TL;DR: An investigation by Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs and independent security researchers found that tested LG smart TVs could scan local networks for other devices and capture microphone audio while the display appeared to be off. Researchers also found that some data could be stored locally while the TV was offline and transmitted after the connection returned. LG had previously said its TVs do not collect, record or store ambient conversations.
Your smart TV may be doing considerably more than displaying Netflix when the screen goes dark.
An investigation by technology channel Gamers Nexus, conducted with Level1Techs and independent security researchers, has found potentially serious privacy and security issues in retail LG smart TVs running webOS.
In a 135-minute investigation published September 7, researchers examined LG OLED televisions, including the G5, and monitored their network traffic using tools including Wireshark.
The testing found the TVs scanning local networks for other connected devices, including phones and smartwatches. Researchers also demonstrated microphone audio being captured while the television’s display appeared to be off in standby mode.
Perhaps more concerning, disconnecting the television from the network did not necessarily stop the audio capture demonstrated during testing. The researchers said the TV continued storing data locally and transmitted it after network connectivity was restored.
The findings have raised fresh questions about what connected televisions can see, hear and collect inside a home.
What did the Gamers Nexus investigation find?
The investigation focused on actual retail LG televisions rather than a theoretical vulnerability in a prototype.
Researchers monitored network traffic generated by the sets and found evidence that the televisions were actively probing the local network.
That meant the TV was not simply communicating with LG’s servers.
It was also interacting with other devices connected to the same network.
According to the investigation, tested televisions could identify information associated with devices such as smartphones and smartwatches. The researchers also observed collection of internal IP addresses, nearby Wi-Fi network names and signal-strength information.
In other words, the television could build a picture of the digital environment surrounding it.
That distinction matters.
A television needs an internet connection to provide streaming services and other connected features. But scanning unrelated devices on the same local network raises a different privacy question: why does a television need to know what other hardware is connected to the home network?
The TV could capture microphone audio while the screen was off
The most alarming part of the investigation involved the television’s microphone.
During bench testing, Gamers Nexus demonstrated what appeared to be clean microphone recordings while the TV’s display was in standby.
To an ordinary user, a dark screen generally means the television is no longer actively operating as a viewing device.
The testing suggested otherwise.
Researchers found that audio could continue to be captured while the screen appeared to be off. They then disconnected the television’s network connection.
Rather than immediately sending the captured information, the TV reportedly retained data locally.
When network access was restored, the stored data could then be uploaded.
That means disconnecting the internet connection during the test functioned more like cutting off the data pipeline than necessarily preventing the device from capturing information.
There is an important caveat here.
The testing does not establish that every LG television model behaves identically, nor does it by itself prove that LG intentionally operates every microphone as a continuously active room recorder.
The findings concern the devices and software configurations tested by the researchers.
LG previously denied recording ambient conversations
The investigation comes at an awkward time for LG.
In July 2026, amid separate controversy surrounding its smart TV privacy terms, LG told TechRadar that its televisions “do not collect, record, or store ambient conversations.”
The company described voice recognition as an optional, user-initiated feature that processes voice data when activated by the user.
LG’s own support documentation similarly describes voice recognition as something users activate through the remote’s microphone button.
That makes the new investigation particularly significant.
The researchers are not merely arguing that LG’s privacy policy is vague. They say they observed microphone behavior directly on physical televisions.
At the time of reporting, LG had not issued a specific response to the September Gamers Nexus investigation.
LG already has a huge connected-TV advertising network
Another reason the findings have attracted attention is the scale of LG’s advertising business.
LG Ad Solutions says its platform reaches approximately 216 million LG smart TVs globally and 49 million LG smart TVs in the United States. The company also advertises access to more than 363 million addressable secondary devices in the U.S.
The company’s advertising platform is built around data.
LG Ad Solutions says its proprietary Automated Content Recognition, or ACR, technology captures viewing trends, habits and behaviors from LG Smart TVs. It also promotes cross-device advertising designed to reach people beyond the television itself.
That does not mean the 363 million-device figure represents devices secretly being monitored through microphones.
It refers to the company’s addressable advertising ecosystem and connected-device reach.
Still, the number illustrates why network-level device identification can have significant commercial implications.
What is ACR, and why does it matter?
Automated Content Recognition is not new.
Smart TV manufacturers have used ACR technology for years to identify what people are watching and provide viewing analytics for advertising and measurement.
The technology works by analyzing content displayed or played through the television and generating a digital fingerprint that can be matched against a database.
LG openly markets ACR as part of its advertising technology.
LG Ad Solutions describes its ACR system as proprietary first-party technology that captures consumer trends, viewing habits and behaviors on LG Smart TVs.
The Gamers Nexus investigation, however, goes beyond the familiar debate over viewing-data collection.
The researchers’ claims involve local-network discovery and microphone behavior, which can expose a much broader picture of activity inside a connected home.
That is why the investigation has triggered a renewed debate about whether consumers understand what their smart TVs can actually do.
Your TV can see more than your TV screen
A television connected to your home network potentially sits in a uniquely powerful position.
It can communicate with:
- Your router
- Smartphones
- Laptops
- Smartwatches
- Printers
- Smart speakers
- Streaming devices
- Smart-home equipment
- Internet services
- Advertising platforms
The Gamers Nexus testing suggests that at least some LG televisions actively discover other devices on the same network.
That creates an unusual privacy problem.
Someone who never agreed to connect their smartphone to LG could nevertheless have information about that phone exposed to a television sitting in the same room.
The same principle applies to guests.
A visitor does not necessarily know that their smartphone is being detected by a smart TV simply because they connect to the homeowner’s Wi-Fi.
Researchers also found webOS security vulnerabilities
The privacy findings were accompanied by another security concern.
The researchers said they identified remote-code-execution vulnerabilities in LG’s webOS software.
Those vulnerabilities are reportedly moving through responsible disclosure rather than being publicly detailed at this stage.
That distinction is important.
A device collecting data is one privacy concern.
A vulnerable device that can potentially be compromised by an attacker is a separate cybersecurity problem.
If a television has access to a home network and contains a microphone, compromising the television could potentially give an attacker capabilities far beyond changing channels.
This is why security researchers increasingly treat smart TVs as computers rather than passive displays.
What should LG TV owners do?
The researchers’ most aggressive recommendation was to disconnect affected LG televisions from the internet and use an external streaming device instead.
That approach effectively turns a smart TV into a display.
Instead of allowing the television itself to connect to Netflix, YouTube or other online services, users can connect an Apple TV, Roku, Google TV device or another streaming box.
However, that does not automatically solve every privacy issue.
The television should actually be prevented from accessing the internet if the goal is to eliminate its network communications.
For users who continue using LG’s smart features, security experts have also recommended keeping firmware updated, disabling unnecessary voice and advertising features, turning off ACR where possible and considering network isolation for smart-home devices.
A separate guest or IoT network can prevent a smart TV from having unrestricted access to computers, phones and other sensitive devices on the primary home network.
Does this mean LG TVs are secretly listening to everyone?
That conclusion would go further than the evidence currently supports.
The investigation demonstrated that researchers could make or observe audio capture on tested LG hardware and software configurations.
It also demonstrated local-network scanning.
But those findings do not automatically establish that every LG TV continuously records every conversation, or that LG routinely sends all such recordings to its advertising business.
That distinction is crucial.
There is also a difference between a device having the technical capability to capture audio and a manufacturer deliberately collecting ambient conversations from customers for advertising.
The September investigation raises serious questions about the former.
It has not, by itself, conclusively established the latter.
LG’s previous public position is that it does not collect, record or store ambient conversations.
Why this matters beyond LG
The bigger story may not ultimately be about one television manufacturer.
Modern smart TVs have increasingly become advertising platforms with screens attached.
They can identify viewing behavior, communicate with cloud services, recognize content, display targeted advertising and interact with other devices.
That creates a fundamental privacy question:
When does a television stop being a television and become a sensor-equipped computer sitting in the middle of your home?
The answer is becoming increasingly difficult to define.
A television with a microphone, camera, network connection, advertising software and a sophisticated operating system is capable of collecting substantially more information than a traditional TV ever could.
And consumers often treat the black screen of a television in standby as equivalent to being turned off.
The Gamers Nexus findings suggest that assumption may not always be safe.
The investigation raises three separate privacy concerns
The findings can broadly be divided into three categories.
1. Local-network surveillance
The tested televisions were observed scanning for other devices and gathering network-related information.
2. Audio capture
Researchers demonstrated microphone audio being captured while the screen appeared to be in standby.
3. Security vulnerabilities
The investigation also identified webOS vulnerabilities that could potentially give attackers additional control over affected devices.
Each issue is serious on its own.
Together, they demonstrate why connected televisions should be treated as networked computers rather than simple household appliances.
What happens next?
The most important next step is a response from LG.
The company needs to clarify which LG TV models and webOS versions are affected, whether the observed microphone behavior is an intended feature or a security flaw, what data is stored locally, when it is transmitted and which services receive it.
LG should also explain why the television scans other devices on the local network and what information is retained from those scans.
For consumers, the immediate lesson is simpler.
If you do not need your television to be connected to the internet, you do not necessarily need to connect it.
An external streaming device can provide most of the modern smart-TV experience while allowing the television itself to function primarily as a display.
Until LG provides a detailed response to the investigation, users concerned about privacy may reasonably want to take that extra step.
Because when the screen goes black, it may look like the TV has stopped watching.
The latest investigation suggests that, at least under the conditions researchers tested, that assumption deserves a closer look.