Since the 1920s, we have been watching television from the comfort and privacy of our homes. Yet, now it seems that your TV may be watching you in return. That’s right, many of the most popular brands of smart TV use ACR (automatic content recognition). This type of surveillance technology gathers data on your viewing habits and shares it with a proprietary database. This data is then used to try and offer ads that are specifically targeted to you. Many people don’t even know that this software is part of their smart TVs since it is so hidden from view. Furthermore, many people don’t know that they can opt out of this option.
How Automatic Content Recognition Software Works
The software works by continuously taking screenshots of whatever is playing on your screen, be it from cable TV, a game console, or a streaming service such as Netflix. It then compares those images to an incredibly large media and advert database, trying to find a match. We aren’t talking about the occasional screenshot, either. The software is like an overzealous wedding photographer, capturing 7,200 images every hour, which equates to around two images every single second. Using this data, they are able to personalize content recommendations and targeted adverts. Companies spend huge sums of money on putting targeted adverts on smart TVs. In fact, advertisers spent around $18.6 billion on these ads in 2022 alone.
In this day and age, it has become increasingly important to keep your personal data private. Many companies are all too happy to sell your information on to other companies. The fact that this information can be used in so many nefarious ways is a huge issue when it comes to online safety. More and more scams constantly pop up where the scammer has access to information that makes their scam seem legitimate. It’s much easier to take advantage of people when you say you are a bank and can provide personal details about the person you wish to scam. So, how do you stop your smart TV from collecting data on your viewing habits? Well, most of the popular brands do have the opt-out option, although it is typically hidden in complex subsections that require many clicks to reach.
Switching Off Automatic Content Recognition On Your Smart TV
Unfortunately, there is not a single method that works for every brand, and each device will have the opt-out option in a different place. But, we can look at a few of the most popular brands of smart TV. Let’s begin with the most popular operating system for smart TVs – Roku OS. This OS is not only used in their own TVs and streaming devices but also in brands such as Sharp, Philips, Hisense, and TCL. If you have a Roku smart TV, select the “Settings” menu on your home screen and scroll to the privacy option. There, you will see something called the “Smart TV Experience” option. Click uncheck on the “Use Info From TV Inputs” option.
Next, we will take a look at the world’s most popular smart TV brand – Samsung. On Samsung TVs, the ACR is called “Viewing Information Services”. To find it, first go to the sidebar on your home page. Select the “Privacy Choices” option in the sidebar and then select the “Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy” option. Uncheck the “Viewing Information Services” box as well as the “Interest-Based Advertisements Services U.S. Privacy Notice” box. Make sure to select “OK” to ensure your changes are saved.
Another popular brand of smart TV is LG. This company uses the term “Live Plus” to refer to its content recommendation system. To get to the “Live Plus” option, press the “Settings” button on your remote from your home screen. Then go to the “Settings” option on the side menu pop-up screen. From the side menu, select “General”, followed by pressing “System” in the general folder. Under the system menu, you will see the “Additional Settings” option. Click that option, and then find the toggle for “Live Plus” and switch it off.
Read More: Mark Zuckerberg Warns Facebook Users Not To Screenshot Chats