A recent investigation by the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, conducted with Level1Techs and independent security researchers, found that LG smart televisions continuously collect and transmit data about their owners and home environments, even when the sets are disconnected from the internet or placed in standby mode. The team purchased retail LG OLED TVs and performed packet captures to observe network activity. The captures showed the televisions scanning the local area network for nearby devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, and other IoT hardware, logging details of surrounding Wi‑Fi networks, and sending that information to LG’s advertising division, LG Ad Solutions. The report notes that the TVs also activate their built‑in microphones to record audio logs while in standby. This audio capture continues after the TV has been unplugged from the internet; the audio files are stored locally on the device and uploaded once a network connection is restored. In addition to network and audio monitoring, the televisions employ Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology. By sampling both audio and video signals, the ACR system attempts to identify exactly what content is being displayed, whether it originates from the TV’s own smart‑platform apps or from external sources connected via HDMI or other inputs. The data gathered through ACR is fed back to LG Ad Solutions for purposes such as targeted advertising and viewership measurement. Gamers Nexus emphasizes that ACR is not unique to LG; a separate video from RTINGS highlights that most smart TV manufacturers use similar techniques to determine what viewers are watching. The investigation builds on a previous Gamers Nexus report from July, which revealed that certain LG monitors were automatically installing an application that harvested device data and displayed pop‑up ads for LG services and McAfee antivirus. Public reaction to that earlier finding prompted Microsoft to intervene, ultimately leading LG to disable the pop‑up ads. The current findings suggest that privacy‑conscious consumers may want to reconsider connecting LG smart TVs to home networks, or at least scrutinize the data‑sharing settings available in the television’s menu. The report does not provide a specific timeline for how long the offline audio logs are retained before upload, nor does it quantify the volume of data transmitted in each instance. However, the documented behaviors—network scanning, microphone recording in standby, and ACR‑based content identification—demonstrate that data collection persists under conditions many users would assume are inactive.
Key facts
- LG TVs scan local Wi‑Fi networks for nearby devices even in standby or offline mode
- Microphone audio is recorded while the TV is in standby and stored for later upload
- Automatic Content Recognition uses audio/video sampling to identify what is being watched
- Collected data is sent to LG Ad Solutions for advertising and measurement purposes
- The investigation involved retail LG OLED TVs tested by Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs, and independent researchers
- Previous LG monitor issue led to pop‑up ads being disabled after public pressure and Microsoft intervention