In the year 2026, online privacy is a tricky business. Not counting all the information about ourselves we voluntarily put online, internet browsers track us, we can have spyware on our computers without knowing it, and employers can even record our keystrokes.
But you shouldn’t have to worry about being spied on when you’re relaxing and watching some TV at home. But if you have an LG smart TV, you do.
Your LG smart TV is spying on you
Through LG Live Plus
Like most smart TVs, LG smart TVs incorporate automatic content recognition (ACR) technology. This means that when you turn on your TV, it is watching you. The ACR technology runs constantly in the background, taking screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content to figure out what you’re watching. Then it feeds that data back to advertisers who use it to feed you targeted ads. That’s why, even on your TV home screen, you will see shows, movies, games, and apps suggested to you based on what you have actually watched, played, and used.
We all know this kind of thing happens when you use a streaming service like Netflix. That’s how Netflix can have a section full of shows you haven’t finished watching, or curate a special “For You” section. It logs what you watch and puts together recommendations based on that. But fewer people are aware that this kind of thing happens before you even open any apps on your smart TV.
ACR technology can capture as many as two images per second, so there’s really no hiding from it. And it captures screenshots of whatever appears on your TV, even if you’re using an external device. So whether you’re streaming a movie on Netflix, watching it on cable, or playing it on a Blu-ray Player, your smart TV knows and will make that data available to advertisers. And because there’s so much data, marketers can potentially use it to deduce other things about you, including email addresses, IP addresses, and even physical street addresses. Highly targeted ads are the future, and your smart TV is helping it come to pass.
How to turn off LG Live Plus
Shut them out!
LG claims roughly 11% of the global television market, and over 52% of the global market for OLED TVs. LG smart TVs are very popular, and if you have one, LG Live Plus is likely already turned on. You have to manually shut it off.
Happily, this is not difficult. Follow these simple steps to shut off LG Live Plus on your LG smart TV:
- Access the Settings menu. You can do this by either clicking on the gear symbol on your home screen, or hitting the gear symbol on your LG remote.
- This will cause a menu to pop up in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Simply click the gear symbol again.
- Wait for the next menu to load. It may take a few seconds. Then, scroll down to “General” and select it; it has a wrench icon next to it
- Next, scroll down to “System” and select it.
- Next, scroll down to “Additional Settings” and select it.
- Now, scroll down to “Live Plus” and toggle it from on to off.
Hovering over the “Live Plus” selection comes with a message:
By turning Live Plus on, you understand that the content displayed on your TV can be recognized, and the viewing information may be used to provide you with an enhanced viewing experience and personalized services including content recommendations and advertisements. Please review the Privacy Policy and relevant User Agreements in the TV Settings menu for more information.
This is phrased as though LG Live Plus isn’t already on when you get the TV. After you turn it off, you should periodically check back to make sure it stays that way, especially after updates. LG wants to track your behavior. You have to proactively make sure they don’t.
ACR technology is everywhere
No smart TV is safe
Whether you have a smart TV from LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, or another brand, it most likely has ACR technology built in. Luckily, it can be turned off no matter what kind of TV you have. The particulars just change a bit from brand to brand.
Afterward, marketers will collect less data about your viewing habits, you’ll see fewer targeted pop-up ads, and you’ll hopefully have more peace of mind.
Do what you can
That said, fighting to make sure you leave as small a digital footprint as possible can sometimes feel like a losing battle. After all, even if your smart TV is no longer recording you on your home screen, the second you open a streaming app, it will start recording you on its own. Even free streaming apps that don’t require a subscription, like Pluto TV, keep track of what you do.
In a world where technology has advanced to the point where it seems like everybody is being monitored all of the time, turning off LG Live Plus may seem like a small act of protest. But it’s something you can do to keep hold of what little sense of anonymity remains to you, so take advantage while you can.