On the new Apple TV (released in 2015), navigate to Settings ( gear app icon), scroll down to Privacy, select Limit Ad Tracking and turn it On. Follow those instructions to turn it off. Roku's privacy policy is the same across all of its devices, and it uses the same ad tracking on its sticks and boxes as described above in the TVs section. Stop your streaming devices from tracking you, too Roku boxes and sticks From there check the box that says "Limit ad tracking." On TVs that use Roku's operating system, sold by TCL, Sharp, Hisense, Hitachi, Insignia and others, hit the Home button on the remote, scroll down to Settings, select System and then Privacy.
We've contacted Sony to find out whether those TVs collect information, and will update this section when we hear back.
Note that you're still subject to Google's privacy policy.įor older Sony TVs, we couldn't find any setting that applies to privacy. Click "Opt out of Ads Personalization" and "OK" on the pop-up that appears.
Then scroll down to Smart Interactivity (see photo at the top) and switch it to "Off."įor TVs from 20 that use Google's Android TV operating system (above), press the remote's Home button, navigate down to the bottom row to select Settings, scroll right along the top "TV" row and select About, then choose Ads. Click the remote's Menu button to open Settings, select System, followed by Reset and Admin. On older Vizio Smart TVs sold before 2011, the company says tracking has been switched off already.įor Vizio smart TVs sold between 20, as well as the 2016 D series, you have to do it manually yourself.
Vizioįor the newest TVs, namely the 2016 E, M and P series that use Vizio's SmartCast system instead of a traditional smart TV menu, tracking is not enabled.
On older LG TVs, click the Home or Menu button on the remote, scroll down to Option and turn Live Plus off. There you can uncheck anything you want, but the ones labeled "Viewing Information," "Personalized Advertising" and "Voice Information" are the ones that track you. Scroll down to About This TV and then select User Agreements. On 2015, 20 LCD and OLED TVs with Web OS, click the remote's Settings button ( gear icon), choose All Settings, then General. Disable "SynchPlus and Marketing." You can also disagree with any of the other policies listed there, and if your TV has them, disable the voice recognition and disagree with the Nuance privacy notice described above. On older Samsung TVs, hit the remote's Menu button (on 2015 models only, then select Menu from the top row of icons), scroll down to Smart Hub, then select Terms & Policy. Under "Interest Based Advertisement" click "Disable Interactive Services." Under "Viewing Information Services" unclick "I agree." And under "Voice Recognition Services" click "Disable advanced features of the Voice Recognition services." If you want you can also disagree with the other two, Nuance Voice Recognition and Online Remote Management. On 2016 TVs, click the remote's Home button, go to Settings (gear icon), scroll down to Support, then down to Terms & Policy. Now that you know your TV or streamer could be tracking you, perhaps you want to go back and turn that tracking off.
Of course, similar usage data is also collected by phones, PCs and other devices, as well as many apps you use and web pages you visit. They use it to target ads and fine-tune viewing suggestions, among other things. Information about what you watch, which apps you use and other activity on your smart TV or streamer is valuable to advertisers and other third parties, as well as the manufacturers themselves. What kind of data do TVs and streamers collect? Streamers from Roku, Apple, Amazon and Google haven't made any major privacy missteps yet, but their policies are generally less intrusive than those of TVs. Vizio was recently slapped with a $2.2 million fine by the FTC for failing to properly disclose how it shares its tracking information, and in previous years Samsung and LG have both faced similar scrutiny. In the excitement to put it through its paces, chances are you just clicked "I agree" to all those screens of legal mumbo jumbo that came up during the setup process.ĭid you know one of the things you likely agreed to was allowing your TV to track your viewing habits and send the information to advertisers and other third parties? The same could go for your streaming device. When you unpacked your new TV or streamer for the first time, you probably couldn't wait to start watching it.