LG has issued an official statement addressing weeks of privacy allegations against its smart TVs. A September 6 investigation by Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs claimed its webOS sets scan home networks and log audio even while idle. LG’s response, posted to its global newsroom, denies continuous recording. But it also confirms the data-collecting features exist and live inside settings most owners never open.
What the investigation found
The Gamers Nexus report was built on packet captures and firmware analysis of retail LG OLED sets. It said the TVs identified nearby phones, PCs, printers and other devices on the home network. In the process, they also collected nearby Wi-Fi names and signal data. The report also described speech-to-text transcripts generated after the “Hi LG” wake phrase. It said the microphone stayed active for roughly 10 to 15 seconds after a command. It put the number of TVs capable of this behavior at roughly 216 million worldwide.
LG’s response
LG’s September 12 statement pushes back on the idea that any of this happens without consent. Wake-word detection is processed locally on the TV, the company says, and audio is discarded immediately if no wake word is heard. Once a command is recognized, a voice session runs for up to about 18 seconds before it closes.
On Automatic Content Recognition, the audio-fingerprinting system that identifies what’s playing on screen, LG’s statement is direct.
“ACR is an optional feature that is turned off by default.”
Enabling ACR requires accepting a separate Viewing Information Agreement, LG says. Interest-based advertising needs a second, distinct agreement on top of that. Declining both, the company says, doesn’t block core functions like streaming apps, live TV, or software updates.
What LG isn’t disputing
The device-discovery scanning that alarmed researchers isn’t denied. LG confirms its TVs look for other devices on the network. This supports things like HDMI-CEC control and smart-home connections, and it runs separately from ACR. The company also confirms nearby Wi-Fi signal data can feed into estimating a TV’s approximate location, when ACR is active and consented to. So the underlying capability GN documented is real. The dispute is over whether it’s opt-in and clearly disclosed, not whether it exists.
That’s a meaningful gap for buyers. A feature that’s technically off by default only stays off if the setup screens make opting in obvious. LG’s statement doesn’t say how those consent prompts are worded on screen, or how easy they are to decline by accident.
Where to check on your own TV
LG’s statement confirms these controls live in the TV’s settings menu, but it doesn’t publish exact on-screen labels for every model. Independent hands-on guides from several outlets converge on the same general path for recent webOS sets, though wording can shift by model year and region. Open Settings > All Settings > General > System > Additional Settings and look for a toggle called Live Plus. That’s LG’s name for ACR. A second stop is Settings > All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms > User Agreements. That’s usually where separate consents for Viewing Information, Voice Information and Interest-Based Advertising can be reviewed and withdrawn one by one. If your TV’s menu looks different, search LG’s own support site for your exact model number before assuming a setting isn’t there.
LG also says it provides security updates for up to five years from a TV’s original webOS platform release. That matters here, since these are consent settings worth revisiting on TVs already years into their household life.
Why this matters in India
LG is one of the largest TV brands by volume in India, and the same webOS platform ships on sets sold here. Buyers setting up a new LG TV should expect the same agreement prompts during first-time setup. The same settings path above should apply, though menu wording on India-market units hasn’t been independently confirmed against the US steps.
Sources: LG Newsroom, The Register
