How to disable ACR on your smart TV to stop viewing data collection
Most mainstream smart TVs run automatic content recognition (ACR), a background tracking technology that identifies what you watch and sends that information to a central database; ZDNET explains how to disable it. ACR works like a constant, Shazam‑style service, capturing screenshots of whatever is on the screen and matching them to a media database.
According to The Markup, ACR can capture up to 7,200 images per hour; market research firm eMarketer estimated advertisers spent about $18.6 billion on smart TV ads in 2022. ZDNET says data collected by ACR can be linked to personal information such as email addresses, IP addresses and even physical street addresses, and that this information fuels highly targeted ads and could be exploited in risky ways.
Turning off ACR can take multiple menu steps.
Key Topics
Tech, Smart Tv, Samba Tv, Sony Bravia, Emarketer, Google Home