Gamers Nexus claims that LG televisions are spying on their users in various ways, including by transmitting captured speech.
Smart TVs remain a source of concern when it comes to privacy. According to Gamers Nexus, as reported by What Hi-Fi among others, LG televisions now appear to be a little too curious. One issue is that a built-in microphone intended for voice commands allegedly sends a fair amount of ‘bycatch’ from ordinary conversations back to the manufacturer. That is hardly a reassuring thought, particularly since you are left wondering what happens to all those inadvertently captured conversations.
LG, of course, strongly denies the allegations. Moreover, in some cases it apparently takes considerable effort to make the method discovered by Gamers Nexus work. In some – but not all – scenarios, a malicious person would also need physical access to the television. However, that could conceivably be someone who stayed in your hotel room before you, for example. Or someone with malicious intentions who had access to your company’s meeting room.
LG is certainly not the first manufacturer to be accused of making its smart products a little too inquisitive. Unfortunately, the days of the ‘dumb’ television are long gone. Smart features generate revenue, among other things through advertisements that can be inserted in numerous places. And user data is worth its weight in gold as well.
If you want to steer clear of all that, the simplest solution is never to connect such a television to your network in the first place. If necessary, you can then use a more trustworthy external solution for the smart functionality.