LG issued a statement this Saturday, the 12th, refuting allegations that its Smart TVs monitor users. The South Korean manufacturer stated that the devices do not continuously record or transmit conversations.
This declaration comes after the release of tests indicating the collection and tracking of network and audio data by the televisions. According to these publications, such information was recorded even when the system was in standby mode or without an internet connection.
In its statement, LG argued that recent news generated mistaken interpretations about how its products operate. The company defended that the voice recognition feature is only activated by clicking the remote control button or by uttering a specific activation word.
The manufacturer detailed that the identification of this activation word occurs internally within the television itself. If no voice command is recognized by the system, the sound is immediately discarded, without being converted into text or sent to the internet.
Additionally, LG denied that audio snippets are retained in the device's memory for later transmission. According to the company, each voice command session lasts a maximum of 18 seconds and ends as soon as the user stops speaking.
Regarding the Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) feature, the brand informed that this functionality is disabled by default. This technology uses the internal processor to identify the content displayed on the screen through sound, but without capturing videos, images, or ambient sounds.
Finally, LG assured that targeted advertising tools depend on the consumer's explicit consent in the TV settings. The company also emphasized that voice conversations are never passed on to its advertising division, LG Ad Solutions.
The suspicions directed at LG began after an investigation conducted by the channel Gamers Nexus, supported by the channel Level1Techs and independent security experts.
Traffic tests showed that OLED line TVs were searching for phones and watches connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The analyses also revealed that the devices were recording residential location data and information about nearby wireless networks.
The research also indicated that the televisions' microphones had the capacity to record audio even in standby mode. According to the survey, these files were stored in the system awaiting the reestablishment of the internet connection to be sent to servers.
This is not the first privacy incident involving the company's equipment. In July, investigations by the same channel revealed that LG monitors installed unauthorized software with the aim of collecting data and displaying advertisements.