Smart T.V. Privacy Overview? (feddit.nl)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by czim@feddit.nl to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I'm considering buying a new TV. There's plenty of posts about trying to find dumb TVs, comments like 'just don't connect it to the internet/network'.

What surprises me is that there isn't a good overview of (popular) TVs or brands with basic information, answering for each TV:

Can you use it as a basic TV by choosing not to enable smart features during setup?
Can you opt out by just not accepting a bunch of agreements?
Does it have a camera and/or microphone? Where in the device are these? Is there a physical disable switch for microphone?
Does it nag when not connected to any network?
Does it have higher than normal power usage when not able to phone home?
Has it been discovered to connect to public WiFi networks? Does it have the (theoretical) ability to connect to 5G mobile networks?

And similar.

There are extensive lists with a lot of detail about VPN services but nothing like that for TVs. Am I ignorant of a good source, or does this just not exist (yet)?

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[-] robolemmy@lemmy.world 46 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I love how literally nobody is answering your actual question.

I agree that this is problematic and we need TV reviews to include at least some of the information you cite.

If it helps, I have an LG smart TV. It complains if you don't let it access the internet at setup, but if you connect it once and let it do its initial patching, you can decline all agreements and not get nagged until it tries to update again. To keep it from further updates, you can disconnect it from wifi and it doesn't seem to try to reconnect. I can't speak to public wifi because there aren't any open access points near my TV.

In contrast, I have a samsung TV that loses its mind if it can't connect to the internet and becomes basically useless for all the nagging.

[-] Laristal@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago

Lg TVs do occasionally nag you about connecting to the internet but are otherwise fine completely disconnected.

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this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2024

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