Don't connect them to the Internet.
Done.
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2026
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Privacy
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Not done, they have shown to jump on unsecured networks to phone home. That coulr be a neighbour or a guests hotspot.
Edit: I was correctly asked to source this and couldnt, it was a few reddit posts without back up. I should have checked before posting
Where's your proof? I have never heard of this happening. Anyway, my Wi-Fi shows that there are no insecure networks around me.
Got any sources for this? This seems unlikely to be true at any scale
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Don't reward shitty practices with your money. Just don't buy them.
Where can you buy a non-smart TV ? I searched a lot, there is nowhere to buy such TV for private consumers. I could find some Hotel or Hospital TVs on eBay, they are all expensive and shit specs.
There are several dumb tvs, such as the Samsung BEFX-H series and the LG UN640S. Yes, they are more expensive, because they don't make money with ads and paid services.
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Every person does not do this. They will still use it for the apps on the TV.
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Disable those non connected options
You don't really believe that companies actually stop monitoring the shot out of you, right?
Just don't connect your smart TV to the Internet. Instead get some opens source TV stick, dump jellyfin on it, make your own little library and go nuts
Which open source TV stick do you recommend?
This is always the question, and there is never an answer.
A bit of a party foul on my end as I already knew none exist. Although there is at least an open streaming box OS in the works, but you’d have to bring your own hardware.
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Limit, not disable.
Correct.
Just don't connect them to the internet, then it doesn't matter.
People connect them to the internet to use YouTube or something, and then just forget that it is still online. This is for those people who are unaware. And a smart TV can still be hacked while disconnected from Wi-Fi, that is obviously harder to do.
If those people are unaware, then make them aware. Telling them to disable telemtry instead of taking them offline completely is simply bad advice.
Turning off those features still help. That is why I posted, so some are aware... People have smart TV's to use the internet. That is kind of the whole point of having them. Most people just don't disconnect their TV from the Wi-Fi every time they are done streaming. Which, that would be a GOOD IDEA idea.
Most people just don’t disconnect their TV from the Wi-Fi every time they are done streaming. Which, that would be a GOOD IDEA idea.
No, because the smart TV just stores the data it wants to send and sends it as soon as it is online again.
No, because the smart TV just stores the data it wants to send and sends it as soon as it is online again.
If this is true, that is diabolical.
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There was some sort of scandal a few years back that some smart TVs (Samsung?) were using not just open networks (let's be honest, there usually aren't any), but other smart TVs if the same manufacturer to be able to send their telemetry. I don't know what game of that, or if that was ever made illegal (probably not).
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Hasnt there been claims of the smart tv's automatically connecting to open WiFi to update and or send data.
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Never connect it to your wifi and use an open source Linux or android media box instead. If you can buy a tv or projector without any smart device baked in.
I think it’s important to note that most of the devices you’ll find if you just search for a cheap and generic “Android media box” are not going to be any better for your privacy. Even if you ignore the data collection you subject yourself to with Android, you might be purchasing a botnet node or a backdoor into your home network.
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korea ? why ?
Genuinely zero idea how people use TVs on their own, with wi-fi connected, and no HTPC. Not only is it mostly spyware, it's a horrendous experience too.
Just get a tiny pc with a wireless keyboard + touchpad combo, and use that instead of a Smart TV's built-in OS. More secure, more private, more feature-rich, more convenient. If you watch TV (I can't see why anyone would), then you can even watch that online.
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I’ve been rocking a 46 inch Sony xbr 1080p tv for like 22 years. It just broke last week :(
That thing was awesome. It had nine types of inputs, DisplayPort, hdmi, super video, dvi, rca. It even had optical audio in and out. It was a $10,000 tv when it came out and I watched it for a while until it was something like $3300 and I bought it.
I replaced it with a 55inch Samsung for $300. The picture is 22years better :) but the rest of it is throw away junk. It will never get connected to the internet and it will never get a software update. I think this is the logical conclusion to cheap tvs, they just become 100% enshittified.
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Manage your own DNS. Problem solved.
Oh yea? Tell that over the phone to the old granny that lives alone to do that. People like that have no idea how to. Not everybody is that tech savvy.
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Do projectors do the same kind of shenanigans? I've seen many that got bad ratings because of "lackluster smart functions".
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People connect their TVs to the internet? Why would you do that?
To watch YouTube or Netflix, lol, is that new to you? I don't do it but more people do than you think.
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