I discovered something incredibly strange last year while browsing for a TV for a spare bedroom — smart TVs are incredibly cheap nowadays. Weirdly enough, they’re actually cheaper than non-smart HDTVs, sometimes by a substantial margin. There are likely a few reasons for this, but if I had to guess? Personal data collection is one of the best ways for TV manufacturers to make a quick buck, so smart TVs are offered at lower prices than their non-smart counterparts.
But what you may not have known, though, is that there are a few different ways that you can skirt around these intrusive methods of data collecting. Even better, your TV will likely still work the same as it did before.
Smart TVs offer ways to opt out of data collection
Credit: Shaun Cichacki/MUO
One of the first things you can do, regardless if you’ve had your smart TV for a while or are hoping to purchase a new one, is request that your TV not sell or share your personal data. While it feels like this should be turned off by default, manufacturers make a pretty penny off our information. In the settings menu on your device, typically under a “Terms & Privacy” option, you should be able to opt out of data collection.
With my particular display, an older 55″ curved Samsung display, it mentions that it may take up to 15 days for this request to be processed. Sadly, this seems to be the normal amount of time, and it seems like this would be to get that last-ditch push of information out the door. But after this point has been reached, you shouldn’t need to worry about your data being sold off any longer. If you want to go a step further, you can do a few other things to make your smart TV experience even better.
Related
How I Discovered My Smart TV Was Spying On Me
Your smart TV is always watching and listening.
Block ads on your display entirely
It’s surprisingly quick and efficient to do this
One of the most annoying parts of the modern internet is being bombarded with ads on every screen you use. From the moment I turn on my Samsung TV, I get ads for upcoming sports events and other shows and movies I would never care to watch. Doing a bit of research into it, I learned that I could block my TV from sending out advertisements by changing a DNS setting within the device itself.
This process is incredibly easy and may only take a few minutes. Some users may benefit from making a complete DNS change on their router, whereas some folks who enjoy playing specific games on their mobile devices may see that their progress could be halted by making a network-wide change.
Tech-savvy users can create a firewall block
Using your router, you can block any external communications from your TV
MakeUseOf
By identifying or changing the IP address of your smart TV, you could also block specific DNS addresses to reduce ads and the amount of data being sent out. Depending on the brand of television you’re using, there are many ad-gathering websites you should block on the router to prevent Samsung, LG, or any other brands from collecting your information.
Turning off ACR and using a DNS blocking service are some of the most effective ways to make this work, especially since your TV is essentially always watching and listening to what you’re doing. But adding a list of sites that should be blocked by the IP address of your TV is another major step in the right direction. Or if you want to go an extra step and don’t mind waiting a little bit longer when your device powers up? Hook up a smart plug to automatically power the TV down fully at the end of the day — this ensures that the TV can’t chat with any server, domain, or anything in between.
Bypass the “smart” features with an external device
Apple TV doesn’t have ACR, and media servers work wonders
Image by Raghav SethiCredit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf
The easiest way to make sure that your smart TV isn’t phoning home and sending your data off to be collected and sold? Don’t connect it to the internet and use either local media servers like Jellyfin or Plex, or hook up something like an Apple TV. The main reason I recommend an Apple TV over something like my cheap Onn streaming box is that Apple doesn’t have any form of ACR (Automatic Content Recognition). This means that an Apple TV box is not going to collect and sell your data while you’re using it, whereas my cheap Onn box has likely let Walmart know exactly what I want for my next order. It’s still a dang fine streaming box that makes Google TV affordable and accessible to everyone, though.
If you’ve got the technical know-how to make it happen, using a local media server is the best way to bypass any form of “phoning home”. Jellyfin and Plex both offer tons of ways to use your already-owned media to stream it wherever you’d like, whenever you’d like. One of the biggest reasons I haven’t made the switch is because I love watching shows with subtitles, but seeing as Jellyfin has a massive plugin store that fixes that particular woe for me, it may be time for me to start building my own media server.
OS
Android, iOS/iPadOS, Android TV, Fire TV, Web browsers
Developer
Jellyfin Community
Pricing model
Free (open-source)
Initial release
December 8, 2018
Smart TVs are great for some things
But having our data sold off is not one of those things
Currently, I have four different TV sets in my home. Each of them has been removed from ACR, had its DNS information changed, and functions better as a result. They’re faster, “smarter”, and seem to fulfill their originally intended purpose without selling off every ounce of my personal data.
Unless you want to spend the extra money to buy a “regular” TV, these are just some of the ways that you can shape your well-loved or brand-new device into something better. Keeping your data safe is always a good thing, and making sure that these companies don’t know every little detail about you is even better.
