"The study, titled 'Watching TV with the Second-Party,' analyzed network traffic leaving major smart TV brands. The results were startlingly consistent: LG TVs dispatched data to ACR servers every 15 seconds, while Samsung TVs transmitted snapshots every 60 seconds."
"ACR doesn't care if you're using the TV's native apps. ACR network traffic exists when watching linear TV and when using the smart TV as an external display using HDMI, meaning your TV is still 'seeing' and reporting that content."
"For years, privacy advocates have warned that your smart TV is 'watching you back.' Now, a group of international researchers has provided the hard data to prove it, capturing snapshots of your screen as often as four times per minute."
A study reveals that LG TVs capture data every 15 seconds, while Samsung TVs do so every minute. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology tracks all displayed content via HDMI, including gaming consoles and laptops. In 2025, the Texas Attorney General sued major manufacturers for these practices, resulting in a settlement with Samsung in 2026. The study indicates that smart TVs are continuously monitoring user activity, even when not using native apps, raising alarms about privacy and data security.
Read at Men's Journal
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