LG smart TVs have been caught secretly collecting disturbing amounts of information from inside their owners’ homes, including recording conversations and scanning private Wi-Fi networks for other connected devices.
An investigation by computer hardware experts at Gamers Nexus found that LG televisions can monitor what users watch, map devices connected to their home networks, and use built-in microphones to capture audio.
Even more alarmingly, researchers found that some of the surveillance can continue while the television appears to be switched off in standby mode.
The investigation also found that data can continue to be collected while the television is disconnected from the internet, with information stored locally until the connection is restored.
LG TVs Scan Devices Across Home Wi-Fi Networks
Gamers Nexus worked with independent security researchers and Level1Techs to examine the televisions’ firmware and intercept data being transmitted by the devices.
What they uncovered went far beyond simply tracking television viewing habits.
Researchers found that the TVs were scanning local Wi-Fi networks and identifying other devices connected to them.
Those devices included smartphones, computers, thermostats, and other smart-home technology.
The televisions were even collecting the names of nearby Wi-Fi networks.
Taken together, the information could create an extraordinarily detailed picture of the electronic devices inside and surrounding a person’s home.
The researchers also examined LG’s use of automated content recognition, or ACR.
ACR technology identifies what viewers are watching and allows that information to be used for advertising.
The investigation found that the data ultimately feeds LG Ad Solutions, the company’s advertising operation.
By combining viewing information with details about devices on a household network, researchers warned that LG can build an extensive profile of its customers and their behavior.
TV Microphones Recorded Conversations in Standby Mode
However, the most alarming discovery involved the televisions’ built-in microphones.
Tests found that the microphones could capture clear audio from conversations taking place near the television and generate transcripts.
The recording capability continued while the televisions were in standby mode.
For most owners, standby mode is what happens when they press the power button and believe they have switched the television off.
The display goes dark, but parts of the television remain powered.
Researchers found that the audio collection could even continue after the television was disconnected from the internet.
Instead of stopping, the television stored the audio locally.
Once the internet connection was restored, the stored files could then be uploaded.
The findings mean disconnecting an LG television from the internet does not necessarily prevent it from collecting information inside the home.
Researchers Uncover Remote Hacking Vulnerability
The investigation uncovered another serious security problem.
Researchers identified a vulnerability that could allow a hacker to remotely execute code on affected televisions.
They have withheld key technical details while the vulnerability is responsibly disclosed, preventing would-be attackers from immediately exploiting the flaw.
The investigation has since attracted attention from cybersecurity experts, including Malwarebytes.
For LG owners, however, the combination of surveillance technology and a potential remote-security vulnerability has triggered outrage.
“LG hardware is just spyware,” one furious user wrote on the r/LGOLED subreddit.
“You[r] TV is wiretapping your whole house.”
Smart TVs Have Become Surveillance Machines
Smart televisions collecting information about viewers is nothing new.
ACR technology has already transformed televisions from passive displays into sophisticated data-collection devices capable of identifying the content playing on their screens.
But the latest investigation exposes just how much further that surveillance can potentially reach.
A television that scans other devices inside the home, identifies nearby networks, monitors viewing habits, and captures conversations through a microphone is collecting information far beyond what many consumers would reasonably expect from a television.
And LG has already faced controversy over invasive behavior from its hardware.
A separate Gamers Nexus investigation last month found that LG monitors were installing software that generated pop-up advertisements on customers’ computers.
The backlash became serious enough that Microsoft demanded LG remove the ads.
Now, the latest findings are raising far more disturbing questions about what LG televisions are doing when their owners aren’t watching them.
For years, consumers have been warned that internet-connected devices can become surveillance tools inside their homes.
According to the researchers who tore apart LG’s systems, that warning is no longer hypothetical.
The television sitting silently in the living room may be watching and listening, even when its owner thinks it is turned off.
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