After a long day, there’s nothing better than sinking into the couch, grabbing the remote, and firing up the latest movie or binge-worthy TV show. Our smart TVs — which put so many streaming apps right at our fingertips — make it easy, and that’s a bit of a problem. That always-on connectivity comes with a hidden cost: your privacy. That’s because while you’re kicking back and watching your favorite actors, your TV is watching you. It’s not using a camera; it’s collecting data. To track your viewing habits, Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) periodically samples tiny snippets of whatever is playing on your TV and then cross-references those samples with a huge database of known content. This happens across all online streaming apps and live services, from Netflix and Hulu to Prime Video and YouTube TV. The good news is that it’s easy to turn off, although the process varies by TV manufacturer. Here’s how to disable ACR on each of the most common smart TV brands:
Samsung TVs
1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Navigate to the settings menu in the sidebar.
3. Select “Privacy Choices.” (On older Samsung TVs, you may find this under the “Support” menu.)
4. Select “Privacy Policy.”
5. Uncheck the box for “Viewing Information Services.”
LG TVs
1. Press the Settings button on your remote.
2. Select “Settings” in the side menu.
3. Select “General.”
4. Select “System.”
5. Select “Additional Settings.”
6. Toggle off “Live Plus.”
Sony TVs
1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Select “Settings.”
3. Select “Initial Setup.”
4. Select “Samba Interactive TV” and toggle it off.
Fire TVs (Amazon, Panasonic)
1. Press the Settings button on your remote.
2. Navigate to the “Preferences” menu.
3. Select “Privacy Settings.”
4. Toggle off “Automatic Content Recognition.”
Vizio TVs
1. Press the Menu button on your remote.
2. Navigate to “System.”
3. Select “Reset & Admin.”
4. Toggle off “Viewing Data.”
Google TVs (Hisense, TCL, Sony)
1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Select “Settings.”
3. Select “System.”
4. Select “Privacy.”
5. Toggle off “Viewing Information Services.”
Note: On some televisions, this option might be called “Smart TV Experience” or something similar. Look for that and disable it. On Sony models running Google TV software, the option will be called “Samba Interactive TV,” like on other Sony TVs.
Roku TVs
1. From the home screen, open “Settings.”
2. Select “Privacy.”
3. Select “Smart TV Experience.”
4. Toggle off “Use Info from TV Inputs.”
