{"id":189539,"date":"2021-02-26T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T06:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/"},"modified":"2021-02-26T09:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T06:40:00","slug":"disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/","title":{"rendered":"#Disconnect Your Smart TV from the Internet to Stop Tracking"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee0603dd131\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee0603dd131\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/#Your_Smart_TV_Is_Reporting_What_You_Watch\" >Your Smart TV Is Reporting What You Watch<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/#%E2%80%9CYou_Are_in_Control%E2%80%9D\" >\u201cYou Are in Control!\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/#Just_Disconnect_Your_Smart_TV_and_Be_Done_with_It\" >Just Disconnect Your Smart TV and Be Done with It<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Disconnect Your Smart TV from the Internet to Stop Tracking&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714694 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/camera.jpg\" alt=\"A security camera on a ceiling in front of a TV in a home.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-illustration\/3d-rendering-security-camera-cctv-on-443724892\" data-credittext=\"Phonlamai Photo\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-illustration\/3d-rendering-security-camera-cctv-on-443724892\">Phonlamai Photo\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Your smart TV is probably tracking what you watch. \u201cAutomated content recognition\u201d (ACR) <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> detects what you\u2019re watching, uploading snippets of content to a reference library so marketers can keep track of your viewing habits.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Your_Smart_TV_Is_Reporting_What_You_Watch\"><\/span>Your Smart TV Is Reporting What You Watch<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Automated content recognition isn\u2019t the only tracking issue on TVs, but it\u2019s one of the most startling. Here\u2019s what the marketing industry doesn\u2019t want you to know:<\/p>\n<p>Many TVs have \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adexchanger.com\/ad-exchange-news\/the-marketers-guide-to-acr-tech-in-smart-tvs\/\">automated content recognition<\/a>\u201d technology that detects what you\u2019re watching\u2014even if you\u2019re watching OTA TV or an old VHS tape\u2014and informs marketers.<\/p>\n<p>When this feature is enabled\u2014and it\u2019s probably enabled by default, or after a prompt that really encourages you to enable it without explaining it properly\u2014your smart TV will monitor your watching habits and home phone. To do so, your smart TV will capture sections of video, snippets of audio, still images, or some combination of the three, and upload the data to a \u201clistening post,\u201d as AdExchanger\u2019s guide for marketers explains it.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you never touch your smart TV\u2019s software and you just play video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s from a console, stream with an <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le TV, or connect a PC via HDMI, your smart TV is likely watching and phoning home.<\/p>\n<p>What do the marketers do with this data? As AdExchanger puts it: \u201cOnce the data has been collected, TV analytics companies ingest ACR data and combine it with other data sets to make it more accurate and usable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, data about what you\u2019re doing on your TV is combined with other sources of data. These could include your web browsing history, search history, product purchases, and credit card transaction data. That data can then be used to build a more complete profile on you and your TV habits to better serve you targeted ads.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CYou_Are_in_Control%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cYou Are in Control!\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714695 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/thumbs-up.jpg\" alt=\"A man giving a thumbs up in front of a TV.\" width=\"650\" height=\"482\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/young-man-relaxing-enjoying-watching-tv-125327048\" data-credittext=\"Ana Blazic Pavlovic\/Shutterstock.com.\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/young-man-relaxing-enjoying-watching-tv-125327048\">Ana Blazic Pavlovic\/Shutterstock.com.<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of course, this monitoring isn\u2019t happening against anyone\u2019s will! That would be unethical. All the people who have this feature enabled on their TVs are surely informed consumers making an informed decision to share their data with marketers.<\/p>\n<p>For example, on a Roku smart TV, you have to head to Settings &gt; Privacy &gt; Smart TV Experience and disable \u201cFrom TV Inputs\u201d to deactivate ACR features.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re sure that all those Roku TV users out there understand exactly what this option does, right? The majority of Roku TV users all really want marketers to know exactly what they\u2019re watching at all times.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s one perspective. Here\u2019s another one:<\/p>\n<p>TV manufacturers are only getting away with this by making ACR-related options confusing and buried, counting on TV customers not knowing that their televisions are even capable of this. Case in point: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/2\/12\/18222181\/vizio-tv-spying-lawsuit-settlement-how-to-get-paid\">Vizio paid out a $17 million settlement<\/a> after it was sued for making these options confusing and misleading. Of course, Vizio never admitted that it did anything wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, let\u2019s face it:\u00a0Smart TVs are cheaper than dumb TVs because of this data collection. Roku makes its money from ads and paid video content, not from selling hardware.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>The Smart TV Crapware Era Has Already Begun<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Consumer Reports has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/privacy\/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features\/\">a good guide to turning off ACR and other snooping features<\/a>\u00a0on smart TVs from a wide variety of brands.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Just_Disconnect_Your_Smart_TV_and_Be_Done_with_It\"><\/span>Just Disconnect Your Smart TV and Be Done with It<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We could go on about other \u201cfeatures\u201d you might not like, like the interactive advertisements Roku sometimes slips into cable TV programs. But honestly, what\u2019s the point? Why not just prevent the smart TV software from phoning home in the first place?<\/p>\n<p>To do so, just cut off your smart TV\u2019s internet connection. If the TV is plugged into your network via an Ethernet cable, unplug it. If it\u2019s connected to Wi-Fi, have your TV forget the Wi-Fi network. If your TV can\u2019t connect to the network, it can\u2019t phone home. When you get a new smart TV, consider not even connecting it to the network. You probably can\u2019t avoid buying a smart TV, so this at least lets you treat a smart TV as if it were a traditional \u201cdumb TV.\u201d Problem solved!<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Disconnect Your Roku TV From Wi-Fi<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course, this isn\u2019t an ideal solution. If you love your smart TV\u2019s software, you\u2019re making a sacrifice. However, if you only use your smart TV as a \u201cdumb\u201d display for other devices, it\u2019s a great solution.<\/p>\n<p>If you do really like your smart TV\u2019s software, be sure to look up a guide for turning off as many privacy-invasive features as you can.<\/p>\n<p>But remember: Other devices often have their own tracking features. Even if you have a streaming platform that doesn\u2019t track your watching habits (like an Apple TV), apps that you run on that platform (like Netflix, for example) will keep track of your watching habits in those individual apps.<\/p>\n<p>Still, even if your streaming box is monitoring your watching habits, at least your smart TV won\u2019t be. That\u2019s a win if you want to keep marketers from knowing everything about your life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/714602\/disconnect-your-smart-tv-from-the-internet-to-stop-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Disconnect Your Smart TV from the Internet to Stop Tracking&#8221; Phonlamai Photo\/Shutterstock.com Your smart TV is probably tracking what you watch. \u201cAutomated content recognition\u201d (ACR) technology detects what you\u2019re watching, uploading snippets of content to a reference library so marketers can keep track of your viewing habits. Your Smart TV Is Reporting What You Watch&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/camera.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}