A comprehensive technical investigation by Gamers Nexus, in collaboration with three independent security researchers, has revealed that LG’s latest smart TVs function as sophisticated surveillance devices capable of capturing audio, scanning entire home networks, and transmitting detailed personal data to LG’s advertising arm — often without meaningful user consent and sometimes even when the TV appears to be powered off.
Eavesdropping While “Off” and Offline
The investigation, which cost approximately $70,000 and consumed over 500 hours of research, demonstrated that an LG G5 OLED TV equipped with a built-in microphone continued to record and store audio conversations even after being disconnected from the internet. When the network connection was restored, the TV automatically exfiltrated the stored recordings to remote servers accessible by third parties with the right credentials.
“Currently, Wend and I are in a border. How are you?” a test subject asked while the TV screen appeared completely dark. The TV, however, was actively listening, and a plain-text transcript of the conversation was later retrieved by the research team. “What I’m saying is being stored by someone with remote access to the TV,” the report states. “And it’s still listening to me. No network.”
Network-Wide Surveillance: “We Know Who’s in the LG Household”
Beyond microphone eavesdropping, the team discovered that LG TVs continuously scan local networks for all connected devices. Using packet capture tools like Wireshark and by decompiling LG’s firmware, the researchers found that a single TV identified at least 38 unrelated devices on their test network, including:
- Smartphones (Samsung Galaxy S23, older Note 9)
- Smartwatches
- Google Pixel phones
- Gaming PCs and Alienware machines
- Air purifiers, 3D printers, and thermostats
- Internal server infrastructure, with usernames and MAC addresses exposed
The report notes that LG’s own executives have boasted about this capability. In recorded statements, Sergey Mata, president of LG Ad Solutions, declares: “We own the glass. We own the TV.” LG Ad Solutions is a private company wholly owned by LG that monetizes the data harvested from consumer televisions.
ACR: The Hidden Engine Powering TV Surveillance
At the core of the data collection is Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) — a feature that captures audio snippets and screenshots from whatever is playing on the TV, converts them into digital fingerprints, and transmits them to LG servers. ACR runs even when the TV is being used purely as a monitor for another device, meaning that disabling smart features through the menu does not necessarily stop the data collection.
According to the investigation, ACR data is sold to advertising partners to build “advanced profiles” of household members, extend ad campaigns to secondary devices (like smartphones), and even enable political campaign targeting. The researchers cite LG’s own admission: “We know who’s in the LG household. We know which devices are there. We know how to extend that reach into mobile.”
Security Vulnerabilities and Corporate Implications
The investigation uncovered several zero-day vulnerabilities, including remote code execution flaws that would allow an attacker to take control of the TV, use it as a proxy to move laterally across a corporate network, or maintain persistent access to a compromised environment. Some of these vulnerabilities are currently under responsible disclosure and have not yet been patched.
The researchers recommend, in the strongest terms, that LG smart TVs be disconnected from any network where sensitive conversations occur — including corporate boardrooms, medical offices, and law firms. The team notes that LG displays are ubiquitous in these very environments: hospitals, dental offices, conference rooms, Airbnbs, and college locker rooms.
Adding to the concern, Sergey Mata — the executive in charge of LG’s advertising data — is legally barred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from running a public company after settling fraud charges. He now oversees the private entity (LG Ad Solutions) that collects and sells consumer data harvested from millions of televisions.
Legal Barriers: Consumers Can’t Remove the Spyware
The report highlights that Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) criminalizes circumvention of digital locks, effectively preventing consumers from removing or disabling the surveillance software themselves. “There’s no way to know for sure that the data flow is stopping unless you go in and take it out yourself,” the investigation notes. “But because of Section 1201, you’re screwed.”
The team also discovered that LG quietly modified its class-action arbitration clauses in its terms of service following Gamers Nexus’s previous investigation into smart TV privacy.
What Should Consumers Do?
Based on the findings, the researchers advise:
- Disconnect LG smart TVs from the internet entirely if privacy is a concern — but note that even this may not stop all data collection, as audio can be stored locally and exfiltrated upon reconnection.
- Physically remove or disable microphones and cameras where possible.
- Avoid using LG smart TVs in sensitive environments such as medical offices, legal firms, and corporate boardrooms.
- Push for legislative action — Gamers Nexus reports it has been in contact with policymakers in Washington, D.C., to advocate for consumer protections against built-in surveillance in consumer electronics.
Industry-Wide Problem
While the current investigation focused on LG, the researchers warn that similar capabilities likely exist across other smart TV brands. “This is a concern broadly speaking and future looking for smart TVs regardless of the brand,” the report states, noting that the business model — selling more margin from targeted ads than from hardware itself — creates systemic incentives for data harvesting.
Gamers Nexus is crowdfunding further investigations into additional smart TV brands and is calling on consumers, researchers, and lawmakers to address what it describes as “an egregious invasion of privacy” embedded in devices consumers pay thousands of dollars to bring into their living rooms.
