How to Stop Any Smart TV From Spying on You in 2026

Apparently, smart TVs in our living rooms are spying devices that can give TV manufacturers, agencies, or cybercriminals backend access to intimate details of our activities at home, the FBI has warned¹. It can happen through smart TV built-in cameras, microphones, or even streaming apps.

A few cases are already in the public domain — for example, WikiLeaks implicated Samsung TV devices of spying for the CIA and MI5 (operation Weeping Angel)², and also the US FTC has in the past fined Vizio $2.2 million for discreetly collecting and selling users’ private data³.

How do you stop smart TVs from spying on you? A combination of methods can help, from turning off tracking and recording settings to unplugging from a power source or disconnecting from the internet. I'll share the steps you can take to prevent spying on different TV brands, but you'll need to apply the interventions simultaneously to get better results.

Short Overview of the Best Ways to Stop Your Smart TV From Monitoring You in 2026

Best Ways to Stop Your Smart TV From Spying on You — Detailed Review

1. Disable ACR on Your TV (Brand-by-Brand Guide)

Unless you turn off the ACR setting, TV manufacturers can collect and view your private data, analyze it, and sell it to their marketing partners. Automatic content recognition (ACR) is a smart TV technology for collecting user data so that the system can best understand your viewing patterns, including the type of content you watch, when and for how long you watch, screen settings, and much more.

Giving access to your smart TV data allows third parties to indirectly spy on you

Depending on the TV brand, you can stop ACR tracking (it goes by different names) from the settings. In most cases, core streaming functionalities won’t be affected after disabling ACR. You can turn off the setting as follows:

Samsung TV

Older Samsung TV models (2014–2016):

1. Head to the Smart Hub menu and open Settings.
2. Click on the Support tab and select Terms & Policy.
3. Go to SyncPlus and Marketing and disable it.

Newer Samsung TV models (after 2017):

1. Press the Home button to access the start screen.
2. On the sidebar menu, scroll to Privacy Choices.
3. Click Terms and Policies.
4. Turn off Viewing Information Services and Interest-Based Advertising (to stop ACR and personalized ads).
5. Confirm your choice.

Apple TV

1. Open the home menu.
2. Go to General or Settings.
3. Select Privacy or General.
4. Disable the Send Data to Apple option.

LG TV (webOS)

1. Access the home screen on your TV.
2. Tap on Settings and scroll down till you find General.
3. Go to System > Additional settings.
4. Look for the LivePlus option and toggle it off.
5. Head back to General and select the User Agreements.
6. Turn off Personal Advertising. Some 2024 models will also have the option to enable Do Not Sell My Info under Advertisements.

Sony TV

Older Sony TVs running Android:

1. Head to the Settings page and look for the Initial Setup.
2. Click on the Don’t change button when you see the network change pop-up.
3. Go to the Sony Bravia policy page and agree to it.
4. On the right side of the page, click on the Disable button (the last option).
5. Click the Disable button again to turn off the ACR tech.

Newer Sony TVs running Google:

1. Go to Settings and then Initial Setup.
2. Look for Samba Interactive TV and then disable it.
3. Go to Privacy Settings and switch off Viewing Data.

Amazon Fire TV

1. Go to Settings, then Preferences.
2. Select Privacy Settings.
3. Turn off Automatic Content Recognition.
4. Also, toggle off settings like Interest-Based Ads, Collect App Usage Data, and Over-the-Air Viewing Data, for extra privacy.

Vizio TV

Older Vizio TV models (2014–2016):

1. From the menu, go to the System settings panel and then Reset & Admin.
2. Look for the Smart Interactivity option and disable it to stop tracking.

Newer Vizio TV models (after 2017):

1. Open the main TV menu.
2. Go to the System settings option.
3. Select Reset & Admin.
4. Look for Viewing Data and turn it off. This will remove all ACR tracking capabilities.

Roku

1. On your Roku device, head to Settings and then System.
2. Look for Privacy and turn on the Limit Ad Tracking.
3. Go to Smart TV Experience and disable Use Information for TV Inputs to remove the ACR feature.

Alternatively, you can sign in to your Roku account online, then go to Privacy Settings and opt out of Smart TV Experience.

Chromecast

1. Open Settings and select System.
2. Go to Privacy.
3. Turn off Interest-Based Ads.

Samba TV

Samba TV uses the ACR tracking system to collect data across several brands that have subscribed to the technology. You can find and disable Samba TV’s policies from the privacy settings on these TVs:

The opt-out process can follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to settings and look for System Preferences or Initial Setup.
2. Find Interactive TV Service.
3. Disable Samba Interactive TV, or turn on the Limit Ad Tracking option.

2. Turn Off Cameras, Microphones, and Voice Assistants

Modern smart TVs are equipped with cameras and voice command features that can actually be used for espionage. They can listen to your conversations or even read facial expressions to collect data for targeted marketing.

To be on the safe side, always turn off voice assistant features like Siri, Alexa, and Bixby, as well as cameras and microphones (and cover them with tape), when not in use. Doing so can prevent a smart TV from randomly listening or capturing images without permission, especially when it's hacked and you're not aware of it yet.

Here’s how you can turn off these spying features on your TV.

Samsung TV

You can press a physical switch on your Samsung TV device to turn on/off the mic, or use the remote control to locate and switch off settings as follows;

Older Samsung TV models (2014–2016):

1. Look for the Smart Hub menu and open Settings.
2. Select the Smart Features button, scroll down to find Voice Recognition, and turn it off.

Newer Samsung TV models (after 2017):

1. Head to the main menu and open Settings.
2. Go to the Support tab and scroll down to find Terms and Policies.
3. Turn off Voice Recognition Services to disable the microphones and cameras.

Samsung TV models after 2020:

1. Go to Settings and then General or Expert Settings.
2. Find Voice Interaction and then turn it off.

LG TV (webOS)

1. On the main menu, tap Settings in the top right-hand corner.
2. Go to All Settings, scroll down, and click General.
3. Find User Agreements (which might be located in the About this TV tab) and disable the Voice Information.

Some newer models will have an AI settings option where you can turn off Voice Recognition. Other LG TV models also have retractable cameras, which can be pushed down physically to prevent them from spying on you. But if you have an external smart TV camera, you can unplug it when it’s not being used.

Sony TV

You can tap the microphone button on your Sony TV remote control to turn it on or off. Also, switch off hands-free mic mode so that the TV isn’t actively listening for commands.

Google TV

1. Press the Quick Settings button on your remote to access Settings.
2. Go to Privacy > Google Assistant > Voice Control.
3. Disable the Hands-free mic option.

Android TV

1. Press the Home button on the remote control and navigate to Settings.
2. Go to Device Preferences > Google Assistant.
3. Select “Ok Google” detection and turn it off.

Vizio TV

1. Press the Settings button on the remote control.
2. Go to All Settings and then Accessibility.
3. Select TalkBack and turn it off.

3. Keep Smart TV Firmware and Apps Updated

Similar to phones and computers, TV operating systems also need regular updating and care to fix outdated code and security patches. Failure to do so offers hackers avenues to exploit flaws and install spyware to monitor and steal information, including through the camera and microphone. They can even access your entire home network and IoT devices through one vulnerable smart TV, and paralyze operations using botnets for DDoS (distributed-denial-of-service) attacks.

4. Use a VPN to Encrypt Your Smart TV Traffic

Consider securing your smart TV connections with a virtual private network (VPN). It encrypts data and traffic between your TV device, home WiFi, and the internet, preventing snoops like ISPs, data brokers, or hackers from collecting sensitive information about your streaming habits. They can't read it because it's scrambled, and only the recipient with the encryption key can access it.

VPNs provide privacy for streaming HD content safely from anywhere. Even systems that don’t support VPN installation, like Samsung, LG, and Roku, can still be secured by connecting to a VPN-enabled router. You can then connect to a server location of your choice to mask your IP address and encrypt the smart TV connection to avoid being tracked unnecessarily.

5. Strengthen Passwords and Device Access

Change factory or default TV account passwords and customize access permissions for streaming apps, WiFi networks, or even external media boxes connected to the smart TV. These passwords are more predictable and vulnerable to mass security brute-force breaches when hackers are trying to find accounts to target. Create unique passwords and avoid using/reusing them on multiple TV apps or accounts. If you notice suspicious activity, change your logins immediately.

6. Review and Limit Data Sharing Settings

Opt out of policies that ask to collect your data anyhow for reasons like ad personalization or diagnostics. Usually, the data is very identifying, such as your IP address and location, app and streaming metadata, and even information gathered through camera and voice recognition features. Saying no to these permissions will restrict the TV platform from collecting and distributing personal data without a purpose.

Here’s how to restrict data sharing settings on some brands.

Samsung TV

When setting up your new Samsung TV, disagree with these privacy settings and policies.

• Viewing information services. It stops Samsung’s ACR feature from capturing your streaming data.
• Interest-based advertising services. Samsung won’t use your information to try to show you relevant ads.
• Voice recognition. This blocks the TV from activating voice assistant features that capture and analyze audio inputs.

LG TV

When setting up your LG Smart TV, revoke the following permissions.

• Voice information policy. Stops your audio data from being collected by the voice recognition tool LG implements on its smart TVs.
• Interest-based advertising policy. You can deactivate it to stop your viewing information from being collected in order to show you relevant ads and pop-ups.
• Live Plus. Disabling it turns off LG’s ACR software.

Sony TV

When setting up Sony Smart TV settings, you’re prompted to review 3 privacy policies, some of which you can opt out of to avoid unnecessary data collection.

• Google. Sony Smart TV uses the Android TV system, which means you must agree to Google’s policy to start using the TV.
• Samba TV. It’s possible to disagree with Samba TV’s policy so that your activity data isn’t tracked and sent to third parties.
• Sony. Disagreeing with Sony’s policy helps you keep your information private, but you won’t be able to use any smart TV features.

Vizio TV

When setting up your new Vizio TV, you can disagree with the ACR policy and opt out of or in on the following to help keep your viewer information private.

• Viewing Data
• Smart Interactivity (Activity Data)
• Do not Sell My Personal Information

Vizio TVs use the SmartCast Smart TV system, which is based on Google’s Chromecast technology. So its T&Cs consist of four items: Vizio Terms of Service, Vizio Privacy Policy, Google Terms of Service, and Google Privacy Policy.

7. Disconnect Your TV From the Internet Entirely

You can cut off the internet connection to your TV to stop data transfers between smart features and external servers. Disable WiFi/Ethernet connections on your TV device, and instead use alternatives such as cable channels, Blu-Ray DVD, TV media server, HDMI input, or even cast/mirror from PC or phone onto your smart TV. You won't use online streaming features, and no information will be sent to the internet.

8. Block Telemetry at the Network Level

A DNS filtering tool like NextDNS or Pi-hole can prevent smart TV data tracking at the router level. It reroutes DNS requests through secure private servers and can filter telemetry domains used for data collection (like lgtvsdp.com, samsungacr.com, samsungads.com, etc.), apps, and sites that want to use your information for advertisements.

Since your smart TV (and all devices connected to the WiFi) uses these private domain name servers, your streaming data is less susceptible to spying by third parties. This approach, combined with offline viewing (on a local network), provides a strong layer of protection from spying.

How to Tell if Your Smart TV Is Spying on You

There is no particular tell-all sign that your smart TV is spying on you, but watch out for some of the things below that may indicate that’s the case.

• Unusual app behavior. Some TV applications launching on their own, running in the background, or asking for permissions not related to their functioning might indicate that the app is spyware.
• Spontaneous changes in your TV settings. If your TV randomly flips channels, adjusts volume, is highly sensitive to background conversations, or modifies other settings on its own, it might be a sign of unauthorized access.
• Camera and/or microphone activity. Seeing blinking indicators from the camera or microphone without you having initiated any activity may signal that these features are being used for spying.
• Fake “off” mode. It should be a concern if some of your TV features remain on even after you’ve switched off the device. If your TV model is this type, make sure to turn off the power source every time you’re not using it.
• Data usage spikes. If your TV uses a lot of bandwidth data even when it’s off or idle, it could be that it’s actually collecting and transmitting data to an external destination.
• New or unknown apps are appearing. Look out for strange apps and files in the system, especially for budget TV sets that come with preinstalled apps. They might be spyware added by the manufacturer or even by hackers. Uninstall or delete if you find any, and also restrict permissions for apps that install third-party apps and trackers without asking first.
• Account lockouts. If you sometimes get locked out of your smart TV account and experience login errors frequently, it might be that the account has been hacked. Consider changing the password (use "forgot password" to reset), including on other accounts like payment information linked to the smart TV.

How Does Your Smart TV Monitor You?

Primarily, it’s the smart features built into the TV that make it possible for third parties to closely follow what you're doing. Some notable ways that privacy intrusion occurs are;

Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) Tracks Everything You Watch

The ACR feature in smart TV scans and captures images of whatever is playing on your screen (at an estimated rate of up to 7,200 images per hour⁴), then analyzes and matches the information with a large database to understand your preferences. It collects information on your TV screen even if you're using an external media box, gaming console, or casting device, making it harder to avoid being monitored.

ACR aggressively collects your data for the purpose of market research and analytics (to be shared with advertising partners), and not necessarily to offer convenience, as the manufacturers claim. That's why it remains important to opt out of ACR tracking if you want to minimize tracking.

Built-in Cameras and Microphones Enable Physical Surveillance

Without having proper privacy configurations, Smart TV features like voice assistants will be actively listening for commands, and cameras will be watching for gestures and facial recognition when you're not using the device. The data is then sent to third-party ACR cloud servers for processing and analysis (which can even be accessed by other people).

Can someone see through your smart TV? Hackers can take control of your TV microphone and camera and remotely watch or live-stream what’s happening in your home. That's why you should take the steps to secure your digital devices from intrusion and not allow camera and microphone permissions to unknown apps.

Router Vulnerabilities Create Network-Wide Risks

Your smart TV could also be a gateway for spying across other devices connected to the same network. That's why, again, you should regularly update your firmware and passwords and encrypt your network traffic with a VPN so that your sensitive data isn’t exposed should someone intercept communications on the WiFi. You can also use a smart TV on an isolated network to minimize risks of attack escalation when one device is compromised.

Do I Need a VPN to Stop My Smart TV From Spying on Me?

A VPN secures traffic on some levels, but won't completely stop your smart TV from spying on you. If you're worried about your internet provider or streaming service tracking you, then using a VPN can help.

It assigns you a different unique IP address and encrypts the connections so that third parties won’t know your real IP address and read or analyze data transfers. Robust VPNs have tracking and malware detection tools to block potentially risky content and apps communicating with external servers.

Regardless of VPN usage, built-in tracking features on smart TVs, like ACR and camera and microphone sensors, can still spy on you. The VPN won't stop data collection. fingerprinting, and sharing with third-party cloud servers, but it can minimize it. Also, apps can still monitor you using device or account identifiers (such as advertising ID and MAC address) since this information isn't protected by the VPN.

Still, a VPN provides vital security and privacy on your smart TV. Some brands like Samsung and LG do not support VPN installation, but you can use a smart TV on a VPN -secured WiFi connection to cut down on snooping.

FAQs

Conclusion

Smart TVs often collect usage information by default, which can reveal details about how you use your device. Being selective about what data you allow the TV to send to the manufacturer helps you keep more control over your privacy. It’s also a good idea to review permissions for features like the microphone and camera, and to apply basic security steps to protect both your smart TV and your home network.

References

1. https://www.idwatchdog.com/education/-/article/smart-tv-hackers
2. https://policyreview.info/articles/news/weeping-angels-are-back-and-they-attack-our-privacy-smart-tvs/451
3. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2017/02/vizio-pay-22-million-ftc-state-new-jersey-settle-charges-it-collected-viewing-histories-11-million
4. https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/12/12/your-smart-tv-knows-what-youre-watching