You should disable ACR on your TV right now (and the difference it makes to your privacy)

"Did you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you? These days, most mainstream TVs use automatic content recognition (ACR), a type of ad-tracking technology that collects data on everything you watch and sends it to a central database. Manufacturers then use this information to understand your viewing habits and deliver highly targeted ads."

"To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements. According to The Markup, ACR can capture and identify up to 7,200 images per hour, or approximately two images every second."

"What's the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and those numbers are only going up. This extensive tracking offers money-making insights for marketers and content distributors because it can reveal connections between viewers' personal information and their preferred content. By "personal information," I mean email addresses, IP addresses -- and even your physical street address."

Most mainstream smart TVs run automatic content recognition (ACR) software that continuously captures screenshots and identifies on-screen content in real time. ACR can capture up to 7,200 images per hour, allowing identification of programs, ads, streaming content, cable boxes, and gaming consoles. Collected viewing data is linked to personal identifiers such as email addresses, IP addresses, and even physical street addresses. Advertisers invested an estimated $18.6 billion in smart TV ads in 2022, fueling targeted ad delivery and personalized recommendations. Disabling ACR can reduce tracking and protect privacy, though changing settings often requires effort and technical steps.

Read at ZDNET