Do LG Smart TVs secretly record user conversations? The company reacts officially to circulating reports

In recent days, reports have widely spread in foreign media and internet publications claiming that LG Smart TVs secretly record users' private conversations, store the data in internal memory, and transmit it to servers. These claims have also caused concern and sparked heated discussions among many users in Uzbekistan.

To clarify the situation, LG Electronics Uzbekistan issued an official statement stating that the circulating reports are untrue and detailed how the televisions' voice control and data processing system functions.

No continuous recording: How voice control works

According to official information provided by the company, LG Smart TVs do not continuously record users' daily conversations or transmit them to servers:

Works only when activated: The speech-to-text conversion process is initiated only when the user themselves presses the voice command button on the remote control or pronounces a special keyword.

Local analysis: To recognize the keyword, audio data is processed directly on the television itself (locally). If the keyword is not uttered, the voice is not saved, not converted to text, and not sent to external networks.

Unconnected recordings are not accumulated: Claims that voices accumulate in internal memory when the network is disconnected and are sent to the server once the internet connection is restored were refuted. Technical logs pertain only to specific situations when an active voice query is executed and are not related to continuous audio recording.

ACR system and personal data security

One of the most frequently mentioned aspects in the mass media is the ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) technology. LG also clarified concerns surrounding this feature:

Disabled by default: Features such as ACR, voice recognition, and interest-based personalized advertising are optional and are not automatically enabled on the television by default.

Control is in the user's hands: Enabling or disabling these functions is entirely at the user's discretion. Every buyer can withdraw their consent at any time through the TV settings.

No screen images or videos are captured: The ACR system determines the type of content being viewed only using audiofingerprinting. The system does not collect screen screenshots, video recordings, or ambient room sounds.

LG's conclusion

Emphasizing that ensuring user confidentiality and privacy is one of the core principles in product development, LG Electronics urges its audience not to believe ambiguous and unverified reports. The company stated that it continuously enhances data security and transparency.