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Your Smart TV Is Watching More Than You Think. Here’s How to Stop It

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16 hours ago

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You probably expect your smart TV to keep track of what you watch on Netflix or YouTube. What you may not realize is that some TVs can also collect information about what appears on the screen, including content coming from other connected devices.

One technology behind this is called Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR.

Smart TV tracking isn’t necessarily some sinister person sitting in a dark room watching your television habits. It’s generally automated data collection used for things like recommendations, analytics and advertising.

Still, if you’d rather your television know a little less about your viewing habits, there are settings worth checking.

What Is ACR on a Smart TV?

Automatic Content Recognition technology can identify content playing on your television.

Depending on the TV and the features you’ve enabled, this can help the manufacturer or its partners understand what programs, movies and advertisements are being watched.

ACR can also be used to provide features such as content recommendations.

The important part is that this technology can potentially recognize content beyond the streaming apps built directly into your TV.

That makes ACR one of the first settings worth investigating if you’re concerned about smart TV tracking.

1. Look for ACR or Viewing Data Settings

Unfortunately, TV manufacturers don’t all call their tracking features the same thing, because apparently finding a privacy setting needed an additional difficulty level.

Open your television’s Settings menu and look under sections such as:

  • Privacy
  • Terms & Privacy
  • Viewing Information
  • Viewing Data
  • Advertising
  • Smart Features

You may see references to Automatic Content Recognition, viewing information or content recognition.

Read the description before deciding whether you want the feature enabled.

2. Turn Off Personalized Advertising

Your smart TV may have a separate setting for personalized or interest-based advertising.

This can be different from ACR.

Look through the Privacy or Advertising settings for options related to:

  • Personalized ads
  • Interest-based ads
  • Ad tracking
  • Advertising IDs

Disabling personalized advertising doesn’t necessarily eliminate advertisements. It generally limits the use of your activity for tailoring those ads.

3. Review Your TV’s Privacy Choices

When you first set up a new television, you’re usually presented with a collection of agreements and privacy choices.

And, like nearly every human presented with 4,000 words of legal text while trying to watch television, you probably pressed Accept.

Go back and review them.

Some smart TVs allow you to change individual privacy permissions without resetting the entire television.

Pay particular attention to optional agreements involving viewing data, recommendations, voice features and advertising.

4. Check Voice Assistant Settings

Many modern televisions include microphones or work with voice assistants.

If you don’t use voice control, check whether you can disable the feature.

Also review whether voice recordings or interactions can be stored or used to improve the service.

A television having a microphone isn’t automatically a privacy disaster, but there’s little reason to leave features enabled that you never use.

5. Review the Apps Installed on Your TV

Smart TVs have effectively become giant smartphones attached to walls.

Open your TV’s app section and remove apps you no longer use.

You should also review account and privacy settings inside frequently used streaming apps.

Remember that disabling tracking by your television manufacturer doesn’t necessarily change the data collected by Netflix, YouTube, Hulu or other individual services.

Those services have their own privacy and account settings.

6. Don’t Forget Your Streaming Devices

If you use a Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast or another streaming device, your television isn’t the only device involved.

The streaming platform may have its own advertising, privacy and data-collection settings.

Open the settings on each device and look for sections related to:

  • Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Usage data
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Viewing information

If you’ve spent years adding streaming boxes and sticks to your television, you may have several different privacy settings to review.

7. Keep Your Smart TV Updated

Privacy isn’t the only reason to dig into your television’s settings.

Check for software or firmware updates while you’re there.

Manufacturers release updates to fix bugs, improve features and address security issues.

Some TVs update automatically, while others require you to manually check.

You’ll typically find the option under Settings, Support, System or About.

Can You Completely Stop a Smart TV From Collecting Data?

Probably not while continuing to use all of its connected features.

Streaming services need certain information simply to operate, maintain accounts and deliver content.

The more practical goal is to limit optional data collection you don’t want.

Turning off ACR or viewing-data features, reviewing advertising preferences and disabling unused smart features can reduce the amount of information being collected for purposes beyond simply delivering the service.

What If You Don’t Use the Smart Features?

If you use an external streaming box and don’t need your television’s built-in apps, you can take things further.

Depending on your setup, you may decide not to keep the television connected to the internet at all.

The TV can essentially function as a display while your streaming device handles online content.

That approach isn’t practical for everyone, especially if you use built-in streaming apps, but it removes many of the television’s connected features from the equation.

Privacy Settings Are Worth Checking Everywhere

Your television isn’t the only device in your house collecting information.

Phones, streaming devices, smart speakers, apps and websites all have their own privacy settings.

If you’re an iPhone user, our guide to 7 iPhone Settings You’ll Wish You Changed Sooner covers several privacy and security settings that are also worth reviewing.

Android users can check 7 Android Settings You’ll Be Glad You Changed for similar controls on Android phones.

FAQ

Is My Smart TV Actually Watching Me?

Not in the way the phrase might suggest. Smart TV tracking generally refers to automated technologies that collect information about usage or recognize content being displayed. The exact data collected depends on the television manufacturer, settings and services you use.

What Is ACR?

ACR stands for Automatic Content Recognition. It is technology that can identify content being displayed on a television and can be used for features including analytics, recommendations and advertising.

Will Turning Off ACR Break My TV?

Your television should still work, although certain recommendation or smart features that depend on viewing information may be affected.

Do Streaming Devices Track Viewing Activity Too?

Streaming platforms and devices may collect their own usage information independently of your television. Review the privacy settings for any Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast or other streaming platform you use.

Can I Disconnect My Smart TV From the Internet?

Yes. If you don’t use its built-in connected features, you can use many televisions primarily as displays for external devices. You will lose internet-dependent features and may need another method for firmware updates.

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