In a statement to Tom’s Hardware, LG categorically refuted the recent claims that its smart televisions record and download constantly data and document audio in a waiting state. At the same time, he confirmed that devices scan the local network to locate other devices, which he describes as a common practice on smart televisions and other smart devices. The answer came after an investigation published by Gamers Nexus, which argues that LG manages 216 million televisions;«spies».
Earlier this week, Gamers Nexus uploaded a two-hour video on YouTube charged with multiple security and privacy issues on LG televisions. According to the video, devices continuously record and download user data, even without internet connection or standby, while scanning Wi-Fi networks, document audio files and sample sound and image to identify what the user is watching.
The tests were performed in collaboration with two security researchers, MrBruh and uturn, and included analysis of data movement (packet capital) and firmware analysis. The findings reported that televisions identified other devices on the local network, including cell phones, printers, and others. The most serious claim was to receive sound through the built-in microphones even with the devices erased, with data stored locally in offline state for future recovery.
«The allegations made in the recent video do not really respond», was LG's answer. «LG televisions process voice data only when the voice button is pressed and held in the remote control, or when a trigger word is identified, such as "Hi LG", after the user has activated the long-range voice recognition function.»
In addition to these cases, «TVs do not collect or document random conversations». If the activation word is not recognized, no given voice leaves the television to the server, while the audio processing to detect the word is done locally on the device and the sound is deleted immediately.
Far-Field mode («Hi LG») must be manually activated by the user before television begins to listen to the activation word, with a mechanism similar to «Hey Siri» Apple on iPhone. Even in a waiting state, television monitors the trigger word only if Far-Field has been activated· otherwise the sound is processed exclusively locally and then deleted.
Scanning the network for nearby devices was confirmed, but is presented as a typical function that allows such possibilities as connecting between devices, sharing content and controlling the smart house. As for Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), it is offered based on user consent (opt-in) for personalized content suggestions, services and ads· without this consent, ACR data shall not be used for advertising purposes. Any function, from ACR and voice recognition to interest-based advertisements, requires separate express consent and can be disabled at any time by the settings.
LG was not placed on some of the other allegations and vulnerabilities of the video, such as alleged storage of voice transcripts in plain text format. He said, however, that he is constantly monitoring its platform and working with independent security experts to identify and correct vulnerabilities through updates, while users can regulate privacy and consensus options directly from the television interface.
At present it has not been possible to independently verify either Gamers Nexus' claims or LG's statements.
