Your TV might be spying on you: Investigation reveals how LG devices can listen to conversations and upload them to the internet – even in standby mode

Being spied on by your own television might sound like the premise of a science-fiction thriller – but, according to an investigation, it’s very much a true story.

Smart TVs made by South Korean tech giant LG have reportedly been listening in on conversations, covertly recording them and uploading the data to the web.

Any LG set capable of connecting to the internet can capture audio in the room it’s in using built-in microphones and webcams, even when they are in standby mode or have the screen switched off. 

And even disconnecting the TV from the internet doesn’t stop it recoding audio, with any files gathered being sent back to the company’s servers the moment it reconnects. 

The findings come from an investigation conducted by YouTube channels Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs, with help from two security analysts.

They claim to have discovered extensive data harvesting, used to inform targeted advertising for the company’s LG Ad Solutions division.

Steve Burke, of Gamers Nexus, told The Times: ‘The only reason to give a TV this kind of power is to visit horrors upon you, not to make a better product. 

‘Ultimately, we wouldn’t recommend any LG smart products to literally anybody.’

Smart TVs made by the South Korean tech giant LG listen in on conversations, covertly record them and upload that data to the internet, according to an investigation 

According to the investigation, LG TV’s data collection capabilities stem from its automatic content recognition (ACR) system.

This allows the device to capture snippets of audio and video, compare them against its library of media, and track exactly what is on the screen or being played through the speakers.

LG uses this to track viewing and listening habits, in order to create more effective targeting profiles for advertisements.

This is not uncommon for smart TVs; however, Gamers Nexus found that the ‘trigger window’ for voice recognition remains open for ten to 15 seconds after a command was recognised.

During that additional time, the TV records everything that is being said in the room, produces a plain language transcript, and stores it in the memory.

In addition to recording your conversations, the investigation claims that LG TVs are also tracking other devices in the house.

The TV scans WiFi networks to search for connected devices such as phones and smartwatches to build up a detailed household profile.

LG claims to track 386 million so-called ‘secondary devices’ in the US alone, significantly more than the 216million smart TVs sold worldwide.

Investigators allege that LG TVs also track devices on your wifi network to create a profile of who is in the house 

Gamers Nexus also published clips of LG executives referring to these capabilities in pitches to advertisers.

Julian Zilberbrand, head of data solutions at LG Ad Solutions, told Swoop, a marketing platform: ‘At LG, we know who is in the LG household. We know which devices are there, we know what you are exposed to on TV and we know how to extend that reach into mobile.’

Similarly, in other conversations, LG executives claimed to ‘own’ users’ televisions.

Serge Matta, the president of LG Ad Solutions, said in a video: ‘In the fact that we have the glass, we own the glass, we own the TV.’

Justin Fromm, head of research at LG Ad Solutions, said in an interview on Beet.TV: ‘Because we own the glass … and we have first–party ACR data … we understand everything that hits the screen.’

This comes after a Which? investigation found that smart TVs, speakers, and even air fryers were all filled with trackers to collect users data.  

Although LG users do ‘opt in’ to these features, the investigators allege that the terms and conditions are far too complicated for most people to fully understand.

LG owners sign up to ACR tracking by agreeing to a 50,000-word terms and conditions document, which would take most adults about three to four hours to read.

Which? rated popular smart devices across six categories and gave each a privacy score, with some TVs, air fryers, and smart speakers revealed to be full of trackers 

Installing any app on the TV also presents users with six agreements, all with ‘select all’ ticked by default.

Accepting any of these agreements commits the user to accepting having their data gathered by ACR tracking.

The researchers recommend avoiding LG products or, if you already have one, permanently disconnecting it from your network.

Mr Burke adds: ‘We think the extent of LG’s data harvesting is intrusive and grotesque. Additionally, we still believe that when you purchase something, especially for thousands of dollars, you should own that thing.’

An LG spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘The claims made in the recently published video are not true. LG TVs process voice data only when the voice button on the remote control is pressed and held, or when a wake word such as “Hi LG” is recognised after the user has activated the Far–Field voice recognition feature. 

‘Other than these instances, the TVs do not collect or record ambient conversations. If the wake word is not recognised, no voice data is transmitted to the server; wake word detection is processed locally on the device and immediately deleted.

‘Additionally, to provide smart TV functionalities, LG TVs feature the ability to scan for and connect to nearby devices on the same network. This is a standard function commonly available on smart TVs and smart home devices.

‘The ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) feature is provided on an opt–in basis to deliver personalised content recommendations, services, and advertisements. If a user does not consent to the applicable optional agreement, ACR data is not used for advertising purposes.’