Investigation finds LG smart TVs record audio and scan home networks even in standby

The investigation by Gamers Nexus, working with security researchers and Level1Techs, put LG OLED televisions under scrutiny and found a wide range of privacy-invasive behaviors. These include capturing audio from microphones even when the TV appears to be in standby, transcribing conversations into plaintext, and recording from a connected webcam. The TVs also scan the local network for other devices and collect Wi-Fi signal strength and channel numbers of nearby networks. This data is then sent back to LG for analysis, often for advertising purposes.

The scale of the data collection is significant. LG's ad arm, LG Ad Solutions, claims to have data from 216 million LG smart TVs worldwide, including 49 million in the United States. The investigation found that the TV's Automatic Content Recognition feature snapshots the screen or audio bytes for external analysis, and that microphones in remote controls can record and transcribe conversations. Even when the TV is not actively used, it continues to collect data, and the article notes that using an external device like an Apple TV does not stop the spying.

The only way to stop the data from being sent to LG is to disconnect the TV from the internet entirely. This means unplugging the Ethernet cable and forgetting the Wi-Fi network in the TV's settings. For users with multiple LG TVs, firewall rules on the home router can block connections at the network level. However, this approach has costs: it disables smart TV features, and the TV will still locally store snippets of the data it collects. When reconnected, the audio is uploaded once more, so the disconnection must be permanent to be effective.

The security implications go beyond privacy. The investigation found vulnerabilities in webOS, LG's operating system, that allowed the team to pull the audio data and listen in. This means a malicious actor could potentially access the recorded audio if they can exploit these vulnerabilities. The fact that the TV records even when seemingly off makes it a potential snooping device. The article notes that test phrases like "LG my social security number is..." were found in logs, highlighting the sensitivity of the data.

The recommendation to disconnect is a blunt but necessary measure given the findings. While LG is reportedly working on the vulnerabilities, the data collection practices are a long-standing issue. Users who value their privacy must weigh the convenience of smart TV features against the risk of constant surveillance. The investigation shows that even without using the smart TV functions, the spying continues, so the only reliable solution is to make the TV "dumb" by cutting its internet access.