An investigation by Gamers Nexus found LG smart TVs sweep local networks to map phones and nearby devices. Tests also showed the sets can capture microphone audio with the screen off — they then upload data once reconnected to the internet.

  • graycube@lemmy.world
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    17 days ago

    My LG TV runs WebOS, which is a linux distro. I have been wondering how hard it is to root and replace with a distro of my own choosing. I had thought because my TV is pretty old that I was safe from the more sophisticated spying, but last week it interrupted what I was watching and would not let me continue using it without agreeing to new terms of use. This revived my interest in rooting it.

      • droans@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        I rooted my C1 years ago. I spent weeks afterwards worried that I just destroyed the warranty of a $1,500 TV.

        But today, I’ve never felt so justified.

      • thehatfox@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        I didn’t know LG webOS rooting was a thing, that’s interesting to know.

        There is an open source version of webOS, although I don’t know how it compares to the stock LG version. Maybe there will eventually be something like a LineageOS equivalent.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      Go look up “tivoization”. GPLv2 isn’t enough to protect you from this shit.