LG Denies Smart TVs Secretly Record Ambient Conversations
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What Happened
What Happened
Where Sources Disagree
- arrows_outputLG Smart TV Privacy Dispute: Independent researchers allege that LG smart TVs secretly record ambient conversations and scan local networks even when powered off, whereas LG Electronics maintains that its televisions do not record conversations and that network scanning is simply a standard connectivity feature.
- arrows_outputLG TV Surveillance Allegations: Independent researchers report that LG smart TVs perform intrusive network scanning and record audio even in standby mode, while LG contends these actions are standard functionalities for connected devices and denies recording ambient conversations.
Timeline
September 10, 2026
Public reaction and LG denial: The video rapidly gained millions of views and prompted widespread coverage and calls to disconnect affected TVs; researchers recommended removing LG sets from networks or disabling ACR/Live Plus. On September 10, 2026, LG issued a denial saying the claims were not true, asserting voice data is processed only when the voice button or wake word is used and pointing users to Live Plus settings to opt out.
September 7, 2026
Scale and advertising reach exposed: The report highlighted scope: LG states roughly 49 million webOS TVs in the US and about 216 million globally, while Gamers Nexus and LG Ad Solutions materials point to as many as 363 million "addressable secondary devices," raising concerns about the potential reach of collected data. The investigation tied much of the activity to Automatic Content Recognition and advertising systems.
September 6, 2026
Technical findings detailed: Researchers reported that retail LG OLED sets recorded microphone audio in standby, scanned local Wi‑Fi and devices (collecting IPs, SSIDs, signal strength and geolocation), stored recordings locally when offline and uploaded them when reconnected, and identified vulnerabilities enabling remote code execution or MITM exploits. The team used Wireshark, firmware teardown and other methods to document these behaviors.
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Timeline
September 10, 2026
Public reaction and LG denial: The video rapidly gained millions of views and prompted widespread coverage and calls to disconnect affected TVs; researchers recommended removing LG sets from networks or disabling ACR/Live Plus. On September 10, 2026, LG issued a denial saying the claims were not true, asserting voice data is processed only when the voice button or wake word is used and pointing users to Live Plus settings to opt out.
September 7, 2026
Scale and advertising reach exposed: The report highlighted scope: LG states roughly 49 million webOS TVs in the US and about 216 million globally, while Gamers Nexus and LG Ad Solutions materials point to as many as 363 million "addressable secondary devices," raising concerns about the potential reach of collected data. The investigation tied much of the activity to Automatic Content Recognition and advertising systems.
September 6, 2026
Technical findings detailed: Researchers reported that retail LG OLED sets recorded microphone audio in standby, scanned local Wi‑Fi and devices (collecting IPs, SSIDs, signal strength and geolocation), stored recordings locally when offline and uploaded them when reconnected, and identified vulnerabilities enabling remote code execution or MITM exploits. The team used Wireshark, firmware teardown and other methods to document these behaviors.
