recognition, which is referred to by names including Enhanced Viewing, Smart TV Experience, and Samba Interactive TV. 作为一名电视评测员，我必须处理我评测的每一款产品的最终用户许可协议（EULA）和隐私政策。虽然由于我公寓里经手的电视和其他智能设备数量庞大，这可能是一场注定失败的战斗，但我还是采取了一些措施来保护我的隐私。我有一个专门用于登录应用程序和电视操作系统的备用 Gmail 账号。起初，我只接受电视正常工作所需的法律文件，以便进行画质测试（包括 Calman 和测试光盘）。我从不同意自动内容识别，该功能在不同品牌中被称为“增强观看”、“智能电视体验”和“Samba 交互式电视”等。

I also dig through all of the menus, partly to become familiar with all the settings available, but also to make sure any ad or data tracking is toggled off. When I need to test voice control, I’ll then accept the voice recognition agreements before testing functionality. And since this is usually the last thing I do in my test process, this is followed by a factory reset before sending the TV back to the manufacturer. If you’re worried about privacy, don’t use voice control. Or if you do, only use the one on a separate streaming box from a brand you trust. 我还会仔细翻阅所有菜单，一方面是为了熟悉所有可用设置，另一方面是为了确保关闭任何广告或数据追踪功能。当需要测试语音控制时，我会在测试功能前接受语音识别协议。由于这通常是我测试流程中的最后一项，在将电视退还给厂商之前，我会进行恢复出厂设置。如果你担心隐私，请不要使用语音控制。或者，如果你一定要用，请仅使用你信任品牌的独立流媒体盒上的语音功能。

I recommend the same for everyone with a smart TV. Have a dedicated email for logging in to TVs (and, if possible, your streaming apps) that isn’t connected to your personal email. When setting up the TV, only agree to whatever’s necessary for the TV to run if you want to use its OS. And after setup, go through all the menu options to make sure any ad tracking is off, and read the menu prompts closely, as the wording is sometimes confusing (probably intentionally so). 我建议所有智能电视用户也这样做。准备一个专门用于登录电视（如果可能的话，也用于流媒体应用）的电子邮箱，且不要与你的个人邮箱关联。设置电视时，如果你想使用其操作系统，只需同意电视运行所必需的条款即可。设置完成后，请检查所有菜单选项，确保关闭了任何广告追踪，并仔细阅读菜单提示，因为措辞有时会令人困惑（这很可能是故意的）。