Most of the tech you use each day tracks youโwhether itโs to target ads at you or to make sure your smart lights come on when you walk in the front door. Smart TVs are no different.
A television set doesnโt follow you around all day like a smartphone does, but it still has intimate knowledge of you and your family, including the types of programming you like to watch. It might also know the apps you have installed, and even the types of devices you plug into the HDMI ports.
Thatโs most likely something youโd rather didnโt happenโand so hereโs your complete guide to making sure your smart TV tracks you as little as possible.
Now obviously there are multitude of models and manufacturers on the market, and even TVs with the same brand name on the front donโt always run the same software. Trying to give specific instructions can be tricky, but the steps weโve put below should work for the most modern TVs from each company.
If the menus you come across donโt match up with the steps below, you should be able to find the relevant options without too much trouble. A quick web search for forum posts or Reddit threads from people with your TV should uncover even more resources.
What to look for
There are two main categories of data to look out for here. The first is data that builds up an advertising profile on you, so marketing can be more precisely targetedโas happens with ads on platforms like Google and Instagram. Blocking this data collection doesnโt necessarily mean youโll see fewer ads, but advertisers will know less about you.
The second category is along similar lines, but itโs a bit more specific. Itโs called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), and as the name suggests, it means your TV is going to monitor everything that gets put up on the…