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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Smart TVs track viewing habits with ACR tech.
- Collected data fuels billions in targeted ads.
- Turning off ACR protects privacy but takes effort.
Did you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you?
These days, most mainstream TVs use automatic content recognition (ACR), a type of ad-tracking technology that collects data on everything you watch and sends it to a central database. Manufacturers then use this information to understand your viewing habits and deliver highly targeted ads.
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What's the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and these numbers are expected to continue rising.
To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements.
According to The Markup, ACR can capture and identify up to 7,200 images per hour, or approximately two images every second. This extensive tracking provides valuable insights for marketers and content distributors, as it reveals connections between viewers' personal information and their preferred content. By “personal information,” I mean email addresses, IP addresses — and even your physical street address.
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By understanding what viewers watch and engage with, marketers can make decisions on content recommendations to create bespoke advertising placements. They can also…