This hidden TV feature tracks your viewing - here's how to turn it off (no matter what brand)

Home & Office Why you can trust ZDNET : ZDNET independently tests and researches products to bring you our best recommendations and advice. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Our process 'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. Close Home Home & Office Home Entertainment TVs This hidden TV feature tracks your viewing - here's how to turn it off (no matter what brand) Samsung, LG, and Sony TVs can pose privacy risks - here's how to avoid a major one. Written by Taylor Clemons, Staff WriterStaff Writer and Chris Bayer, EditorEditor April 27, 2026 at 6:01 p.m. PT Kerry Wan/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET's key takeawaysSmart TVs track viewing habits with ACR tech.Collected data fuels billions in targeted ads.Turning off ACR protects privacy but takes effort.Most modern smart TVs come with a silent partner: Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). This ad-tracking tech monitors everything on your screen in real-time, feeding your viewing history into a database to build a precise profile of your habits. It's the engine behind those eerily specific ads -- and it's likely running the moment you press the power button.Also: Own a Samsung TV? I changed these 6 settings to make the system run like new againWhat's the incentive behind this invasive technology? Money. Companies buy and sell the tracking data collected from your search histories and media preferences to fine-tune targeted ad campaigns. According to Yahoo Finance, the smart TV ad market is expected to reach $691 billion by 2033, up from $255 billion in 2024. And if you want to break the cycle, it's as simple as toggling off a few menu options.How does ACR work?To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements. According to The Markup, ACR can capture and identify up to…

This excerpt is published under fair use for community discussion. Read the full article at ZDNET.