Probably, a little. Many smart TVs ship with automatic content recognition (ACR) switched on. It samples whatever is on the screen and reports back to the TV maker for ad targeting, even when the TV is only a monitor for a laptop. Turning it off takes a few minutes per TV, though that alone won’t make a smart TV private.
How ACR works
Think of ACR as Shazam for your TV. Every so often it grabs a short sample of the picture or the sound, turns it into a compact digital fingerprint, and checks that fingerprint against a large database of shows, movies, channels, and commercials (Malwarebytes, 2026). When it gets a match, the manufacturer knows what was on your screen and when. That can be used to recommend shows and target ads.
- Samples the screenA few seconds of picture or sound
- Makes a fingerprintA compact code, usually not the full picture
- Sends it outTo the TV maker’s ACR servers
- Finds a matchAgainst a database of shows and ads
- Builds a profileUsed for recommendations and ads
How ACR works on a typical smart TV. Turning ACR off stops step 3. Based on Malwarebytes (2026) and the 2024 Internet Measurement Conference study.
Most people have never heard of it, partly because no brand actually calls it ACR. Samsung’s name for it is Viewing Information Services. LG calls it Live Plus, and Vizio calls it Viewing Data.
How often it reports, and what it picks up
Researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, University College London, and UC Davis tested Samsung and LG TVs and presented their results at the 2024 Internet Measurement Conference (EurekAlert, 2024; UCL, 2024).
Source: UC3M, UCL and UC Davis, Internet Measurement Conference, November 2024.
It was on by default. There was some good news in the same study, though. When the researchers opted out, the traffic to the ACR servers stopped, so the setting does something.
None of this is new, either. In 2017, Vizio paid $2.2 million to settle charges from the FTC and New Jersey that it had collected “second-by-second information about video displayed” on 11 million TVs without asking (FTC, 2017).
Why the TV in your conference room matters
In a lot of offices, the conference room TV spends most of its life as a big monitor. Someone plugs in a laptop and pulls up a client’s financials or a set of drawings. If that TV is on your Wi-Fi with ACR on, the 2024 study suggests it’s sampling the screen and checking in with the manufacturer the whole time.
ACR is built to recognize TV shows and ads, so nobody at the TV company is reading your spreadsheet. The issue is that a device on your business network is sending data about your screen to an outside company by default, and nobody in your office decided that was OK. It’s also an internet-connected device that most offices never look at again once it’s on the wall.
How many smart TVs are on your network?
If you’re not sure, Tobin’s network vulnerability scanning can find the devices you forgot about.
Is this legal?
That’s being fought out in court. In December 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The suits claim the TVs captured what people watched, in some cases as often as every 500 milliseconds, without real consent (CyberInsider, December 2025).
- December 2025: Texas sues Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL over ACR.
- Early 2026: Samsung settles and agrees to get Texans’ express consent before collecting ACR data.
- May 2026: LG’s settlement is announced: a pop-up disclosure and a clear opt-out (FOX 7 Austin, May 2026).
- Still open: The cases against Sony, Hisense, and TCL, as of the LG announcement (Texas Attorney General).
Samsung’s agreement says it must “halt any collection or processing of ACR viewing data without obtaining Texas consumers’ express consent” (Texas Attorney General). Those agreements are with Texas, though. Here in Wisconsin, assume nothing has changed on your TVs until you’ve checked them yourself.
Related reading: The Hidden Cybersecurity Risks Behind Everyday AI Tools
How to turn off ACR
Here’s where the setting lives on the major brands. Tap your TV’s brand. Menus move around between models and years, so if the path doesn’t match yours, search the TV’s settings for “viewing,” “content recognition,” “privacy,” or “ad tracking.”
Samsung
- Settings
- All Settings
- General & Privacy
- Terms & Privacy
- Privacy Choices
Turn off Viewing Information Services. Interest-Based Advertising and Voice Recognition Services too, if you don’t use them.
LG (webOS)
- All Settings
- General
- System
- Additional Settings
Turn off Live Plus. While you’re there, turn on Limit Ad Tracking.
Vizio
- Menu
- System
- Reset & Admin
Turn off Viewing Data.
Sony (Google TV)
- Settings
- All Settings
- Privacy
Turn off Samba Interactive TV, if you see it. Some models also have Usage & Diagnostics under Device Preferences.
Roku TVs (including many TCL and Hisense models)
- Settings
- Privacy
- Smart TV Experience
Turn off “Use info from TV inputs.” Then go to Settings → Privacy → Advertising and turn off personalized ads.
Menu paths from Malwarebytes, March 2026.
If you’re setting up a new TV, slow down on the setup screens. That’s usually where it asks you to agree to viewing data collection, and on most models you can say no and the TV works fine.
What turning it off won’t do
It’s worth doing, but it’s one setting. The TV’s platform and the apps you use, like Netflix or YouTube, still collect their own usage data under their own policies. Turning ACR off also doesn’t delete anything that’s already been collected. If you want that gone, look for a data request process in the manufacturer’s privacy policy.
A factory reset puts the defaults back, so check again after a reset. It’s worth a look after big software updates too.
The Texas lawsuits describe ACR as taking screenshots. Most ACR systems send compact fingerprints rather than the picture itself, which is less invasive than it sounds. It’s still information about your screen leaving the building.
What we’d do at your office
- Walk through the office and write down every smart TV you have, including the ones in the lobby and break room and anything showing a dashboard.
- Turn off ACR and ad tracking on each one using the brand list above. In rooms where people have private conversations, turn off voice recognition as well.
- If a TV is only ever used as a laptop screen, take it off the internet. Have it forget the Wi-Fi network and unplug the network cable. A TV that isn’t online has nowhere to send viewing data.
- If it has to stay online for video calls or casting, put it on a guest or device-only network instead of the one your computers and file server use.
- Keep a note of what you changed so you can recheck it after a reset or update.
- The next time you buy a screen for a meeting room, ask whether it needs to be a smart TV at all.
Then do the same with the TVs at home, especially if anyone in your house plugs a work laptop into one.
Common questions
Will turning off ACR break anything?
No. Streaming apps, the cable box, and HDMI inputs all keep working. You might just see fewer “recommended for you” suggestions.
Is my TV listening to me?
ACR may sample the audio of whatever is playing so it can identify it. A voice assistant listening for your commands is a separate feature with its own setting. If you don’t use voice control, turn it off.
Do I have to do this on every TV?
Yes. Each TV keeps its own settings, even if you have two of the same model.
Questions? Call Tobin.
If any of this is confusing, or you’d rather not dig through the menus on every TV in the building, call us at 414-443-9999 or contact us. We can find out which devices in your office are talking to the internet and help you lock down the ones that shouldn’t be, including moving conference room screens onto their own network.
Call 414-443-9999Contact usOur network vulnerability scanning can also turn up devices on your network you didn’t know were there.
Tobin Solutions supports businesses across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, Madison, the Fox Valley, and northern Illinois from our office in Wauwatosa.
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Sources (8)
- Malwarebytes, “Samsung TVs stop spying on viewers in Texas. Here’s how to disable ACR anywhere,” March 2026. Link
- Anselmi et al., “Watching TV with the Second-Party: A First Look at Automatic Content Recognition Tracking in Smart TVs,” ACM Internet Measurement Conference, November 2024. Link
- UC3M press release via EurekAlert, “Smart TVs collect viewing data even when used as external screens,” November 2024. Link
- FTC, VIZIO settlement announcement, February 6, 2017. Link
- CyberInsider, “Texas sues major TV brands for spying on consumers via smart TVs,” December 19, 2025. Link
- Texas Attorney General, Samsung agreement press release, 2026. Link
- Texas Attorney General, LG agreement press release, 2026. Link
- FOX 7 Austin, “LG to alert smart TV users of data collection following Texas privacy settlement,” May 12, 2026. Link