Smart TVs from LG and Samsung are increasingly used as monitors for Mac and PC, but they come with a hidden cost: constant surveillance. These TVs use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to capture screenshots and audio snippets, sending them to company servers even when displaying content from external devices. This means sensitive documents, emails, and private work can be monitored without your knowledge.

A 2024 study found LG TVs capturing screenshots as frequently as every 10 milliseconds, while Samsung TVs do so every 500 milliseconds. This data collection happens regardless of whether you're watching TV or using the screen as a computer monitor. Both companies transmit this information over the internet to their servers, with LG using Alphonso as an advertising partner and Samsung handling much of its ACR in-house.

Fortunately, you can disable these tracking features through your TV's settings. For LG TVs, turn off Live Plus and limit ad tracking in the Additional Settings menu. On Samsung TVs, disable Viewing Information Services and Interest-Based Advertising in the General & Privacy section. You can also block telemetry at the network level using DNS filtering tools like Pi-hole to prevent your TV from contacting tracking servers altogether.