The link has a ton of information.
Under Privacy Settings, there are options for Device Usage Data, Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage, and Interest-Based Ads. All are enabled by default, but you can disable them.
Don’t connect them to the Internet.
Done.
Don’t reward shitty practices with your money. Just don’t buy them.
Where can you buy a non-smart TV ? I searched a lot, there is nowhere to buy such TV for private consumers. I could find some Hotel or Hospital TVs on eBay, they are all expensive and shit specs.
This is the reason I have a 20+ year old plasma TV. Absolutely nothing smart and still somewhat thin. Also the picture is sometimes better for movies because of how it handles blacks and contrast.
Burns more electricity I guess. But most plasmas should be around the time of the flat TV crazy started before LED took off. Before they started making them cheaper by stuffing them full of spy software.
Genuinely zero idea how people use TVs on their own, with wi-fi connected, and no HTPC. Not only is it mostly spyware, it’s a horrendous experience too.
Just get a tiny pc with a wireless keyboard + touchpad combo, and use that instead of a Smart TV’s built-in OS. More secure, more private, more feature-rich, more convenient. If you watch TV (I can’t see why anyone would), then you can even watch that online.
Limit, not disable.
Correct.
I’ve been rocking a 46 inch Sony xbr 1080p tv for like 22 years. It just broke last week :(
That thing was awesome. It had nine types of inputs, DisplayPort, hdmi, super video, dvi, rca. It even had optical audio in and out. It was a $10,000 tv when it came out and I watched it for a while until it was something like $3300 and I bought it.
I replaced it with a 55inch Samsung for $300. The picture is 22years better :) but the rest of it is throw away junk. It will never get connected to the internet and it will never get a software update. I think this is the logical conclusion to cheap tvs, they just become 100% enshittified.
You should maybe connect it once for update. At least check firmware update changelogs to see if anything is relevant.
I have an LG and experienced a weird picture problem for over a year… it was infuriating. Firmware update fixed it.
You should have just returned it. If it doesn’t work out of the box, you don’t need it.
Never connect it to your wifi and use an open source Linux or android media box instead. If you can buy a tv or projector without any smart device baked in.
I think it’s important to note that most of the devices you’ll find if you just search for a cheap and generic “Android media box” are not going to be any better for your privacy. Even if you ignore the data collection you subject yourself to with Android, you might be purchasing a botnet node or a backdoor into your home network.
A docked Steam Deck works for this. It even has HDMI-CEC
Most definitely, it’s essentially a full Linux PC. You could do a lot of things with it.
where/how do you get an open source android media box?
You buy one from the internet, any hardware that can run Android Open Source Project (AOSP) like the Ugoos AM8 Pro, Generic Amlogic Boxes. You could use certain arm and x86 hardware and run waydroid on top of Linux or install android like LineageOS, BlissOS, PrimeOS AndroidTV-x86_64, and FydeOS. You can use like an SBC like a raspberry pi or an old laptop or something. In short there’s. A lot of pathways to get this done that doesn’t involve sending all your data back to the TV or streaming box manufacturer.
Maybe the easiest way is just using Linux and waydroid on really any hardware. There are specified Linux OS’s like LibreELEC, OSMC (Open Source Media Center), LinuxMCE, but it’s not necessary you run a specified OS. Also easier to slap a hard drive on that badboy and get a media server going with Plex or jellyfin and host other stuff like kiwix, pinhole, nextcloud and so on. Just pair with a Bluetooth keyboard trackpad combo and you’re good to go.
Just don’t connect them to the internet, then it doesn’t matter.
There was some sort of scandal a few years back that some smart TVs (Samsung?) were using not just open networks (let’s be honest, there usually aren’t any), but other smart TVs if the same manufacturer to be able to send their telemetry. I don’t know what game of that, or if that was ever made illegal (probably not).
Hasnt there been claims of the smart tv’s automatically connecting to open WiFi to update and or send data.
I don’t think this is real, but if it is can you provide a link? I’m not finding anything easily with a search and randomly throwing out claims like this is not productive.
That’s why I called it a claim, I never found evidence myself, it just wouldn’t surprise me if it was true.
So you’re just spreading misinformation.
There’s claims about this, connecting automatically to open wifi is a “feature” of Android, any smart bullshit based on android can have the same behaviour.
Often needed with software updates for the TV itself.
People connect them to the internet to use YouTube or something, and then just forget that it is still online. This is for those people who are unaware. And a smart TV can still be hacked while disconnected from Wi-Fi, that is obviously harder to do.
If those people are unaware, then make them aware. Telling them to disable telemtry instead of taking them offline completely is simply bad advice.
Turning off those features still help. That is why I posted, so some are aware… People have smart TV’s to use the internet. That is kind of the whole point of having them. Most people just don’t disconnect their TV from the Wi-Fi every time they are done streaming. Which, that would be a GOOD IDEA idea.
That is why I posted, so people are aware…
You’re making them aware of the wrong things, as I just finished saying.
People have smart TV’s to use the internet
They can still use the internet without connecting their TV to it. You just plug another device into it.
I know what a TV does, smart TV’s enables more features when it is online. Some people just have a smart TV and that is it.
No they don’t.
Yes they do! People for sure just have smart TV’s, and they have tons of apps when connected online. Load up Netflix and then they are done. Old people especially, do it all the time. That is all they use. That and probably just a phone. Shit, some still have landlines. They live alone and had somebody set it up for them.
What features does a smart TV provide when not connected to the internet? (serious question, I’ve never had a smart TV)
I’ll tell you what my 2 “smart” tvs do as they are not connected to the internet, they act as a slow to turn on display of my desktop. 27" monitor press power button, less than 10 seconds looking at desktop, 40" samsung smart tv 15-20+ seconds to see the desktop without a stupid overlay, 65" samsung 4k smart tv 30-45 seconds till desktop is fully visible.
TL:DR NONE! Use as a monitor
Probably none, but it’s getting harder to buy a non-smart TV
I still got a 720p TV, LOL!
None? The idea is not to get more features, it’s to take it offline so it can’t send data about you back home. Plug in another smart device into the TV and use that for streaming and such.
Dumb tvs are still sold in some places. If it’s impossible to get a dumb TV and have a pc, at that point it makes more sense to get a simple monitor and use the pc as the smart device so you actually have full control. The android boxes you connect to tvs are not the epitome of privacy either.
“Dumb TVs” are extremely rare. You can buy most TVs and just not connect them to the internet and achieve the same thing.
This is true. Almost every streaming box sells your data out of the box. Roku is one of the worst. Nvidia Shield is pretty bad too.
I only have 1 smart tv. I use andriod boxes with productivity launcher…and one firestick that needs to go. I like to taunt amazon that they aint getting a penny.
The start tv is set up as dumb but it still has the stupid interface from the time it was bought. The poster of wicked. I have it setup that the box launches first but sometimes i land on there instead and it pi$$$$$es me right off. Any way to somehow disable that crap?
I really hope there are wifi dummy boards that allow you to fake your device being connected despite not being able to connect to any network. Warranty be damned, I’d be more than willing to cut open a TV to either replace the board or just completely disconnect it.
I read that put those things on a separate guest WiFi is a good option for better security too ?
True, it is more secure with a secondary guest network. But I doubt it stops data from being sent back in this case. A strong Wi-Fi password is always recommended too with a guest network.
