New technical investigations by Gamers Nexus, in collaboration with Level1Techs and independent security researchers, have uncovered that LG smart TVs engage in extensive data collection even when they appear to be powered down. Testing on retail OLED models, including the G5, revealed that these devices continuously scan local area networks (LAN) to map secondary hardware such as smartphones and smartwatches.
Beyond Screen Monitoring
While the industry has long known about Automated Content Recognition (ACR)—which fingerprints on-screen content—these findings show a much broader scope of surveillance. Network packet captures via Wireshark confirmed that the TVs gather internal IP addresses, signal strengths of neighboring Wi-Fi networks, and location data. This information is fed into LG Ad Solutions; while the company reports 216 million TV sales, its advertising arm claims access to 363 million addressable devices in the US alone by tracking other hardware on the same network.
Audio Logging in Standby
The most critical discovery involves the microphone. Bench tests demonstrated that LG TVs can capture clean audio while in standby mode, with the screen off. Furthermore, if the device is disconnected from Ethernet, it continues to save voice inputs locally and uploads them automatically once network connectivity is restored.
Security Risks and Recommendations
The researchers also identified remote code execution vulnerabilities within webOS, which are currently undergoing the responsible disclosure process. Given that these devices perform broad network sweeps and audio logging out of the box, the team recommends disconnecting LG TVs from the internet entirely and using external streaming devices instead.
This latest revelation follows a pattern of privacy concerns for the brand. LG previously faced criticism when its gaming monitors were caught installing adware via Windows Update. Additionally, the company is embroiled in legal battles in the US, including a lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General and class-action suits regarding ACR technology that allegedly captures screen data at 0.5-second intervals without consent.
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