If you want to stop smart TV tracking, the off switch is already in your TV’s settings. Most smart TVs can recognize what is on the screen, including shows coming from a cable box, an antenna or a game console, and report it back to the company that runs the TV’s software. This week some owners went further and pointed AI coding assistants at their TVs to strip out ads and tracking, and at least one reported a TV that stopped working. You do not need to go that far.
The short version
Turning off automatic content recognition takes about five minutes per TV, and each brand hides it in a different menu.
- On a Roku TV, go to Settings, Privacy, Smart TV Experience and turn off Use info from TV inputs.
- On a Vizio TV, go to All Settings, Privacy & Legal, Viewing Data and turn it off. Older models use Admin & Privacy instead.
- On Samsung and LG TVs, look under Terms & Privacy (Samsung) or Privacy & Terms, User Agreements (LG), and turn off the viewing information option.
- Roku says data it already collected is kept after you switch the setting off, and Vizio says its switch does not stop other activity data.
- Changing a setting can be undone. Hacking your TV’s software can leave you with a TV that will not start.
What is ACR, and what does it collect?
ACR stands for automatic content recognition. Vizio describes it as video and audio data collection and analysis that identifies what plays on the TV, including programs, ads, games and connected devices. Roku’s notice says that when the feature is on, it collects the programs, commercials and channels you watch, plus the date, time and how long you watched, from the antenna and from devices plugged into the TV.
What changes for you: that viewing record can be shared. Roku says it may share viewing data with outside companies to measure audiences and ads, and may share groups built from it, such as sports fans or cord cutters, with partners to make ads more relevant. Turning ACR off stops new collection from your inputs on that TV.
How to stop smart TV tracking, brand by brand
Menu names change between model years, so use these as a guide and search your TV’s settings if a label looks different.
Roku TV (including TCL and Hisense Roku models)
Go to Settings, Privacy, Smart TV Experience, and turn off Use info from TV inputs. Roku’s Smart TV Experience notice says this only affects the TV you change it on. For ads, go to Settings, Privacy, Advertising, and look for the option to personalize ads.
Vizio
Using your remote, go to All Settings, Privacy & Legal, Viewing Data, and turn it off. On older Vizio TVs the path is All Settings, Admin & Privacy, Viewing Data. Vizio’s Viewing Data policy says turning it off also deletes that TV’s past viewing logs from its database and does not change how the TV performs.
Samsung
Go to Settings, All Settings, General & Privacy, Terms & Privacy (on some models it sits under Support, Terms & Privacy, Privacy Choices). Turn off Viewing Information Services. While you are there, you can also turn off Interest-Based Advertisement and voice recognition if you do not use them.
LG
Go to Settings, Privacy & Terms, User Agreements. LG says the agreements for viewing information, voice features and personalized ads are optional, and declining them does not switch off basic apps like Netflix and YouTube. Many LG models also have a Live Plus switch under All Settings, General, System, Additional Settings, which you can turn off.
Google TV (Sony, TCL, Hisense and others)
Go to Settings, Privacy, Ads, and choose Delete advertising ID. Google says this does not turn ads off, it makes them less tailored to you. On Sony Google TV models, Sony’s support page says the Samba Interactive TV setting sits in its own menu under System Preferences, and you can turn it off there.
What turning it off does not stop
- Old data stays. Roku says data collected while the feature was on is kept and may still be shared. Vizio is the exception here: it says its switch deletes the TV’s past viewing logs.
- Streaming apps keep their own records. Roku says its setting does not cover what you watch inside streaming channels, and the apps you install can keep their own records under their own privacy policies.
- Ads do not disappear. You will still see ads on the home screen. They just know a little less about you.
- Updates can bring new prompts. When your TV asks you to accept updated agreements, read the optional ones before you tap Agree to all.
Should you hack your TV’s software instead?
Tools that strip a TV’s software can remove ads and speed up a slow menu, but they make changes the TV maker never planned for. If the process fails partway, the TV may not start again. The settings above take minutes, cost nothing and can be switched back on. Start there, and leave the hacking to people who are happy to own a very large paperweight if it goes wrong.
Cleaning up your privacy elsewhere? Our guides to removing yourself from data broker sites and limiting ChatGPT’s ad personalization follow the same idea: a few switches, a lot less data about you.
