LG has officially addressed allegations regarding data collection practices on its Smart TV lineup. The company responded to a report by Gamers Nexus, which claimed that over 216 million LG televisions could record audio while powered off, store unencrypted voice commands, and monitor local network devices.
In a statement provided to Tom’s Hardware, LG denied that its devices continuously record user conversations. The company explained that audio transmission only initiates after a user presses the voice assistant button on the remote or says the wake word. Furthermore, the voice activation feature is disabled by default and requires manual user enablement.
The manufacturer clarified that the processing of the wake word occurs locally on the television hardware. Consequently, the device does not capture or transmit ambient conversations to external servers. LG acknowledged that its Smart TVs scan for other devices on the local network, describing this as a standard feature for modern television sets.
Regarding the analysis of images from devices connected via HDMI, LG stated that this process only occurs if the user explicitly opts into personalized advertising and recommendations. However, the company did not address the specific allegation concerning the storage of voice commands on its servers in an unencrypted format.
