Join the discussion
Write your take first — we'll ask for email only when you're ready to publish.
- Hacker News
- I have a 2018 Samsung QLED SmartTV, I use Pihole to block data collection and since it has Google DNS hardcoded in it, I use OPNSense Firewall rules to enforce any DNS request to Pihole.
My TV has only one AD that no longer shows for years now, LG is ADs all over the place. My home setup allows me to have a smartTV without compromises it.
Since it runs TizenOS, I can use my Linux PC to install remove apps from it like installing Jellyfin App so I do not depend on Samsung releasing it to the app store.
by h4kunamata - Well, that's how data for training LLMs is scraped.by lukax
- Not only this, it also enables sneaker/pokemon/5090 scalping, Chinese/Russian using ChatGPT/Claude. A residential IP in the US is very valuable elsewhere.by handle584
- And price comparison sites big companies don't like since they want to price discriminate. There are positives to it.by brikym
- I absolutely adore my 2018 jailbroken LG OLED, although it pains me that everything I love about this TV are features the manufacturer actively discourages and wishes I never had access to.by ctippett
- It's not Smart TV apps specifically, it's all free apps. They have to monetize those somehow, don't they? And you get upset when you see ads, don't you?
Basically it's either this or pay for your apps.
by TurdF3rguson - I pay for apps whenever possible, in some cases it just isn't. Also, you have to trust that paid apps aren't also doing this shit.
- > And you get upset when you see ads, don't you?
Yes and no. I understand that Youtube needs to generate revenue, has staff to pay, etc. About a decade ago, I got an occasional 10 second commercial at the start of a clip, and I could live with that. But Youtube pushed me too far when it started playing two consecutive commercials at regular intervals that cannot be skipped, and I now use uBlock or VacuumTube on all my devices.
by drnick1 - > Basically it's either this or pay for your apps.
And then paid apps show you ads and monetize anyway.
by zerobees - Not sure if this is ironic, but I know it's possible for apps to exist without being monetized. I'm using Paint.net right now.by recursive
- This needs to be illegal.by 201984
- Why? The only thing that's vaguely objectionable is the fact the consent screen's wording of "download public web data from the internet" omits important information on what's actually happening and the associated risks. Otherwise I'm not sure how you can come up with a principled justification of the ban beyond just "AI scrapers bad" or "hiding identity". Tor relays and VPNs are basically doing the same thing, except with clearer disclosure about what actually goes on.by gruez
- I have a few LG OLED tv's. I do not ever connect them to the internet - I just treat them as dumb hdmi/dp displays. One is driven by an Apple TV, the other is connected to a Linux gaming pc. Haven't had any issues at all.by whalesalad
- "Publishes with the most proxy flagged apps"
1. Desoline (based in Netanya (Israel)
2. Bright Data (based in Israel)
Interesting.
by HDBaseT - Just in case people don't know Bright data is formally Luminati proxy. They are well known for doing shady things...by cute_boi
- A country known for plenty of spyware and iOS hacking tools. Interesting indeed.
(I didn’t draw any conclusions.)
by port11 - This turned out to be more ethical than I thought. I'd thought there wasn't any consent at all, or the actual mention of proxying was buried in a 20 page EULA.by gruez
- Yeah, this does seem somewhat reasonable. I get that most users will probably accept it without thinking twice, but if you’re going to do something like this, this is at least a fairly upfront and consenting way of doing it. For the TV platforms where this isn’t allowed, you have to wonder if apps are still doing it but just completely secretly, and trying to hide their tracks as well.by OkGoDoIt
- I think it’s worth emphasizing that based on the article, those are third party apps, not first party LG apps.
Based on the headline I thought it’s the built-in apps.
by cube2222 - This does raise the question if other Smart TVs with the same third party apps have the same issue.by mycall
- LG runs its own spyware already (content recognition).by drnick1
- I've always have a deep, instinctive revulsion for smart TVs, but every year I read of some new mandmade horrors beyond comprehension, and it escalates by a few more points.by andai
- Coming for PC monitors as well, LG again leading the charge.. see "smart gaming monitor", same BS.by layoric
- Same, but for "smart" anything in the home that requires an internet connection and does not let me set it up or run it LAN only.
People forget the reasons TVs got cheaper is because smart TVs are heavily subsidized with ads and your watch data.
I have the most "low tech" home of any of my peers, intentionally.
by thewebguyd - Never ever connect your "Smart"-TV to your network, or if you have an incurable impulse to then make sure it's on a firewalled gateway-less VLAN. Take the money you save buying the thing (compared to what a profitable "dumb" version would cost) and buy a surplus corporate mini-workstation system, and slap LibreELEC/Kodi or whatever on it, and use that device as your "smart" device. No good for you can ever come from bringing the TV onto the internet... ever!
(Also: never paypig, never subscribe!)
by rustcleaner - Surely they will just make it mandatory, at some point?by lysace
- I connect every few months (with cable) to check for firmware updates and the like. Otherwise agree it stays offline.by topranks
- The only time mine were ever connected to the internet was to update the software, and for that the easiest thing I thought was to host a temporary wifi hotspot (using a phone).
- I've heard this wisdom before, usually with an apple TV positioned as the alternative, but I've had that setup before and didn't enjoy having to use 2 remotes instead of one.
A better solution would be to root the damn TV and neuter its spyware/adware crap.
by gozucito - Why not ever subscribe? I mean, yeah, subscriptions are getting pricey these days, but you can subscribe to one network, watch the things you want, then cancel and go to another.
There's plenty you can trash Amazon for, but at least on Prime Video, you can subscribe to the other services through them, watch on any browser, and reliably cancel easily when you're done.
by ufmace