LG Smart TVs and Privacy

Third party integrations
1

Hello!

I am thinking about buying a new smart TV, and the internet’s wisdom suggests that LG WebOS has the best smart tv integration in HA.

However, I recently heard about how people see ads even on HDMI inputs on these newer LG OLED tvs. Is this still a thing? Would buying this be a bad idea?

I looked at the Bravia integration, and it notes about having to reboot the TV once in a while, which is annoying, so Sony is probably not a good idea either.

WOL is something I would want to have, so something that reliably works is what I am after. Along with that, the ability to switch sources, and at least open Jellyfin. What are my best options today?

2

Modern reality if you care about privacy is dont hook up any smart tv to wifi, or block its access to internet via firewall.

IR control from a Broadcom mini with smart plug watt monitoring is my current method of TV control. Then some HDMI source that fits your privacy needs from a PC to android tv.

3

LG TV’s have many features - including many microphones listening for your wishes and desires :tada:

Wasn’t LG just caught red handed analyzing everything you plug into your TV - including the content of external devices plugged in via HDMI? :person_bowing:

4

Honest question: why do you need a smart TV? Can you not do what you want to with a set-top box of sorts? Commercial ones like Apple TV, or a Pi with Kodi, a Plex server, or Android TV.

5

We don’t :wink:

You can - still your content gets analyzed and used for target marketing if ACR is activated :cinema:

6

Yes, 100%, I didn’t want to imply that commercial set-top boxes don’t track you, but overall YMMV and you might be able to pick the lesser of evils. :grinning_face:

7

That gets harder every day. For a quick glance of what brands to avoid it’s easy enough to consult the csa-IoT “promoter” list for a start to find the biggest enshitificators on the market:

Like a good old cartel (phoebus vibes) - but not in the good way :face_vomiting:

But options with real ownership get harder to get by every day… :person_bowing:

8

Now if it turns out that your PC does actually the same as the receiver LG (TV) screen chapters and analyzes your stuff even before it is send out via HDMI? :thinking:

Your PC got a microphone by chance? Great! We will use that to “improve” our services :speak_no_evil_monkey: