LG Electronics USA said it will suspend smart TV apps that turn televisions into always‑on residential proxy nodes, after research showed 42 percent of LG webOS apps include SDKs that enable this. The move follows a Spur report that also found similar SDKs in >25% of Samsung Tizen apps.

LG Senior Vice President John Taylor told Krebs On Security the company is working with developers to remove the residential proxy option; non‑compliant apps will be suspended. He emphasized that residential proxy networks are not an intended use for LG smart TVs and that the review process is “well underway.” Spur’s Trevor Sutter warned that a one‑time consent prompt in a TV app is insufficient for transparency and control, especially when minors may give consent.

The residential proxy SDKs were traced largely to Bright Data, which pays developers to embed the SDKs in apps ranging from games like Pac‑Man to screensavers. LG also faced criticism for automatically installing McAfee‑promoting drivers on its LCD monitors via Windows Update.