LG smart TVs can listen in on voice commands, gather data that reveals your location, and scan your home for other connected devices, according to a major new investigation into the company’s webOS platform.
Researchers working with independent technology outlet Gamers Nexus captured LG televisions scanning local networks and identifying phones, smartwatches, printers, air conditioning units, and many other devices that had never been connected to the TV.
The investigation also found that the TV sets use an advertising technology called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to identify what was being watched across different inputs, while voice interactions could be converted into plain text and stored in logs on the television.
In one test, researchers said voice data continued to be stored after the TV was disconnected from the internet, before being uploaded once the connection was restored.
According to Gamers Nexus, testing showed LG TVs were capable of collecting and identifying:
IP addresses and geolocation data
Internal IP addresses belong to other devices on the network
Names, signal strengths and channels of neighbouring WiFi networks
Phones, smartwatches and other connected hardware
Content displayed on the TV using ACR
Audio fingerprints of content played through the television
Voice commands converted into plain text and stored in on-device logs
Privacy and consent settings stored by the TV (and whether users had opted in or out)
h/t pool