While browsing my TV’s settings, I realized its microphone was always listening even when I wasn’t talking to it. That didn’t sit right with me, so I switched it off and didn’t look back.
Why smart TVs have always-listening mics
They have legit uses, in fairness
Most smart TVs have microphones that are always listening for voice commands. That makes it convenient. You can say what you want and, voilà, the TV responds. You don’t need to hunt for the remote or type into clunky on-screen keyboards. Whether it’s opening an app or searching for something to watch, built-in voice assistants make hands-free TV use possible.
Some TV models even integrate with smart home ecosystems like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, thus acting as a central hub for controlling lights, thermostats, and other devices. It’s handy, but in exchange for the convenience, your TV’s microphone has to always be on standby, constantly listening for a wake word. If you love hands-free control, you’ll definitely appreciate having your TV’s mic on standby. But for me, it was different.
Why I disabled my smart TV’s always-on mic
Privacy is important, but it’s not the only reason
At first, I didn’t think much about my TV’s always-on microphone — it was just another built-in feature for convenience. But the more I thought about it, the less comfortable I became. Eventually, I decided to turn it off, and my decision came down to three crucial reasons.
1. Privacy
One of the biggest reasons I decided to turn off my smart TV’s microphone is privacy. I don’t like the idea of being listened to all the time. Sure, these microphones are designed to record only when you say the wake words, like “Hey Google,” but to make that work, they have to stay active in the background. If the mic isn’t active in the background, it wouldn’t detect those wake phrases.
That means conversations at home are always picked up, just not acted upon unless you say the wake word. Even if manufacturers insist that they only record snippets of our interactions with these voice assistants after hearing the wake word, the reality is that, as users, we don’t have complete visibility into what’s actually being captured. Besides, the audio recordings captured with your smart TV are typically sent back to the manufacturer or a third party to process your commands and fulfill your requests.
People may even review these recordings to help improve speech recognition algorithms. That level of exposure wasn’t something I was comfortable with. My living room is where I relax, chat with family, and talk freely. The thought of parts of those conversations being captured—even unintentionally—felt like too much of an intrusion.
2. I rarely use voice commands
Another significant factor in my decision was realizing how little I actually used voice commands. When I first heard about voice assistants in the early 2010s, I thought controlling devices by voice sounded futuristic and convenient. But in reality, after trying it on my phone and smart TV, it never really grew on me.
My current Google TV-powered TCL smart TV has two ways to wake the voice assistant (using a dedicated Google Assistant button or by the “Hey Google” wake word). Yet I still reach for the remote for things as simple as opening an app or adjusting the volume. And unlike the remote, the microphone didn’t always get things right for the few times that I tried to use it. Sometimes I had to repeat myself or deal with misheard requests, which made the feature more frustrating than helpful.
Besides, since my TV is quite far from where I sit, I always feel like I have to shout to control the TV using voice commands. That made me question why I was keeping such a privacy- and security-sensitive feature switched on if it wasn’t truly benefiting me. As such, disabling the TV’s mic felt like a no-brainer.
3. Risk of hacking or misuse
The last piece of the puzzle was security. In case you didn’t already know, any device that connects to the internet is vulnerable to hacking. The simple act of connecting your TV to the internet opens the door to different risks. Although smart TVs aren’t the most common targets for bad actors, they’re not totally out of the equation.
After all, they’re still computers at their core, running software that can have flaws that hackers could exploit to bypass security features. And it’s not just software flaws. Hackers can take control of your TV in different ways. The idea of someone gaining unauthorized access to my TV’s mic was unsettling. It’s also why you should keep your smart TV’s camera always covered, because you never know.
Additionally, there’s also a risk of misuse by the manufacturer itself, either collecting more data than specified or using the recorded voice data in ways users didn’t agree to, like serving personalized ads. To me, the small convenience of voice commands simply wasn’t worth the larger gamble of leaving my home open to potential eavesdropping.
How I turned off my smart TV’s mic
You’ll be more private in minutes
With all that in mind, I decided to turn off my smart TV’s mic. The steps for this process will vary depending on your smart TV manufacturer, but this is how it works on my Google TV-powered TCL smart TV.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Privacy, then choose Google Assistant.
- Under Google Assistant settings, turn off Hands-free mic and Voice control.
My TV runs Google TV, so these steps are specific to that smart TV OS. If you have a different smart TV OS, check online for instructions that apply.
Turn off your smart TV’s microphone if you want peace of mind
But don’t forget to turn this off, too
Turning off your smart TV’s microphone is a quick and easy way to claw back some privacy; I wish I’d done it sooner. But there is another privacy issue lurking on most smart TVs: Automatic Content Recognition. ACR is a modern smart TV feature that tracks the images on your screen, helping manufacturers figure out what you’re watching at all times.
Depending on the manufacturer, ACR will have a different name. For example, Samsung calls it Viewing Information Services, LG labels it Live Plus, while Fire TV has named it Automatic Content Recognition. So, on that, if you want an extra privacy boost, disable ACR through your TV’s settings menu!