⏱️ Lectura: 9 min
Unplug the router, turn off the TV with the remote control, and your LG TV can still keep recording audio with the microphone and save it to upload as soon as the connection comes back. That’s what a joint investigation by YouTube channels Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs, along with independent security researchers, found after testing retail-bought OLED LG TVs.
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The finding isn’t an isolated bug: it combines three distinct data collection mechanisms working at the same time, even when the user believes the TV is off or without internet access. And it’s not the first time LG has been exposed for this kind of practice.
TL;DR
- Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs, and independent researchers tested retail LG OLED TVs using network packet captures.
- The TVs scan the local Wi-Fi network for nearby phones and smartwatches, and send that data to LG Ad Solutions.
- The microphone records audio in standby mode even when disconnected from the internet; the file uploads as soon as the connection returns.
- ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) identifies what you’re watching through audio and video, both in the TV’s own apps and over HDMI.
- In July 2026, Gamers Nexus had already exposed LG monitors that installed apps with McAfee pop-ups without permission.
- Public pressure from that earlier case forced a Microsoft intervention and led LG to disable the pop-ups.
- A video from RTINGS confirms that ACR is a widespread practice among nearly all smart TV manufacturers, not just LG.
What Happened with LG TVs
The Gamers Nexus team, with support from Level1Techs and independent security researchers, subjected several OLED LG TVs (including the G5 model) to network packet captures during normal use, in standby, and with the internet connection cut off. The goal was to see exactly what traffic the TV generated without the user doing anything.
The captures showed that the TV actively scans the local area network looking for other devices, such as phones or smartwatches connected to the same Wi-Fi. That information, along with location data and details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, is sent to LG Ad Solutions, the company’s advertising division.
The most concerning part is what happens with the microphone. According to the investigation, the TV is capable of recording audio in standby mode, and that recording continues even after disconnecting the TV from the internet: the audio is saved locally and uploaded as soon as the connection is restored. In other words, cutting the Wi-Fi doesn’t stop the recording, it only delays the data upload.
Context and History
The final piece of the puzzle is automatic content recognition, known as ACR (Automatic Content Recognition). This technology uses audio and video sampling to determine exactly what you’re watching, whether through the TV’s own operating system apps or content connected via HDMI or other ports.
ACR isn’t exclusive to LG. A video from RTINGS published in parallel dives into how nearly every smart TV manufacturer uses ACR in one form or another to know what each user consumes, beyond what they watch inside the TV’s own apps.
This isn’t the first time LG has been at the center of a Gamers Nexus investigation. In July 2026, the channel revealed that some LG monitors automatically installed an application that collected device data and displayed advertising pop-ups for other LG apps, and even for McAfee Antivirus, without explicit user consent. The public pressure generated by that earlier video prompted a Microsoft intervention and ultimately led LG to disable the pop-ups in question.
Technical Details and Performance
From a network standpoint, what the TV does combines three independent data flows: device discovery on the LAN (likely via ARP and mDNS), location telemetry and visible Wi-Fi networks, and uploading audio captured by the microphone whenever a connection is available. The following diagram summarizes the flow documented by the investigation:
flowchart TD
A["LG TV in standby"] --> B["Local Wi-Fi scan"]
A --> C["Microphone records audio"]
B --> D["LG Ad Solutions"]
C --> E["Local storage"]
E -->|"connection restored"| D
A --> F["ACR: audio and video"]
F --> D
subgraph User network
A
B
endTo check this on your own network you don’t need special hardware: it’s enough to capture the traffic the TV generates and filter it by its IP address. On Linux or macOS, using the appropriate network interface:
sudo tcpdump -i en0 host 192.168.1.50 -w capture-tv.pcapThat command saves all incoming and outgoing traffic from the TV (replace 192.168.1.50 with the IP your router assigned it) into a .pcap file to analyze later with Wireshark. On Windows, without native tcpdump, you can use Npcap together with Wireshark directly, or generate a trace with PowerShell:
netsh trace start capture=yes tracefile=capture-tv.etl
# ... leave the TV in standby for a few minutes ...
netsh trace stopThe resulting file can also be opened with tools compatible with the ETL format, or converted to pcap to inspect it in Wireshark, just like on Linux or macOS. Look for outgoing connections to advertising domains while the TV is, in theory, off.
⚠️ Heads up: just because the TV has no internet connection doesn’t mean it isn’t recording. According to the investigation, audio captured in standby is saved locally and uploaded automatically as soon as the network becomes available again.
How to Check It and Protect Yourself
You don’t need to be a security researcher to reduce your exposure. The most effective steps, from least to most effort:
- Check the TV’s privacy settings: on LG TVs this is usually under General Settings, in a privacy or AI services menu, where you can disable personalized advertising and content recognition.
- Segment your network: create a VLAN or a dedicated guest network for streaming devices and TVs, isolated from phones, laptops, and NAS devices.
- Block advertising telemetry domains at the DNS level with Pi-hole, AdGuard Home, or a firewall like OPNsense.
An example of a blocklist manually added to Pi-hole, targeting known LG advertising and telemetry domains:
# /etc/pihole/regex.list or via Pi-hole CLI
pihole -b lgsmartad.com
pihole -b azet.lgeappstv.com
pihole -b ibis.lgappstv.comWith the block active, you can confirm it’s working by checking the Pi-hole query log (pihole -t) and verifying that requests from the TV’s IP to those domains show up as blocked instead of forwarded.
| Manufacturer | ACR Service Name | Where It’s Usually Disabled | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| LG | Live Plus / AI services | General Settings, privacy menu | Some options get re-enabled after firmware updates |
| Samsung | Viewing Information Services | Terms and privacy | Disabling it doesn’t always stop local network scanning |
| Vizio | Viewer Data / SmartCast | System, or from the manufacturer’s web account | Requires separate management per app and per TV |
| Roku | Personalized advertising | Privacy, in the system menu | Doesn’t necessarily cover content over HDMI |
Impact and Analysis
What sets this case apart from other smart TV privacy controversies is the combination of three collection layers running at the same time, and the fact that two of them (Wi-Fi scanning and standby recording) happen without the user interacting with the TV at all. ACR was already a known and widely documented industry practice, but the active scanning of nearby devices and the persistence of offline audio recording add an extra layer of collection that goes beyond “knowing what you watch” and moves toward “knowing what’s in your home.”
💡 Tip: if you’re going to keep the TV connected to the internet, put it on a VLAN separate from your personal devices so network scanning can’t see your phone or smartwatch.
The July 2026 precedent with LG monitors and McAfee pop-up apps is relevant because it shows a pattern: LG only fixed that practice after public coverage generated enough pressure for Microsoft to intervene. There was no proactive policy change before the media exposure.
What’s Next
Neither LG nor the other manufacturers mentioned in the RTINGS video have announced policy changes as a result of these investigations. Coverage from outlets like The Verge and pressure from technical communities are likely to push LG, as happened in July, to adjust at least the most aggressive behavior (persistent audio recording in standby). This case will also likely fuel the regulatory debate around privacy in connected home devices, an area where legislation still lags several steps behind what manufacturers do by default.
📖 Summary on Telegram: View summary
If you have an LG TV at home, the fastest way to check this yourself today is to open the TV’s privacy menu and review which content recognition and personalized advertising services are enabled by default.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do LG TVs record all the time, even when off?
According to the Gamers Nexus investigation, the TV can record audio in standby mode (not fully powered off at the board level), and that recording continues even without an internet connection, saving locally until the network returns.
Does disconnecting the TV from the internet solve the problem?
Not entirely. Wi-Fi scanning and video/audio streaming stop without a connection, but standby audio recording can keep happening and stay stored to upload as soon as it reconnects.
Does this only happen with LG?
Network scanning and standby audio recording are the specific findings of this investigation into LG. ACR (identifying what you watch), however, is a widespread practice across nearly the entire industry, as documented in the RTINGS video.
What exactly is ACR?
Automatic Content Recognition: technology that analyzes audio and video samples to identify what content is playing, whether inside the TV’s apps or from an external HDMI source.
How do I disable ACR on an LG TV?
It’s usually found in General Settings, inside a privacy or AI services submenu (sometimes under the name “Live Plus”), where you can disable both personalized advertising and content recognition.
Does blocking the domains via DNS actually help?
Yes, it reduces the TV’s ability to report data to LG Ad Solutions, although it doesn’t stop the TV itself from continuing to generate and store that data locally until it finds a way out.
References
- The Verge: original coverage of the Gamers Nexus investigation into LG TV spying.
- Gamers Nexus: the channel that performed the packet captures and published both this investigation and the July one on LG monitors.
- RTINGS: complementary coverage on how ACR is used across nearly the entire smart TV industry.
- LG: the manufacturer’s official site, where privacy settings and LG Ad Solutions are managed.
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Imagen destacada: Foto de lhon karwan en Unsplash
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